Top Mid-Major Basketball Stories 2025: Year in Review Part 2
Year in review part 2: High Point, Omaha, Saint Francis make NCAA Tournament history. Murray State and Belmont revive rivalry in Missouri Valley.
Welcome to day two of our Top 25 Mid-Major basketball stories from 2025! Today, you’re receiving numbers 15 through five as we will wrap up tomorrow with our top five. Let’s dive in!
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6. SIUE Punches Ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the First Time
When the SIUE Cougars transitioned to Division I during the 2008-2009 season, it was a rough stretch. They finished above .500 just once during the 2022-2023 season as they went 19-14. Brian Barone continued to build up the program as they went 17-16 the following season, then they put together their best season yet last year.
The Cougars finished 22-12 overall, 13-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and booked their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Loyal star Ray’Sean Taylor was a blast to watch the entire season and I love the story as Brian Barone dug in his heels on fought to build this program from scratch. Now, they are 8-5 and looking like they could return to the tournament once against as the Ohio Valley Conference as a whole continues to improve.
7. High Point reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time
It’s hard to believe that the High Point Panthers had never reached the NCAA Tournament despite joining the Division I ranks back in 1999. They had some strong seasons, with four 20+ win seasons, including a 27-9 finish in 2024. Last year, they finally broke through at 29-6 and punched their ticket to the big dance as a 13-seed. They had a tough matchup against Purdue in the first round, but they went out swinging as they fell 75-63.
The Panthers are once again looking like the front runners in the Big South, even with Alan Huss no longer at the helm. Flynn Clayman took over as head coach and he has High Point 12-3 as they head into the new year.
8. Omaha reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time
The Omaha Mavericks hadn’t finished .500 since the 2019-2020 season, but they came out firing in the Summit League. The Mavericks went 13-3 in conference play, 22-13 overall and secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since joining Division I in 2012. Unfortunately, they were tasked with facing St. John’s in the first round where they were defeated 83-53.
9. Saint Francis’ Reaches the NCAA Tournament
Saint Francis made national news as they announced that they were going to transition from Division I to Division III citing that they could no longer compete at this level with the ever changing landscape. However, the Red Flash went out with a bang. Despite being ranked 319th in KenPom at the end of the regular season and just 13-17 going into the NEC Tournament, the Red Flash prevailed with upset wins over Long Island and Central Connecticut to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This was their first appearance since 1991 in the Big Dance, and it could not have been more of a storybook ending for this program’s run in Division I.
10. Murray State & Belmont’s assurgency in the MVC
For years, Murray State and Belmont battled in the Ohio Valley, even bringing the OVC to a two-bid league status in the last decade. When the MVC brought over both schools together, the entire administration was ecstatic. It’s taken a few years, but we are finally seeing both schools compete at the top of the conference.
As of the release of this post, Murray State is 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the MVC while Belmont is 13-2 and 3-1 in conference. Both rank in the top-100 of KenPom as the Racers sit at 95th and the Bruins are 70th.
The old OVC rivalry is being revitalized before out eyes and college basketball and the Missouri Valley is better for it as a result.
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11. Billy Lange quitting at the start of the season
There might have been no seat hotter in college basketball than Billy Lange’s at Saint Joseph’s coming off yet another disappointing season last year. There was a lot of speculation around whether he’d even be brought back this season, but the Hawks didn’t make a change. However, mere weeks before the season started, Lange quit his job and took an assistant coaching position with the New York Knicks.
12. Conference Realignment
We once again saw a lot of conference realignment as college basketball adjusts to this new era. The WAC is being decimated as Seattle U headed to the WCC and Grand Canyon left for the Mountain West. It was announced that the United Athletic Conference would be born as a merger with the Atlantic Sun Conference as a result.
The PAC-12 is making a comeback as Gonzaga announced that they would be leaving the WCC officially, while Denver and UC San Diego both join the WCC once Oregon State and Washington State join Gonzaga in the new era of the PAC-12.
This just scratches the surface on the changes and what’s to come in 2026.
13. Colorado State’s huge run in 2025
Colorado State had a ton of hype coming into the 2024-2025 season with Nique Clifford highlighting their ceiling of potential. However, things could not have started off worse for the Rams. They went just 6-5 during the non-conference schedule, so they were just 8-6 coming into the new year. However, once that calendar flipped, they turned it on. Colorado State went 14-3 during the regular season in 2025, then they swept the Mountain West tournament to secure their berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Rams were a hot pick to take down Memphis in the first round of the tournament and they did just that. The Rams took down the Tigers 78-70, but their run ended in the second round against Maryland as they fell by just one point 72-71.
14. Saint Mary’s sweeps Gonzaga in the regular season
The Saint Mary’s Gaels were one of the most dominant teams in college basketball last season as they finished 29-6 on the year and picked up an NCAA Tournament victory over Vanderbilt in the first round. However, one of the most notable features of the team last year was the fact that they swept Gonzaga during the regular season. They took down the Zags at home 62-58 and on the road 74-67.
Ultimately, they fell to the Zags in the WCC Championship 58-51, but it was the first time they had swept the Zags during the regular season since the 2015-2016 season.
15. Tulsa Roars Back in 2025
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane program has rebounded in 2025 as they are off to one of their best starts in history. As of the release of this post, Tulsa is 13-1 on the season with their only loss being to Kansas State by one point on the road. They are entering conference play as the favorites to win the American, and they have the talent to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. They were picked eighth in the preseason poll in the American, so this has been an incredible journey led by a breakout campaign from Tylen Riley.
Review Part 1 (Numbers 25-16) below!
Top Mid-Major Basketball Stories 2025: Year in Review
Happy New Years everyone! 2025 left was with so much to look back on, ranging from conference realignment, the ever changing debate about tournament expansion and player eligibility, and so much more. To honor the flip of the calendar, we’ve put together 25 notable stories for programs and players outside of the power conference ranks in 2025!