Top mid-majors can play with the big boys

In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, college basketball experts told fans that George Mason, Wichita… In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, college basketball experts told fans that George Mason, Wichita State and Bradley making the Sweet 16 was an aberration from the norms of March Madness. These “mid-majors” were unexpected visitors to the second weekend of the tournament.

But in 2007, the overwhelming presence of more mid-majors in the upper echelon of college hoops shows that the little Davids aren’t quite underdogs anymore.

The term “mid-major conference” means that a conference is just below the Power Six conferences in college hoops – the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC – but above the weaker conferences in terms of talent and quality.

In recent years, the term has found a home in several conferences that you’ve probably heard of: the A-10, CAA, Conference USA, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, West Coast and WAC.

But the term is losing its pizzazz. The CAA’s George Mason waltzed all the way to the Final Four last season, even after UNC-Wilmington earned the conference’s automatic bid. And this year, the last rankings released before the Power Six conference championships featured seven teams from the aforementioned mid-majors.

And who could forget Gonzaga’s run into prominence as a powerhouse program from the West Coast Conference?

The most telling statistics are the teams’ records against the RPI top 100. The RPI is a computer rating system that configures rankings based on a team’s strength of schedule, record away from home and other factors. And the teams rated highly from the mid-majors have performed extremely well against the nation’s best.

So that begs the question, are this year’s top mid-major teams really mid-majors? I would argue that they aren’t, mainly because the big-time clubs from the mid-major conferences have proven they can hang with the big kids on the block.

Memphis ran the table in Conference USA and won its conference tournament, finishing 30-3. The Tigers are 5-3 against the RPI top 100, losing games at Tennessee and Arizona, and on a neutral court against Georgia Tech. John Calipari’s boys are 9-4 on the road and unbeaten since Dec. 23.

Memphis is also an impressive 4-3 against teams from the Power Six conferences. And the history is there, too, as the Tigers earned a No. 1 seed and a berth in the Elite Eight last season. If that doesn’t do it, then Nevada’s two-year stint at the top of the mid-majors heap helps.

Nevada features 6-11 center Nick Fazekas, one of the final 22 candidates for the Wooden All-American team. The very talented Mr. Fazekas is a slated lottery pick by every major NBA Draft projector.

Fazekas’ Wolf Pack are 11-3 against the RPI top 100 and 28-4 overall. To top it all off, Fazekas was hurt for a while during conference play earlier in 2007, and his supporting cast kept Nevada hot.

The Wolf Pack are 2-0 against Power Six conference teams. Nevada has made four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a Sweet 16 run in 2004 and a first-round win in 2005.

Southern Illinois lost the Missouri Valley Conference Championship to Creighton, a team preseason ranked No. 19, but the Salukis are 27-6. Southern Illinois also totes an impressive 13-5 record against the RPI top 100, including an 8-4 mark against the top 50. The boys from Carbondale, Ill., can play.

The Salukis are a respectable 2-2 against Power-Six teams, including a win over ACC heavyweight Virginia Tech.

Memphis, Nevada and Southern Illinois are all considered contenders in their respective regions.

And no one is sleeping on Butler, BYU, Creighton or UNLV either. All four present significant threats to the big names in their regions.

Butler lost its conference tournament title game in dramatic fashion, but the Bulldogs play with the heart and work ethic. And they also play with Wooden Award finalist A.J. Graves, who torched Notre Dame for 28 points, Indiana for 20, Gonzaga for 26 and Purdue for 25.

With new bracket knowledge being dispersed that teams with top-heavy lineups in terms of scoring are more likely to succeed, Graves could make a big splash in the tournament pool.

The mid-major label could be seen as insulting these days, and you’ll see why over the next few weeks. The top “mid-majors” aren’t just happy to be in the NCAA Tournament – they’re in it to win it.