I started the season off with a Mid-25 ranking of the top mid-major programs coming into the season. That ranking will be listed below. But, now, with most of the non-conference slate finishing up, I want to take a look back and see how each of these teams is doing, and then give you a fresh Mid-25 to start off conference play. I’ll also cover how my top 10 players to watch are doing so far and, finally, let you know my thoughts on the top mid-major conference out there.

Let’s get started.

Preseason	Ranking
1	Gonzaga
2	Saint Mary’s
3	Memphis
4	VCU
5	Saint Louis
6	South Florida
7	SDSU
8	Yale
9	Navy
10	McNeese
11	Dayton
12	Akron
13	Vermont
14	Liberty
15	Chattanooga
16	Miami (OH)
17	Illinois State
18	Towson
19	UC Santa Barbara
20	High Point
21	Norfolk State
22	UNCW
23	LIU
24	Saint Thomas
25	Bethune-Cookman

Too High (-5 or more spots)

VCU, Akron, South Florida, and SDSU each have a top 86 KenPom ranking with the Rams, Zips, and Aztecs all in the top 66. So, while their records might not be looking flashy, they are still respectable. Look for VCU and Akron to make runs in conference to make up for their lackluster non-conference play.

Memphis, Towson, Chattanooga, Navy, Norfolk State, and Bethune-Cookman all have miserable records. And their teams have looked miserable while compiling them. Bethune got off to what could have been the hottest start of all when they pushed Auburn to OT at home in the first game of the season, but everything has gone downhill since then. Just go ahead and throw these out with the bath water and let’s pretend we never talked about them.

Illinois State, Liberty, LIU, UC Santa Barbara and Saint Thomas are some of the best teams not quite at the top of their conferences at this point. Illinois State has no bad losses and a top-100 KenPom ranking. St. Thomas has a bad loss to Cal State Fullerton, but otherwise a respectable 9-4 record. I still project them to be fighting for the Summit League Championship.

Vermont is it’s own special brand because they haven’t managed to win any of their big games thus far (Buffalo, Liberty, Rhode Island, Yale, Oregon State), but they have taken care of business against lesser opponents. And they lead their conference at 7-5. Maybe they’ll just ride the autobid train to March.

Too Low (+3 or more spots)

Miami of Ohio. If you haven’t heard, the Redhawks are one of 7 remaining unbeatens and they are doing it by putting up 92 points per game and smothering opponents to less than 70. The schedule isn’t Goliath, but the Redhawks are doing exactly what they needed to do to this point: win in convincing fashion against lesser opponents. They have 8 double digit wins and only 1 game has been decided by a single possession.

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On the Money (+/- 1 spot)

Gonzaga is ranked #2 by KenPom and they are the lone mid-major in the top-30. But, considering their soon-to-be transition into power conference play, that’s to be expected. Meanwhile, Saint Mary’s and SLU are in the top-41 and a top-5 ranking seems justified. Yale leads the Ivy and owns wins over Navy, Charleston, Akron, and Vermont while McNeese is off to a 10-3 start with an impressive win over George Washington and a respectable road win over Rhode Island, top 10 seems to be holding steady.

Dayton lost an ugly game against Cincinnati, but then went up to Marquette and took down a solid Golden Eagle squad. With no bad losses (UC is looking worse, but at the time, the Bearcats looked unstoppable) and some quality wins over Marquette, BYU, and Florida State, the Flyers resume keeps them in solid running for top-15 mid-major status. And High Point and UNC Wilmington are both looking like solid front runners in their respective conferences this year.

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Mid Season	Ranking
1	Gonzaga
2	Utah State*
3	Saint Mary’s
4	SLU
5	Miami (OH)
6	Tulsa*
7	Yale
8	Saint Bonaventure*
9	George Washington*
10	McNeese
11	Dayton
12	Boise State*
13	Hawaii*
14	Liberty
15	UC San Diego*
16	Belmont*
17	George Mason*
18	Richmond*
19	Buffalo*
20	High Point
21	UNCW
22	Northern Colorado*
23	VCU
24	Akron
25	North Dakota State*

We have 13 new comers to the Mid-25 with Utah State storming up to the #2 spot. Meanwhile, the A-10 takes over the rankings with 7 teams in the hunt.

Ten Players to Watch

• Miles Byrd (SDSU) 10.6 ppg and shooting 44% from the field with 37% from beyond the arc, but his 0.7 steal-to-turnover ratio is his worst since starting for SDSU
• Nick Townsend (Yale) 16.9 ppg, shooting 53% from the field and 54% from 3 and he’s claiming 7.6 rebounds per game
• Aidan Mahaney (UCSB) is back to his former self, shooting 43% and contributing 14.6 ppg
• Robbie Avila (SLU) only averaging 12.1 ppg, but shooting 50% from the field, Avila is one of 4 Billikens averaging at least 12 points (one of 5 averaging double figures)
• TJ Hurley (Vermont) shooting 39% from 3 and 45% from the field, Hurley is the second most productive TJ for the Catamounts
• Austin Benigni (Navy) leads the Middies with 16.8 ppg on 39% shooting but a whopping 89% FT percentage and 46% from deep
• Graham Ike (Gonzaga) continuing where he left off, 17.3 ppg on 52% shooting while grabbing 7.8 boards per game
• KK Robinson (Little Rock) is out for the year before stepping foot on the court
• Chase Walker (Illinois State) one of 5 Redbirds averaging double figures, he’s shooting 47% from the field
• Tavari Johnson (Akron) has put up 35 and 28 points in two of the Zips’ biggest losses of the year. He is averaging 19.4 ppg and shooting 54%

Multi-Bid Watch

WCC

“Between the top-2 mid-major powers, the West Coast Conference will have the opportunity to close out Gonzaga’s time in the conference as a multi-bid league.” Could still hold true, but Santa Clara could be joining them in the Dance if they keep playing the way they started the year.

A-10

“How will the top half of the A-10, featuring George Mason/George Washington/Loyola Chicago/Dayton/VCU/SLU shake out? The A-10 could see anywhere from 1-4 teams in the Big Dance, but I predict 3.” I’m bumping my prediction up to 4. While Loyola Chicago has face-planted and VCU has struggled out the gate, SLU is one point away from a perfect 10-0, George Mason stumbled against V Tech but has an otherwise solid resume, and between Dayton, St. Bonnies, Richmond, and George Washington, the conference has staying power. Davidson could also be a dark horse. Could the A-10 beat itself up and only get 2 or 3 of these teams in? Sure. But, could they also finish out non-conference play as the top mid-major conference top to bottom? Absolutely.