Mid-Major Rankings for the Week of March 2

1. Gonzaga (29-2, 17-1 WCC). Last week: 1

Gonzaga’s 22-game winning streak ended Saturday with a loss to BYU. The Bulldogs are still in the conversation for a No. 1 seed, but they have to win the WCC Tournament.

 

2. Wichita State (27-3, 17-1 MVC). Last week: 3

Wichita State got revenge on Northern Iowa on Saturday, giving the Shockers their second straight outright MVC title. They will face either Missouri State or Southern Illinois in the MVC quarterfinals.

 

3. Northern Iowa (27-3, 16-2 MVC). Last week: 2

Northern Iowa’s 16-game winning streak ended with a season-ending loss at Wichita State, and with the defeat the Panthers fell to second place in the MVC. They await the winner of Drake vs. Bradley for a quarterfinal matchup Friday.

 

4. Murray State (26-4, 16-0 OVC). Last week: 4

Murray State knocked off Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin to complete its run of the table in the OVC. Despite a 26-4 record, the Racers almost definitely need to win the OVC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

 

5. Stephen F. Austin (24-4, 14-1 Southland). Last week: 5

Stephen F. Austin is back in full control of first place in the Southland. As long as the Lumberjacks beat Sam Houston State on Saturday, they will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

 

6. Wofford (25-6, 16-2 SoCon). Last week: 7

Wofford survived close road games against Mercer and Furman to secure the No. 1 seed in the SoCon Tournament. The Terriers will face either UNC Greensboro or Samford in the quarterfinals.

 

7. Louisiana Tech (23-7, 14-3 C-USA). Last week: 9

Louisiana Tech knocked off UTEP and UTSA at home to clinch a share of the Conference USA regular season title. The Bulldogs can win the conference outright with either a win Thursday against Southern Miss or a loss by UAB.

 

8. BYU (23-8, 13-5 WCC). Last week: 12

BYU earned a quality win Saturday at Gonzaga to get into the at-large conversation. The Cougars enter the WCC Tournament with a six-game winning streak.

 

9. Valparaiso (26-5, 13-3 Horizon). Last week: 6

Valparaiso finished the season with a 56-53 win at Cleveland State to capture the Horizon League title outright. The Crusaders get a bye straight to the conference semifinals, which they host Saturday.

 

10. Saint Mary’s (21-8, 13-5 WCC). Last week: 11

Saint Mary’s at-large chances were slim, and they effectively are gone after the Gaels lost at Santa Clara over the weekend.

 

11. Old Dominion (22-6, 11-5 C-USA). Last week: 13

Old Dominion has won four straight games, and it also ended a five-game road losing streak last week. The Monarchs finish the season at home against Marshall and Western Kentucky.

 

12. Green Bay (23-7, 12-4 Horizon). Last week: 14

Green Bay survived a close game at UIC in which senior guard Keifer Sykes scored his 2,00th career point. The Phoenix followed that with a 20-point win against Oakland, securing the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament.

 

13. UTEP (19-9, 11-5 C-USA). Last week: 10

UTEP picked up an acceptable loss Thursday at Louisiana Tech, but the Miners then dropped a bad one Saturday at Southern Miss.

 

14. Harvard (20-6, 10-2 Ivy). Last week: 8

Harvard’s loss at Cornell created another tie with Yale in the Ivy League standings. The Crimson face the Bulldogs at home Friday with that game likely deciding who gets the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

 

15. Yale (21-8, 10-2 Ivy). Last week: 18

Yale is back into a tie with Harvard for first place in the Ivy League standings. The Bulldogs could guarantee at least a one-game playoff with a win against the Crimson on Friday.

 

16. Iona (24-7, 17-3 MAAC). Last week: 15

Iona’s 11-game winning streak ended Sunday at St. Peter’s. The Gaels will be the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Tournament this weekend.

 

17. Central Michigan (21-6, 11-5 MAC). Last week: 17

Central Michigan’s six-game winning streak ended Saturday with a loss at Northern Illinois. The Chippewas can still secure first place in the MAC West with a win Tuesday against Toledo.

 

18. UC Davis (22-5, 12-2 Big West). Last week: 19

UC Davis clinched a share of of the Big West title with a win at Cal Poly. The Aggies can win the title outright with a victory Saturday against second-place UC Irvine.

 

19. Sam Houston State (22-6, 13-2 Southland). Last week: 20

Sam Houston State fell to second place in the Southland with a loss last week to Texas A&M-CC.

 

20. Chattanooga (22-9, 15-3 SoCon). Last week: 25

Chattanooga could not catch Wofford for the conference title, but the Mocs enter the SoCon Tournament as the No. 2 seed with a six-game winning streak.

 

21. Albany (21-8, 15-1 American East). Last week: Unranked

Albany won the America East title by several games, and the Great Danes now get home court advantage in the conference tournament.

 

22. Kent State (19-10, 10-6 MAC). Last week: 16

A rough week for Kent State produced close losses to Miami (Ohio) and Buffalo. The Golden Flashes have two more tough games this week against Bowling Green and Akron.

 

23. Toledo (19-10, 11-5 MAC). Last week: 22

Toledo was upset by Northern Illinois but bounced back with a win against Ball State. The Rockets have a huge game Tuesday at Central Michigan.

 

24. High Point (22-8, 13-5 Big South). Last week: Unranked

High Point enters this week’s rankings despite a triple overtime loss at Charleston Southern, dropping the Panthers into a tie for the Big South title. Due to tiebreakers, the Panthers will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.

 

25. Eastern Washington (21-8, 12-4 Big Sky). Last week: 21

Eastern Washington has lost three of its last five games going into the final week of the regular season.

 

Author: Jesse Kramer

Jesse Kramer is the founder of The Catch and Shoot. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He has had work featured on SI.com, College Insider, The Comeback/Awful Announcing, and 247Sports.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: