2017-18 Every Mid Major Conference Basketball Preview, Standings and Storylines
It’s officially preview season here at Barstool Sports. We’re about a week away from games being played and your football teams might already be worthless. Last week we broke things down via lists – top players, coaches, jerseys, rivalries and more. This week it’s conference preview season. We’ll look at the major six conferences along with the AAC, A-10 and a mid-major preview. Disagree with anything? Let me know @barstoolreags
ACC Preview: Here
Big East Preview: Here
Big 12 Preview: Here
SEC Preview: Here
Big 10 Preview: Here
Pac-12 Preview: Here
American Athletic Preview: Here
A-10 Preview: Here
We went over the top 8 conferences in college basketball. That means we still have 24 to go. These 24 are typically one-bid leagues, otherwise known as mid majors. Instead of doing a detailed conference breakdown for each one, we’re going to put it all together. I’ll give you my guess at the winner of each conference, if the conference can get more than one bid into the NCAA Tournament and a few tidbits about the teams/players to watch. Mid major basketball is a ton of fun and it’s worth checking out so you know what Cinderella to cheer for come March. We’ll also do a quick mid major power rankings and mid major All-Americans.
Mountain West
Bids: 2 (Nevada, San Diego State)
Champion: Nevada
The Mountain West is one of those conferences looking to rebound. They were similar to the A-10 in the sense of people thought they could be above the mid-major level and be in the middle ground. However, the lack of success San Diego State has had recently has put that back. The Aztecs will be back this year, but this is the year to watch out for Nevada. The Wolf Pack, which has become Transfer U now, bring back Jordan Caroline and Elijah Foster. They also get the Martin twins eligible this year after transferring from NC State. This league is going to a ton of fun again with players like Kobe McEwan, Chandler Hutchinson, Brandon McCoy and Trey Kell.
Missouri Valley Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Loyola
The Missouri Valley is going to take a step back this year. That’s what happens when you lose a dominant program like Wichita State, especially in a year where the conference was down. Not to mention the second best team from last year (Illinois State) graduated most of its team and is expected to fall back in the standings. The MVC is now officially a 1 bid league with the loss of Wichita State. It also means we’ll see a new team in the NCAA Tournament and that will be Loyola, just edging out Missouri State. Loyola returns four guys who averaged at least 10 per game last year and will start all juniors and seniors. In a conference like this, that pays off. They are a team that looks to beat you from deep as they shot 39% last year as a team. Something that can be dangerous in the one-game playoff that is the NCAA Tournament.
Colonial Athletic Association
Bids: 1
Champion: College of Charleston
The CAA has become one of my favorite mid major conferences as of late. Part of that was due to Kevin Keatts and his uptempo style at UNCW. The other part is simply the talent that’s in this conference. Teams like Charleston, UNCW, Northeastern and Hofstra has had talent through the years. This year though the conference should be owned by Charleston. The Cougars finished second last year and return pretty much everyone from that team including the trio of Joe Chealey, Jarrell Brantley and Grant Riller who combined to average 45.1 points per game last year. Charleston will be one of my mid major teams to watch a lot of this year for sure.
West Coast Conference
Bids: 2 (St. Mary’s, Gonzaga)
Champion: St. Mary’s
I sort of hate calling these guys mid-majors (they will be left off of rankings/All-American teams) because these two programs aren’t anymore. Hell, even BYU can’t be considered a mid major. That said this is still a two bid league as both St. Mary’s and Gonzaga are ranked in the top-25 to start the season. St. Mary’s has one of the best inside-out combos and PnR games thanks to Jock Landale and Emmett Naar. Gonzaga loses a ton from last year’s title game team but will still have Johnathan Williams, Silas Melson and Josh Perkins to rely on. St. Mary’s will continue to be one of the most efficient teams in the country as they’ll bleed the clock run guys off of a million screens and then finally let Landale go to work in the post. It’s really a thing of beauty and what Randy Bennett has done out there does not get talked about enough.
Ivy League
Bids: 1
Champion: Yale
This is going to be close to a two-bid league for the Ivy League. Both Yale and Harvard are really good teams and the second year of the Ivy League Tournament will be a ton of fun when you throw in Princeton and a fourth team. The race between Makai Mason and Bryce Aiken for Player of the Year will be one of the more intriguing ones in the country as well. I’m going to give the slight edge to Yale over Harvard here because of the top-6. Getting Mason back from a broken foot (he’s transferring to Baylor after this year too) completely changes how Yale looks on the offensive side of the ball. If you remember their win over Baylor, Mason was all over the place, beating dudes off the bounce. He’s going to destroy the Ivy this year. There’s also a little more balance on the Yale roster than there is Harvard, who will rely heavily on Aiken and Towns.
Sun Belt Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: UT Arlington
The Fun Belt is going to be just that this year. There are a handful of teams – UT Arlington, UL Lafayette, Georgia Southern and Troy – that can win this thing and no one will bat an eye. I’m going with UT Arlington though because they are the only team with true NBA talent on the roster. In a mid major conference there’s something about having a dude that can just take over the game and that’s what Kevin Hervey can do. Lafayette does return nearly everyone from last year, including three guys who scored over 10 a game. Hervey though is a 6’7″ senior who averaged 17.1/8.5 last year. He also has an excellent side kick in Erick Neal and two intriguing transfers in Davion Turner and Johnny Hamilton.
Southern Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Mercer
This conference is an absolute crap shoot this year. There are legit six teams that could win this thing and it’s just throwing a dart against the board here. I’m going to go Mercer though because I trust head coach Bob Hoffman and the fact they literally return everyone from last year. They are going to start five seniors – all of which averaged at least 7 per game last year. They have the ability to go nine deep in the rotation and have a guy in Ria’n Holland that they can lean on for scoring. That said, Furman returns nearly everyone. Samford has four guys that scored over double digits last year. East Tennessee State is always consistent. The conference tournament here is going to be a ton of fun as there’s no heavy favorite heading into the year.
Mid-American Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Ball State
MACtion, baby. The MAC is actually going to be deep this year, especially in the West division. The race should come down between Ball State and Western Michigan, but Eastern Michigan could jump in that top-2. All said, the West will likely have 4 of the top 6 spots in the conference with the East just having Buffalo and Kent State. I’m going to go with Ball State here though due to the balance on the roster. Tyler Parsons averaged over 15 per game last year, but they don’t necessarily need to rely on him to score. The starting five all averaged over seven per game last year and they’ll have two guys off the bench in Jeremie Tyler and Jontrell Walker who can add scoring. If you’re looking for a team that could possibly win this that no one is talking about, that would be Toledo.
Horizon League
Bids: 1
Champion: Oakland
Last year’s Horizon League Tournament was nuts. You had a Milwaukee team who was the No. 10 seed with a 4-14 conference record make the title game against Northern Kentucky – who was eligible for the postseason for the first time. This year you obviously lose Valpo to the Missouri Valley, but you still have an absolutely loaded Oakland team. Greg Kampe is an incredible coach and he’s going to thrive with Kendrick Nunn (Illinois transfer) this year. Before Nunn got kicked off the Illini he was averaged over 15 per game along with five rebounds. He gives Oakland that outside shooting threat and go-to guy that Kampe loves to have. After them, NKU is going to be a team to watch. They only lose one player from last year’s NCAA Tournament team and have a three-headed scoring threat in Lavone Holland, Drew McDonald and Carson Williams. Watching those two teams play is going to be all sorts of fun due to the offensive scheme and pace and space.
Summit League
Bids: 1
Champion: South Dakota State
All that matters here is Mike Daum. He’s an NBA talent, possible first round talent, who is the nation’s leading scorer that is returning to school. Daum averaged over 25 per game last year while also grabbing 8 rebounds. He’s a 6’9″ junior that can shoot at all three levels. I mean he shot over 42% from the 3-point line last year and will also beat you off the dribble. South Dakota and Denver will challenge South Dakota State here, but like I mentioned with UT-Arlington when you have a guy that’s as talented as Daum, I’m going to take that every time. What’s going to make SDSU even better this year is the addition of Brandon Key, a JUCO transfer who is a pure pass-first point guard. That means even more open looks for Daum.
Patriot League
Bids: 1
Champion: Bucknell
Bucknell is a really good mid major, as in they could be ranked at some point and I won’t bat an eye. They return everyone from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, including four guys who averaged over 11 per game. They are led by Zach Thomas and Nana Foulland who combined to average 30.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game. Last year the Bison were the best offensive and defensive team in the conference (Foulland was DPOY), so they don’t really have a weakness to exploit. The non conference is where I want to see Bucknell as they have games against VCU, Monmouth, St. Joe’s, Arkansas, Maryland and UNC. If they win a couple of those, you could see Bucknell as a top-10 seed.
Conference USA
Bids: 1
Champion: Middle Tennessee
This is another conference that’s going to be wide open and a ton of fun. Remember, Western Kentucky was supposed to have Mitchell Robinson and dominate this league. The Hilltoppers are still going to be really good as they have Lamonte Bearden, Dwight Colbey and Darius Thompson on the roster. They are actually my second pick behind Middle Tennessee here, who is led by Giddy Potts. Potts is a career 42% 3-point shooter who averaged over 15 per game last year. They also add Nick King, who played at Memphis and have plenty of experience as they’ve advanced to the Round of 32 each of the last two years. However, teams like Old Dominion, WKU and Louisiana Tech could all win this thing.
Western Athletic Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Grand Canyon
There’s a lot to love about this Grand Canyon team. The Antelopes are eligible for postseason play for the first time in school history and absolutely have the talent to get there. They are led Josh Braun, who averaged over 17 per game last year as a junior. They get help in the backcourt with Oregon transfer Casey Benson, who should be able to be a defensive threat and set up teammates on the offensive side. They have a strong rebounder in Keonta Vernon and a head coach in Dan Majerle that has been wildly successful. Majerle brings an NBA style offense to this team as they will run horns and basic NBA sets. If the outside shooting improves, no one can really touch this team in the conference.
America East
Bids: 1
Champion: Vermont
I absolutely love the America East. It’s my favorite mid major conference and has been for a long time. Part of it is that 11am Saturday Championship Game that just sets off an awesome day of gambling and not moving from the couch. The other part is teams like Vermont and Albany have been really good. That’s not going to change this year as Vermont is the favorite to beat Albany in the conference. The Catamounts have two guys in Anthony Lamb and Trae Bell-Haynes that could play in better conferences. They also have one of the best coaches in the country in John Becker (someone should have thrown some serious money at him) who also happens to consistently have one of the best defenses. Vermont is a team that will be a 12/13 seed and a popular pick for a first round upset.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Iona
Iona does lose Jordan Washington from last year’s team, but the group of Rickey McGill, Schadrac Casimir, Deyshonee Much and EJ Crawford is good enough to win this league. Monmouth should take a step back after losing Justin Robinson and Siena loses pretty much its entire team. One program that could upset Iona is Manhattan as they have three guys who averaged over 14 per game coming back. Iona is going to be the same as always. They are going to push the tempo, look to outscore you and have a loaded and deep backcourt.
Ohio Valley Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Belmont
Rick Byrd is a guy who doesn’t get talked about enough for his coaching ability. He’s turned Belmont into a consistent contender and should have another NCAA Tournament on his resume after this year. The Bruins do lose Evan Bradds and Taylor Barnette, but a starting five of all juniors and seniors with plenty of scoring balance helps alleviate that pain. If you’re looking for someone to replace Bradds, look at Amanzi Egekeze, who shot over 60% from inside arc and 38% from the 3-point line. He averaged 11.3 and 5.5 rebounds per game last year and should be the next great Bruin in line. Teams that can challenge Belmont are Murray State and Jacksonville State.
Big South
Bids: 1
Champion: Winthrop
I trust Pat Kelsey here. He’s the best coach in the conference and while he loses a lot of talent from last year’s team, he does get back Xavier Cooks and his 15 points per game. That said there are about 4 teams that can win this league with UNC-Asheville as a popular pick along with Liberty and Campbell. If you watched the Big South last year you know the name Chris Clemons from Campbell. He averaged over 25 per game and became a household name during the Big South Tournament. Winthrop will continue to defend well and then look to beat you on offense by speeding up the tempo and shooting from outside. Kelsey believes in turning teams over to 3-point shots, something that he’ll have again this year.
Big Sky
Bids: 1
Champion: Montana State
Another conference with an NBA talent on a team is Montana State and Tyler Hall. The guy has range well past the NBA line and and averaged 23.1 per game last year. The thing with Montana State though is he’s not the only one on the roster. Hall has help with Harald Frey (12.7 ppg) and Utah Valley transfer Konner Frey (14.1 ppg). This conference does have a strong top 4 in Idaho, Montana State, Weber State and North Dakota, so don’t be surprised if someone else comes out of here.
Big West
Bids: 1
Champion: UC-Irvine
It’s going to be a two team race between UC-Irvine and UC-Davis this year. I’m going to lean on Irvine simple because the history is there. The Anteaters have won at least 20 games in each of the last five years and won the regular season last year before UC-Davis won the conference tournament. UC-Davis does have Chima Moneke, who is the favorite to win conference player of the year after nearly averaging a double-double last year.
Southland Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Stephen F. Austin
The Lumberjacks (still one of the best mascots out there) finished second last year in Kyle Keller’s first season. They should win the conference this year as they return eight of the nine top scorers from last year including T.J. Holyfield. Holyfield averaged 11.7 and 7.2 per game last year and the balance on the roster is there. As I mentioned with eight coming back the depth is there as well, giving Keller a lot of opportunity to mess around with his rotation. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi could challenge SFA this year as they did beat them in the conference final last year.
Atlantic Sun Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Florida Gulf Coast
Dunk City is still around and they are still rolling years after the Sweet 16 trip. Brandon Goodwin is the main reason why this year’s team is the favorite to win as he won MVP of the conference tournament last year as a freshman. Goodwin averaged 18.9/4.5/4.1 last year. The scary thing is those numbers could all go up as a sophomore. Florida Gulf Coast is known for the backcourt with Goodwin, Zach Johnson and Christian Terrell, but they also get Michigan transfer Ricky Doyle to add some talent to that frontcourt.
Northeast Conference
Bids: 1
Champion: Fairleigh Dickinson
This conference got absolutely gutted by transfers this offseason. That’s a whole different story though as you can’t really blame the kids for wanting to transfer to the likes of Texas, Miami, Kansas State, Texas A&M, etc. However, it’s really brought this conference down a peg. If everyone returned, Mt. St. Mary’s would be the heavy favorite as they won the league last year and would have returned a good chunk of the roster. This year it’s wide open as Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis (PA) should compete for the title.
MEAC
Bids: 1
Champion: Hampton
It’s going to be a three team race for the NCAA Tournament this year as Hampton, Norfolk State and Morgan State can always this conference. I’m going to go with Hampton though, mostly due to Jermaine Marrow. He’s the leading scorer from a year ago averaging over 15 per game and is probably the best guard in this conference. I’ve always talked about how I trust teams with guards and in a weak conference like this, I’ll take Hampton there.
SWAC
Bids: 1
Champion: Texas Southern
Can you believe Mike Davis is still coaching at Texas Southern and has been really successful there? They have made the NCAA Tournament three of the last five years and while they do lose a couple of keys guys to transfer, they still have 5’7″ Damontrae Jefferson who averaged over 15 per game last year. If Texas Southern doesn’t make it, Alcorn State will be the winner here.
Mid Major All-America Teams
First Team
Mike Daum (South Dakota State)
Kevin Hervey (UT-Arlington)
Tyler Hall (Montana State)
Giddy Potts (Middle Tennessee)
Kendrick Nunn (Oakland)
Second Team
Chris Clemons (Campbell)
Nana Foulland (Bucknell)
Makai Mason (Yale)
Bryce Aiken (Harvard)
Trae Bell-Haynes (Vermont)
Third Team
Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
David Nichols (Albany)
Joshua Braun (Grand Canyon)
Brandon Goodwin (FGCU)
Rokas Gustys (Hofstra)
Mid Major Power Rankings
Again, not going to take the main 3 teams here in Gonzaga/St. Mary’s/BYU. But, these are the top-25 mid major teams for me.
1. Bucknell
2. College of Charleston
3. Nevada
4. UT Arlington
5. Middle Tennessee
6. Vermont
7. Oakland
8. Yale
9. Grand Canyon
10.. Florida Gulf Coast
11. San Diego State
12. Harvard
13. Loyola
14. Belmont
15. Iona
16. Ball State
17. Mercer
18. Western Michigan
19. Western Kentucky
20. Old Dominion
21. Albany
22. South Dakota State
23. Winthrop
24. Louisiana Tech
25. UL Lafayette