Mid-Major Report: 1/17

Happy belated MLK day, and in honor of Dr. King, how about a mid-major report after a big day of college basketball took place on the holiday. As always, refer to the first report of the season to get an idea of how I come up with my rankings.

This week features even more of a shakeup from last week's rankings. While the top has remained the same, by virtue of some team's in the top 10 playing each other and others having to play rough games on the road or just tough conference games in general, we had more teams drop out, and a couple new faces. Right, on to the show.

10. Oral Roberts (16-4, 58th in Ken Pomeroy's team rankings)
Congrats to the Golden Eagles for making the cut for the first time, as a nine-game winning streak has vaulted them into the 10th spot. Oral Roberts' numbers won't wow you (93rd in scoring, 95th in assists, 40th in field-goal percentage), but their adjusted offensive numbers at kenpom.com are 23rd best in the country, and they have done a ton of work on the road. After losing two of four earlier in the season (at Oklahoma and Gonzaga), Roberts hasn't lost, drubbing (shorthanded) Xavier in Cincy, and reeling off seven straight conference wins, five of which came on the road. Sure, Summit League competition isn't the best, but Oral Roberts has still put together quite a resume recently.

9. Brigham Young (15-4, 20 Pomeroy)
BYU returns to the rankings in glorious fashion, and primed to move up the list as it hits the easier part of its schedule. The Cougars have suffered four losses on the season, three of which were to Wisconsin, Baylor and Saint Mary's. Not too shabby. The problem? BYU hasn't put together a win-streak of more than four games. Sitting a four-gamer right now, the Cougars are primed to make a move without another key game coming for another 11 days. Then, they'll have a key rematch with Saint Mary's. It is worth noting that the Cougars are 11th in points per game, 14th in rebounds, 3rd in assists and 15th in field goal percentage. They are also extremely high in Pomeroy's rating system, mostly due to the fact that 14 of their 15 wins have been by more than 10 points.

8. Middle Tennessee (17-2, 43 Pomeroy)
Another week, another two wins for the Blue Raiders, who now haven't lost since December 7. With two road wins by double-digit margins, the Raiders even impressed Pomeroy's system, vaulting 14 spots from their positioning at the time of last week's ranking. Even more important though, they have stayed strong enough to vault up two spots in my mid-major report, finally vacating that 10th position. Unfortunately, it won't get any easier to stick around in these rankings, where losses can be hugely detrimental (just ask Iona, Wyoming and Southern Miss). Any loss in the Sun Belt would put the Raiders in a precarious position. Luckily, they have a chance to really prove themselves coming up, with a game at Vanderbilt Jan. 28. The Commodores have disappointed this season (as always) and might be bad enough for a Blue Raiders upset. If that happens, could Middle Tennessee be looking at an outside shot for an at-large bid. Accompanied with continued consistency in the Sun Belt, and I'd say yes.

7. UNLV (16-3, 19 Pomeroy)
Remember those teams who you should ask about losing being detrimental in this poll? Add UNLV to the list. The Rebels drop four spots this week, despite losing by just two points at San Diego State. That's probably a game they shouldn't be expected to win. But still, the loss is worse than what any of the top six for this week suffered. The Rebels are undoubtedly one of the finer mid-major teams in the country, and as the brutal Mountain West schedule plays out, I'm confident (as I'm sure Ken Pomeroy would be, with his system rating them 19th) that they will show that. They are still one of the top teams in the country in terms of scoring per game and Adjusted Offense. When the two match up well, that means a team is pretty damn good on offense. In all likelihood, they'll be back in the top five before long.

6. Wichita State (15-3, 15 Pomeroy)
Once again, the Shockers are Ken Pomeroy's most-loved team on the list. Their rating of 15 is shockingly high, aided this week by a 37-point destruction of Missouri Valley Conference bottom-dweller Bradley. Still, it can't be overlooked that Wichita State is top-25 in the country in terms of Adjusted offense and defense. A team that good on both sides of the ball is going to be worth paying some attention. Coming up tomorrow is a key game (for both teams) at Northern Iowa. If the Shockers intend to compete for a MVC title or for a spot in this poll, it's the type of game they'll have to be able to win.

5. New Mexico (15-2, 18 Pomeroy)
I've been somewhat hesitant to take the Lobos seriously. They typically field a strong team, but this year their strength of schedule (278th non-conference) was hard to ignore. But now New Mexico has won 13 in a row; its last loss was Nov. 24. That is pretty ridiculous. And with it's most recent win coming at a 14-3 Wyoming team, it's time to believe New Mexico is the real deal. Unfortunately for the Lobos, in the words of Tallahassee, it's time to nut up or shut up. Next week features games versus San Diego State and at UNLV. Yikes. New Mexico's scheduling in the Mountain West this year turned out to be brutal. They play Wyoming, SDSU and UNLV (the other top three teams in the conference) in three consecutive games twice. The good news, though? Next week, we'll know for sure what the Lobos are all about.

4. Saint Mary's (17-2, 22 Pomeroy)
It seemed unfair to leave Saint Mary's stuck in the fourth slot after two more wins, including a destruction of Gonzaga at home. But that is where the Gaels will stay for now, because everybody above them was pretty good as well. The Gaels' adjusted offense is rated 10th best in the country, and they score just below 77 points a game. They are also still one of the top teams for sharing the ball, averaging 17.5 assists per game, good for seventh. Meanwhile, point guard Matthew Dellavedova has stepped up his offensive game significantly. Previously more of a distributor and deferrer-to-teammates (new term), Dellavedova had a four-game stretch of scoring 16 or more points, including 27 against San Francisco and 26 against Gonzaga. If that kind of production keeps up, the Gaels are on another level of scary.

3. San Diego State (15-2, 69 Pomeroy)
As the third team in this poll, San Diego State's 69th rating at kenpom jumps out at you immediately. That is mostly due to weaker competition and close results in games. But winning is winning, and that's exactly what SDSU did against UNLV in the biggest game it's had this year. The Aztecs, who haven't lost since Nov. 30, have enjoyed most of their recent success at home. We'll see if their average offensive and defense numbers will hold up on the road soon enough, though, as SDSU plays three of its next four on the road, including at New Mexico and at Wyoming.

2. Creighton (16-2, 32 Pomeroy)
And now you know the next two. There isn't a whole lot to say about the Blue Jays that will sound different. They won two more games last week, at Illinois State (decent) and against Southern Illinois (not very good). They've now won six in a row. They are rated sixth in both points-per-game (82.7) and adjusted offense. They are second in the nation in assists and still first in the nation in field goal percentage. They also have one of the best players in the country on their roster.

1. Murray State (18-0, 38 Pomeroy)
Similar to Creighton, there isn't much new to report about the Racers. They dropped slightly from last week's Pomeroy positioning, due to relatively close games at home against some pretty weak competition. For now, however, that doesn't matter. The Racers are 18-0, and they're showing no signs of backing down. They still have well-above-average offensive and defensive numbers. With two road games next week, perhaps the Racers will get tested. But so far, so good.

Mid-Major Report: 1/11

I apologize for the irregularity as to what day of the week these rankings are coming out. The goal is to have it on each Monday, but it falls entirely on what my work schedule for the week ends up looking like. That being said, it should never be later than a Wednesday (which is today).

As always, refer back to the first report of the season for guidelines on how I make my decisions.

First, a couple notes on this week's rankings:
1. I set out in the first report that I would be including some of the larger non-BCS leagues like the Atlantic 10 and the Mountain West in my poll. Those teams have advantages over teams from the tiny conferences like the SWAC or MAAC, certainly, but they are still playing with rosters empty of McDonald's All-Americans and one-and-done type players. That being said, the point of this list is also to raise awareness about some teams that maybe a casual fan hasn't heard of. It's the type of thing that could be helpful picking an 8/9 game when you're filling out your NCAA bracket in March, or just to give you a little extra knowledge. And with that being the most important aspect to me, if the Mountain West continues its brutalization of this poll (three teams in last week, four this week), I will have to reassess whether or not I use that conference in my rankings anymore. Typically, the Mountain West has one or two teams doing very well, and others trying to put together a strong enough resume to get a bid in the tournament. The conference often has a third or fourth team on the bubble for the NCAAs. It is atypical, however for any conference, let alone the Mountain West, to have four teams with records of 14-2 or better. In fact, the Mountain West is the only conference in the country that can boast such a stat (the Big Ten (now Twelve) falls just short). That is why I'm confident (hopeful?) as the teams begin to play each other and hit a tougher schedule in general (Ahem, Wyoming and New Mexico), their records will normalize and it will make room for some of the other teams deserving of recognition.

2. Three teams fell out of the standings from being ranked last week: Saint Louis, Virginia Commonwealth and Harvard. You'll notice a similarity between all these teams: they lost last week. For VCU and Saint Louis, who were both in the bottom half of the poll, a loss is always going to hurt a team's chances of sticking around (VCU's two losses made it an easy decision). Perhaps for Harvard, though, dropping from fourth to nonexistent seems a bit harsh. Unfortunately for the Crimson, it had to happen. They lost at Fordham, a team that is by no means as bad as it has been the past few years, but is still just 7-8 on the season. And during the same week, tons of teams (unranked and ranked below Harvard in last week's poll) went on the road and won games against competition equal to or greater than Harvard. Keep in mind: it's tough to be in the top 10 of this poll. Using the larger mid-major conferences means there are a ton of deserving teams, and losses are always going to be hugely detrimental.

3. You may notice there are 11 teams in this week's poll. That's not a mistake. Call me a coward if you like, but I didn't have the heart to say one of the bottom four teams didn't deserve to be in. Last week's No. 10 team, Middle Tennessee, has probably the weakest resume of the group, but they were ranked last week, and went 2-0 since to improve to 15-2. They've now won seven in a row. Sorry, but the Blue Raiders deserve to stick around. Right, on to the rankings.

10. Middle Tennessee (15-2, 57 in Ken Pomeroy's team rankings) and Iona (13-3, 42 Pomeroy)
You just read the argument for Middle Tennessee: 15-2, seven in a row, undefeated in the conference and they still are one of the best shooting teams in the country; 49.5 percent on the year, good for 10th best. As far as Iona, they make the list because they are now 5-0 in the MAAC, and have won six of seven. Now that the Gaels have ended a long road trip (eight straight games away from home), they're showing that they're actually pretty good. Playing on the road is tougher than being at home. Iona could have taken an easier route and would probably be 15-1 right now. But they didn't, so they're 13-3. After a strong week of play, they'll get the credit they deserve, at least here. O yeah, Iona scores the second-most points in the country (85.9 a game), dishes out the most assists (20.2) and shoots it even better than their 10th-ranked compatriots (50.4 percent from the field).

9. Wichita State (13-3, 22 Pomeroy)
A 3-0 week with wins over Evansville, Southern Illinois and Illinois State has the Shockers back into the top 10 after a week's hiatus. They have rebounded well from the loss to Creighton, but will need to play at a higher level in the coming weeks to stay afloat in the Missouri Valley Conference, probably the second best non-BCS league in the country this year (competing with the A-10 right now for that spot). They are liked very much by Ken Pomeroy's rankings, with a good strength of schedule, and top-30 Adjusted-offense and defense.

8. Wyoming (14-2, 69 Pomeroy)
I wouldn't be surprised if this is the Cowboys' one and only appearance in the top-10 this year. They've played an uber-weak schedule so far (341 according to Pomeroy!), but that will change. They will see plenty of tough games in the upcoming conference schedule, starting with New Mexico this week. Wyoming is not especially impressive in any statistical category, but it is 14-2 on the season and has won 11 of its last 12 games. That is enough to earn them a spot at No. 8.

7. Southern Mississippi (15-2, 71 Pomeroy)
Another team that Ken Pomeroy's rankings are not crazy about, Southern Miss comes in at No. 7 mostly on the strength of its 11-game winning streak. The team is best in the Conference USA at the moment, and amidst a 2-0 week beat one of its top contenders, Tulane, on the road Jan. 7. If it wasn't obvious already, I'm impressed by road wins, especially in important games. For now, the Golden Eagles are hot, and they deserve a little recognition.

6. New Mexico (14-2, 23 Pomeroy)
Perhaps surprisingly, New Mexico is extremely high in Ken Pomeroy's rankings (coming a spot behind Wichita State) despite their horrific schedule strength. In the non-conference, the Lobos' opponents were good enough for 277th best, but their 15th best Adjusted-defense rating is going a long way. New Mexico also averages 17.3 assists-per-game, good for 10th in the country. Mid-majors that share the ball are always attractive to me, because they often don't have reliable 20-25 point scoring stars like some of the power-six teams. High assist numbers will generally mean the team is sound at moving the ball and therefore getting good looks--an indication that their success on offense stands a better chance of sustaining.

5. San Diego State (14-2, 74 Pomeroy)
I was a bit shocked to see the Aztecs had dropped 25 spots in Ken Pomeroy's ratings despite not losing a game, but then I saw their opponents last week. San Diego State beat up on the Hawks San Diego Christian (not a D-1 team) and then only managed to beat 0-16 Chicago State by eight points at home. (Chi-St. ranked 339 out of 345 by Pomeroy's numbers, meaning they might as well not be D-1 either). With an already pretty weak schedule, it is less surprising to see the steep decline in their computer ranking. The weak schedule, while it did not cause SDSU to drop, still hurt the team, as they were leapfrogged by the next team on the list. The Aztecs will have plenty of time to make it up, however, with a huge matchup with UNLV looming this weekend.

4. Saint Mary's (15-2, 24 Pomeroy)
"Gaels" becomes the first nickname to strike twice in the same week as Saint Mary's stayed strong this week and improved to 15-2 with a 2-0 performance. These Gaels have now won five in a row, and 13 of 14, with the one loss coming to still-undefeated Baylor. Not too shabby. They another team that shares the ball well, with 17.3 assists per game (ninth in the nation), and their Adjusted-offensive rating is 11th-best in Pomeroy's system. Saint Mary's jumped SDSU this week because their two wins (at San Diego and vs. San Francisco), while not especially impressive, are still significantly stronger than the two recorded by the Aztecs.

3. UNLV (16-2, 17 Pomeroy)
It gets boring from here on out in the poll if you've read before. None of last week's top-three did enough (or perhaps its better to say none of the three really did anything of note) to make any waves. In the next week, that should change. For now, however, Nevada Las-Vegas will have to stay content with being the highest-ranked Ken Pomeroy team to make the rankings. According to his ranking,, their AP poll rank, as well as UNLV's points, rebounds and assists-per-game averages, it is not a stretch to say they are the best mid-major team in the country. They'll have a chance to prove it this weekend, and the rest of the season against what looks to be a very tough Mountain West.

2. Creighton (14-2, 35 Pomeroy)
Creighton went 3-0 over the past week, even with a win over a pretty good Northern Iowa team. They've now won four in a row, and look like the class of the MVC with wins over the two teams that figure to be the Blue Jays' stiffest competition in the conference (Wichita and N. Iowa). They also are a top-10 scoring team in the country (81.9 ppg), second-best in assists 19.9 and top the nation in field goal percentage at the moment, shooting 51.1 percent from the field. With all that though, their four-game win streak is only one-fourth as long as the No. 1 team, meaning Creighton will have to live with No. 2 for another week.

1. Murray State (16-0, 31 Pomeroy)
Murray State beat Eastern Kentucky and Austin Peay in the past week to improve to a perfect 16-0. Neither of those wins exactly jumps off the page at you, but the Racers earned their No. 1 spot by being undefeated and it's going to take more than wins over Northern Iowa or Cal-State Bakersfield in order to dethrone the Racers. The Racers' wins (and probably eventually losses) will continue to look weak by virtue of the conference they play in. Keep in mind that according to Pomeroy, they played the 105th-toughest non-conference schedule in the country. Of the teams in this week's poll, only UNLV (96th) and Iona (43rd) had tougher-rated non-conference schedules. And Murray State was the only team to run the table in that span. The Racers have earned every bit of this ranking.