Mid-Major Report: 2/27

For the second week in a row, the No. 1 team in the Mid-Major report has gone a disappointing 0-2, and the rankings have shaken again. I wrote about a month ago in a report about how incredible it was that we had so many mid-major teams delivering the season-long performances that they were: Murray State undefeated, Creighton, San Diego State, Harvard and Saint Mary's with two losses, Wichita State and UNLV with just three apiece. Now as we enter the final week of regular season play (some teams have already finished their regular seasons), many of those teams have come back to a more normal level. With New Mexico's losses, the best three teams from the Mountain West have six losses each. Saint Mary's and Creighton have five. Harvard has four. These teams are all still excellent, but those records are much more typical of the best mid-major teams in a given season. Should we be concerned about the fact that most of these teams have accrued half or more of their losses in the latter part of the season? In some cases, absolutely (Creighton, San Diego State). In others, I wouldn't fret too much.

As always, check out the initial mid-major report for information on how I make my ranking decisions.

Dropped Out: Saint Louis (0-1 last week lost at Rhode Island), Temple (1-1 last week, lost by 10 to St. Joe's), Harvard (1-1 last week, lost at home to Penn)
Outside looking in: San Diego State, Long Beach State, Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee, Weber State

10. Iona (23-6, 53rd in Ken Pomeroy's team rankings)
The Gaels are back! Having locked up the MAAC regular season championship (at 14-3, they have a two game lead with one game to play) on the strength of a four-game win-streak, Iona has done just about as well as it could to secure an at-large bid in the tournament. Unfortunately, I don't the selection committee will be inviting the Gaels unless they win the MAAC Tournament. Which is why everyone needs to root for Iona in the next week and a half. There are certain teams you can watch and know that they are the real deal, that they would play well against just about anybody in the country; Iona is one of those teams. It is the highest scoring team in the nation (82.9 points per game), shoots just under 50 percent for the season, and has the nations leading assists man in Scott Machado (10 assists per game). Iona plays an entertaining, up-tempo style and can score with anyone in the country. It is a team good enough to get an at-large bid, but I suspect its strength of schedule and lack of good wins will doom Iona if it does not win its conference tournament.

9. Virginia Commonwealth (25-6, 47 Pomeroy)
My dad has been blindly biased toward the Colonial Athletic Association for a couple years now. Certainly, it has been an exemplary mid-major conference, with two different teams making the final four and receiving multiple bids to the tournament several times in the past ten years. This year, my dad's love for the CAA is burning as bright as ever, but the rest of the country (myself included) is not sold on them. Particularly in terms of RPI (flawed, but it is a method of measure), the CAA looks pretty bad. But Virginia Commonwealth has now won 14 of its last 15 games (the one loss was on a 30 foot buzzer-beater to George Mason), and seems to be playing pretty well. In past years, a 25-6 record would have VCU as a lock in the tournament, no questions asked. But this year, Shaka Smart's team decided to play an extremely weak schedule, and lose the only games it did play against decent competition (Seton Hall, Alabama, Drexel). Still, looking at the bubble tells me the Rams should have done enough so far to qualify for an at-large bid. South Florida has currently played its way into a bid, according to Joe Lunardi; VCU beat USF by 25 early in the season. VCU also happens to be much hotter right now that USF has been at any point this year. But the weak schedule will kill them. In my mind, unless VCU is able to advance as far as the conference championship game (not making it there would mean another loss to a weaker CAA team), it will be overlooked come Selection Sunday.

8. Brigham Young (24-7, 38 Pomeroy)
The Cougars lost (unsurprisingly) at Gonzaga last week, but came back and closed out their season with a 76-66 win against Portland. While the loss to Gonzaga means BYU finished third instead of second in the WCC, the win afterward still rounded out a fine season post-Jimmer Fredette for BYU. The Cougars can score with the best of the country (79 points per game), and are a dangerous three-point shooting team, which is always something to watch out for come tournament time. They play one of the most up-tempo styles in the country and actually have a pretty good defense to go along with it (22nd in adjusted defense at kenpom). If the Cougars can pick up a win over Gonzaga or St. Mary's in the WCC Tournament, it would do wonders for the team's seeding when the NCAA Tournament is picked.

7. New Mexico (22-6, 15 Pomeroy)
Last week, after beating San Diego State and UNLV, I wrote that New Mexico finally appeared to be living up to its lofty ranking at kenpom.com. After losing to Colorado State and TCU this week, however, I don't think there can be much doubt that the Lobos are a team that has just played to Pomeroy's system well, and not a top 15 (or earlier, top 10) team in the country. New Mexico is still a good team, and could get back on track with some wins in the Mountain West Tournament, but you have to be concerned about a group that can take a two-game lead in the conference with just four games to play, then give that lead up in its next two games. I'm concerned about a team that can't close, whether its during an individual game or in a season-long competition. New Mexico had its shot to close UNLV and SDSU out, but couldn't get the job done against mediocre competition.

6. Saint Mary's (25-5, 40 Pomeroy)
The other Gaels return to the list at number six by closing out their season with wins at Portland and at San Francisco. Knocking St. Mary's off the list last week was perhaps a bit strong, but they had the committee worried with losses in three of four games. Picking up wins on the road and securing the West Coast Conference title offered some assurance that St. Mary's has mostly righted the ship. Winning the WCC Tournament or at least losing to Gonzaga in the finals would offer even more assurance that St. Mary's is back. This teams remains one of my favorite mid-majors as far as watching them play. The Gaels play a real team game, with solid players at every position. They have an excellent general in Matthew Dellavedova, and with all their experience, I believe the Gaels will correct their mistakes and be strong as ever heading into the NCAAs.

5. Creighton (25-5, 39 Pomeroy)
After a 102-74 thrashing of Illinois State at home, Creighton has not exactly been inspiring. Their seven games since that win to close out the season: Lost 65-62 at Northern Iowa, lost 65-57 at Evansville, lost 89-68 home to Wichita State, won 88-69 at Southern Illinois, won 81-79 home to Long Beach State, won 93-92 (OT) home to Evansville, won 61-60 at Indiana State. Sure, Creighton recovered from its three straight losses and got four straight wins, but the final three were all escapes. Needing overtime to beat Evansville at home does not inspire confidence. The Blue Jays will (and should) be comfortably in the NCAA Tournament (maybe a 6 seed?) but unless they show me something in the MVC Tournament, I will be avoiding them like the plague come tournament time. They are playing mediocre basketball at the wrong time.

4. UNLV (24-6, 31 Pomeroy)
After its disappointing two-loss week while at No. 1 in the MMR, UNLV did what New Mexico could not this week: beat the weaker teams in the conference. The Rebels beat Boise State and Air Force at home, and pulled level in the Mountain West standings. Who knows what is going to happen in that conference now? No team has been willing or able to step up and take the title for itself. And none of the top three play each other the rest of the regular season. So it will be all about who can beat the lesser teams. UNLV may have the toughest road of the three to winning out, with games against Colorado State (beaten New Mexico and SDSU this season) and Wyoming (beat UNLV earlier). It's time to really see what these MWC teams are made of.

3. Drexel (25-5, 45 Pomeroy)
When discussing VCU, we discussed the CAA. If Drexel does not win the CAA tournament and does not get an at-large bid, we will have our biggest snub of the year without question. The fact that scenario is even a possibility is insane to me. Even if we are accepting that the CAA is not as good as it has been in years past, it is at least still decent competition. And Drexel finished its season with 17 straight wins, most if it against that decent competition. What else is there a team can do to earn itself a bid than win incessantly. The Dragons are very good this year. Their two losses in the conference came early in the season when they were not at full strength. It's been almost two months since they suffered a loss. Give Drexel its due, please.

2. Murray State (28-1, 48 Pomeroy)
I was expecting it to take much longer for the Racers to climb this high in the MMR so quickly. But once again, they've been winning while everybody else (almost) has been losing. The Racers closed their season with wins at Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech, and now we need to root for them to win the OVC Tournament. Another team from that conference winning would be a disaster for the bubble, and that team would just be heading to the tourney to get thrashed. Just a couple more wins, Murray State. They've been doing it all year, so a couple more shouldn't be too much to ask.

1. Wichita State (26-4, 8 Pomeroy)
Are the Shockers really a top 10 team in the country? After seeing them and some of the teams surrounding them in the kenpom rankings (North Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, Duke, Georgetown), I'm starting to believe. The Shockers finishe 26-4 and won the Missouri Valley Conference on the strength of wins at Illinois State and home against Drake last week. The way they have finished this season, an MVC Tournament Championship would put them in the 3-seed tier in my mind. After losing at home to Creighton on New Year's Eve, Wichita has won 16 of 17, and looked good doing it. They start four seniors and a junior, and have six different players who can be relied on to score in double figures in a given game. Watch out, March. The Shockers look primed to make some noise.

Mid-Major Report: 2/21

After a fantastic Bracketbusters weekend, here we are again with the Mid-Major Report. Similar to last week, there have been some serious shake-ups regarding the rankings. With so many good teams playing each other, that was bound to happen. But the week also produced some extremely surprising results outside of Bracketbusters games, specifically in the Mountain West Conference. That is why we have a new number one team. Keep reading to see who they are. As always, refer to the first report of the year for information about how these rankings are achieved.

Dropped Out: San Diego State (0-2 last week, lost to New Mexico and Air Force), Saint Mary's (0-2 last week, lost to Loyola Marymount and at Murray State, have now lost three of four)
A very surprising duo to see fall from the rankings, considering two weeks ago I would have said neither one had a shot at dropping out. But then again, I didn't foresee results like these.
Outside Looking In: Iona, Long Beach State(had their shot at Creighton), George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth, Weber State

10. Saint Louis (22-5, 11th in Ken Pomeroy team rankings
The Billikens return to the Mid-Major Report after a six-week hiatus. They looked among the best mid-majors in the country early in the year, but then lost a couple games and couldn't string enough wins together to get back on top. Now, Saint Louis has won six in a row and nine of ten, including a win at Xavier during the stretch, to provide a little separation for itself from the teams behind it in the Atlantic 10 standings. The Billikens have been highly rated by kenpom.com's system the entire season (39th-ranked adjusted offense, 10th adjusted-defense, top-100 strength of schedule), and appear to be living up to their predictive billing now. With just three games left, the Billikens go on the road twice and play Xavier at home--not an easy road to the finish. But they look to be in good shape for a middling seed at the NCAA Tournament.

9. UNLV (22-6, 29 Pomeroy)
The Rebels were the number 1 team last week, mainly because I couldn't justify placing New Mexico ahead of them. Well, they quickly let me know I should have done just that by losing in overtime to TCU at home. And then they made sure to let the country know they weren't up to the task of being No. 1 by delivering their lowest offensive output on the season by 19 points, and getting trounced at New Mexico in the process. The high ranking from last week and win over San Diego State are all that barely kept the Rebels in the top 10. They are still a very good team, and Mike Moser is one of the very best players on any mid-major team in the country. The Rebels will recover, but last week was ugly.

8. Drexel (23-5, 46 Pomeroy)
The Drexel Dragons are making their debut in the Mid-Major top 10 on the strength of a 15-game winning streak (and they've won 21 of their last 22). After dealing with injuries at the beginning of the year, the Dragons are at full strength and atop the Colonial Athletic Association (tied with George Mason). The Colonial looks like a better conference than it has been given credit for this season, as it fared pretty well in Bracketbusters games (the top four teams in the conference all won, including Drexel by 20 at Cleveland State and Old Dominion at Missouri State). So at 14-2, the Dragons probably deserve more credit than they've been given so far. Despite middle of the road advanced metrics (66th adjusted-offense, 51st adjusted-defense), the Dragons looked very impressive Saturday and are hot as can be.

7. Creighton (23-5, 37 Pomeroy)
Creighton went 2-0 last week, but is barely in the top 10 after stealing its Bracketbusters game from Long Beach State. You can't help but feel like the Blue Jays would be gone if they had been unfortunate enough to have a road game instead of a home one. But they played at home, and with wins at Southern Illinois and over LBSU, they may have righted the ship. Sure, the Jays gave away the the Missouri Valley regular season, but they still have the best player in the conference in Doug McDermott, and with a run in the MVC Tournament, could play themselves back into good seeding in the NCAAs.

6. Harvard (23-3, 30 Pomeroy)
After the disappointing loss at Princeton last week, Harvard got back to what it does best (18th-ranked adjusted-defense), and gave up 42 and 51 points with wins over Brown and Yale last week. The win over Yale in particular was important because a loss would have meant the Crimson had fallen back to the pack in the Horizon League standings. But with the win it maintained a game advantage over Penn and extended its lead on Yale to two games. Harvard still has key games against Princeton and Penn (both at home) to come, so its fate is far from determined yet.

5. Temple (21-5, 31 Pomeroy)
It was a relatively pedestrian week for Temple, which enjoyed wins over A-10 middle-of-the-pack-ers St. Bonaventure and Duquesne. Still, two wins at this stage of the season always look good. With four games to play, Temple has one tough week (this week), and one that looks much simpler in closing out the season. The Owls play at LaSalle (a surprising 18-9, 7-5 in the A-10 this year) and then a rivalry game at St. Joseph's, which has also played above its expectations in the conference this year, posting an 8-5 mark so far. Both those games should be wins for Temple, but don't underestimate the upset potential of a road game against the other A-10 school from Philadelphia.

4. Brigham Young (23-6, 32 Pomeroy)
Yes, BYU has climbed to fourth in the rankings. Despite losing twice to Saint Mary's this year, the Cougars are in the top five, while the Gaels are outside the top 10. But guess what? BYU's record in the last two weeks is 4-0, and St. Mary's is 1-3. Sure, BYU's mark has come against lesser competition (at San Francisco (not bad) and at Santa Clara (terrible) last week), but these rankings are about who's playing well right now. The Gaels aren't. The Cougars seem to be. We'll find out just how well they're playing this week, when BYU visits Gonzaga Thursday. It will not be a game they are expected to win, but if BYU can pull off the upset, like New Mexico, we'll have to start taking them very seriously.

3. Murray State (26-1, 57 Pomeroy)
Everyone can go ahead and calm back down about whether the Racers are for real or not. Since its loss to Tennessee State, Murray State has gone 3-0 with an average margin of victory of 14 points. And if you didn't follow college basketball this weekend, Murray's most recent victory was a 14-point clubbing of Saint Mary's, in which the Racers took the lead and never looked back. For being the game most Bracketbusters aficionados were looking forward to, it was pretty anticlimactic. The Racers were really in control of a team that until about a week and a half ago I thought was the best mid-major in the country. So much for that. Even though kenpom.com will still never be able to fully give the Racers the love they deserve due to their run of close games and poor strength of schedule, they still jumped 11 spots in his rankings from last week. That's pretty significant this late in the season. And now, a running of the table has Murray back in the conversation for a top-5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

2. Wichita State (24-4, 10 Pomeroy)
In you were to ask me who was the most impressive team from Bracketbusters weekend, I would not hesitate in saying it was the Shockers. They appear to be living up to the lofty expectations kenpom.com has had for them for most of the season. On Saturday Wichita visited Davidson and matched up with a very impressive Wildcats squad (one that I suspect will be on these rankings most of next year; they bring all five starters back). After an extremely entertaining first half, the Shockers just imposed their will on Davidson en route to a 91-74 win. Wichita really looked excellent. It shot the ball extremely well, showed off its impressive depth and athleticism, and delivered a dominant offensive second half. These players--Joe Ragland, Toure' Murry, Ben Smith, David Kyles and Carl Hall, are as athletic a group as anywhere in America that I've seen this season. O, and not mentioned in that group is the Shockers' leading scorer and rebounder, 7-footer Garrett Stutz.

1. New Mexico (22-4, 9 Pomeroy)
In similar fashion to Wichita, New Mexico lived up to its advanced-metric hype this past week. At No. 2 last week, I said the Lobos would have to prove to me that they've changed since the beginning of the conference season. Well, prove themsevles they did. With a 10-point win at San Diego State and a 20-point win (and dominant defensive performance) at home against UNLV, the Lobos delivered the most impressive two-win week of any team in the Mid-Major Report this year. With losses by both SDSU and UNLV to other opponents during the week, New Mexico also seized control of the Mountain West regular season race, opening up a 2-game lead. They have the seventh-ranked adjusted-defense at kenpom.com and a star in Drew Gordon who is playing his best ball at the right time (17 points, 17 rebounds at SDSU, 27 points, 20 rebounds vs. UNLV). After a fantastic weekend of college basketball, New Mexico and The Pit sit at No. 1.

Mid-Major Report: 1/23

We're back on track with a Monday edition of the Mid-Major Report. There has been plenty of activity in the polls since last week's edition, and as conference play has kicked in and more teams have played tough home and road games, shakeups have continued. As always, refer to the first report of the season for information on how these rankings are determined.

After last week's edition, I received a request to list the teams that fell out of the rankings because it was difficult to keep track of which teams had lost their spots to newcomers. Well, ask and you shall receive. I'll add a quick blurb before the rankings start listing the teams that are just on the outside looking in, and the teams that dropped out and why. Without further ado, here they are.

Dropped Out: New Mexico (0-2 on the week, losses to UNLV and SDSU), BYU (14-point loss at home to Loyola Marymount)
Outside looking in: Dayton, Weber State, Nevada, George Mason, Southern Miss, Central Florida

10. Iona (15-4, 56th in Ken Pomeroy team rankings)
The Gaels of Iona are back in the 10th position after a week's hiatus. They hiccuped in a MAAC game against Manhattan (losing 75-72), but rebounded with 11 and 20-point home wins this week. The reason for the Gaels beating out other contenders for the final spot was due to their still-impressive offensive numbers. The Gaels are second in the country in scoring, first in assists per game, and fourth in field goal percentage. That allowed the Gaels to beat out Dayton, which only played one game last week.

9. Harvard (16-2, 38 Pomeroy)
Harvard makes its long-awaited return to the rankings as well this week. The Crimson has been hovering just outside the top 10 ever since its Jan. 3 loss at Fordham. After four straight wins however, Harvard is back. Harvard is among the country's best defensive teams, ranked 22nd in Adjusted defense on kenpom.com. The team also has an early season win over Florida State that is looking better and better as the Seminoles have beaten North Carolina and Duke in ACC play. While winning the Ivy League seems almost like an afterthought at the moment, if it weren't to happen because Yale or Penn got hot and went on a run, Harvard looks like it has an outside shot at an at-large bid.

8. Oral Roberts (16-4, 65 Pomeroy)
What's not to like about the Golden Eagles this season? With a nice win over Oakland last week, Oral Roberts extended its winning streak to 11 games. Three of the team's four losses are at West Virginia, at Oklahoma and at Gonzaga. They shoot the ball almost 48 percent from the field as a team, and have the 24th best adjusted offense in the country. The Summit League may not be especially tough, but a 10-0 mark in the league is never a number to sneer at. What's more, the Golden Eagles have already beaten the second place team (South Dakota State, 8-1 in the league) in their first matchup this year. This team is for real.

7. Middle Tennessee (19-2, 30 Pomeroy)
With double-digit wins against Arkansas State and at South Alabama, the train just kept on rolling at Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders have now won 11 in a row, and are 8-0 in the Sun Belt conference. Perhaps most impressively, their games last week were good enough to jump 13 spots in the team rankings at kenpom.com from the last Mid-Major report. If the 13 spots were from 250 to 237, it wouldn't be as noteworthy. But 43 to 30? That suggests this team is well worth giving a look. Middle Tennessee is a team worth rooting for the rest of the year, because in a weak year for the Sun Belt conference (only four teams over .500 on the season), it will almost certainly be a one-bid conference. If that team isn't Middle Tennessee, it would be a shame.

6. UNLV (18-3, 17 Pomeroy)
The toughest decision made in these rankings was between the No. 6 and 5 teams for the week. UNLV and Wichita State are sporting extremely similar numbers for the year. Ultimately, UNLV lost out due to a more recent loss (even though it was to San Diego State). Still, sixth right now is nothing to be ashamed of. the Rebels are still sporting one of the top offenses in the country (81.5 points per game, 18.7 assists per game, ninth best adjusted offense) and secured the biggest win of the weak among all our contenders for the Mid-Major report. With a 17-point win over Mountain West contender New Mexico (in which UNLV was in control most of the game), UNLV let us all know that their non-conference performance was no fluke, and they'll be looking for vengeance when SDSU comes to town later in the year.

5. Wichita State (17-3, 9 Pomeroy)
Wichita delivered two more wins (at Northern Iowa, and a 43-point thrashing of Southern Illinois at home) and has now won seven in a row, with its lone conference blemish coming at the hands of Creighton. They have some extremely impressive numbers on kenpom.com, beyond the ninth team-ranking (which was largely helped this week by the 43-point win). The Shockers are 13th best in both adjusted offense and defense, are top-40 in points per game, rebounds per game and field goal percentage, and have a decent strength of schedule at 76th. Unless they fall apart, they would appear to be headed toward an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. And with continued strong play and a possible win at Creighton Feb. 11, they could be looking at a Missouri Valley Conference title.

4. Saint Mary's (19-2, 25 Pomeroy)
It was a relatively easy weak of games for Saint Mary's (versus Pepperdine and at Santa Clara), but the Gaels took care of business as they've been doing all year and have now won nine in a row. Saint Mary's is 8-0 in the West Coast Conference this year, no easy feat. The Gaels are top-35 in points and assists per game and shoot 48 percent from the field. Upcoming is a tough game at BYU, a team that would figure to be hungry after a disappointing loss to Loyola Marymount.

3. Creighton (18-2, 27 Pomeroy)
A change near the top! If you've been a follower of this blog, you'll know that No. 3 is Creighton's lowest ranking so far. And while last week the Blue Jays went 2-0 and avenged their lone Missouri Valley loss of the season (a 77-65 loss to Missouri State, avenged 66-65 at Missouri State), they dropped another spot due to the significant recent achievements of the No. 2 team. No reason to fret for Blue Jays fans, though. Creighton is still top-10 in points per game, assists per game and field goal percentage, and is still in the driver's seat to win the MVC regular season.

2. San Diego State (17-2, 55 Pomeroy)'
The team rankings at kenpom.com have received a great deal of flack this year for rating Wisconsin in the top-five almost all year, even when the Badgers lost three out of four games. Pomeroy addressed the situation saying he was frustrated by it, but that the Badgers represented an outlier whose results have managed to "beat" his system this season. I believe that, which is why I still use his rankings and information in this blog and for these reports. However, I would submit San Diego State as another team that has unfortunately "beaten" (or perhaps more accurately, fallen victim to) Pomeroy's rating system. At 17-2 and 3-0 in the Mountain West with wins over UNLV and at New Mexico, I don't think there is any debate that SDSU is better than the 55th-best team in the country. The Aztecs have been the most impressive of any team on this list in the past two weeks, notching the biggest wins of any team in consecutive weeks. Their numbers still don't jump off the page at you (66th in points per game, 44th in rebounding), but that's exactly why we can't be a slave to those sort of things. For now, the Aztecs are a dominant mid-major team, numbers or not.

1. Murray State (20-0, 42 Pomeroy)
The Racers won two more road games last week, at Morehead State and at SIU-Edwardsville. Both of those teams are bad, but Murray took care of business, as it has done all year long. Now the last unbeaten team in all of college basketball, Murray State did last week what Syracuse couldn't: win on the road. And while Notre Dame is always pretty good at home, Morehead State is always going to be a tough rivarly game for the Racers (They have been the best two teams in the OVC since seemingly forever, although not this year). And for that, the Racers deserve some respect. Here, they'll get it.

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.