Mid-majors to watch in this year’s NCAA tournament

The lowly Colonial Athletic Association might get two teams into the NCAA Tournament. The league that sent George Mason and VCU to the Final Four before both departed for the Atlantic 10 has arguably the best low-major team in the country in the Cougars. Charleston is 28-3 with one loss to the then-No. 1 team in the country, a 1-point loss on the road against Drexel, and a close loss to Hofstra, and the Pride also won 16 of 18 in CAA play. Outside of that, perfection. Even if the Cougars don’t win their league tournament, they should be in. And they’d be dangerous after giving head coach Pat Kelsey a new 5-year contract on Monday that doubles his salary. Here’s your classic No. 12 seed that always takes down a No. 5 and makes a run.

Here’s another team that should be in the tournament field entering the final week of conference play, regardless of whether it wins the Conference USA Tournament or not. At 26-3, the Owls have two early-season games against Southeastern Conference schools that pop out with a loss to Ole Miss and a win over Florida. And through league play, FAU only has two losses, which is a tough task in any league. That consistency shows a team that likely won’t get rattled easily. And that bodes well to do damage in March.

The Mountain West is wide open and might have as many as four teams in the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State, Nevada, and Utah State all look impressive, but there’s something a tiny bit more interesting about this Boise State squad come March Madness. Tuesday’s matchup between the Broncos and Aztecs will go a long way in terms of conference-tournament seeding, but watch out for Tyson Degenhart, who will become one of the cult figures of this year’s tournament, much like Doug Edert a year ago.

Wait, who? Exactly! That’s the point of the Wolverines being on this countdown as the leaders of the 1-bid WAC. Utah Valley beat Oregon on the road earlier this year and it’s been the most consistent team in a conference with plenty of decently good teams. Being the champion of one of those isolated leagues can be scarier than a Charleston at times. The Cougars are the well-known enemy. The Wolverines have gotten no national buzz this season. And they’re damn good.

The Eagles had a bad start to the season. They lost their first three games, four of their first five, and five of their first seven. For a low-major team, that’s usually a sign of disaster and trying again next year. Until Saturday’s upset loss to Idaho State, Eastern Washington hadn’t lost since Dec. 13. The Eagles had won 18 in a row and 16 straight to open Big Sky Conference play. Winning that many in a row means Eastern Washington not only has multiple ways to beat you, but is efficient at finding them as well.

In a 1-bid league, winning the conference tournament is all that matters. And the River Hawks currently aren’t in a position to do that. They’re in second in the America East, the league that boasts infamous bracket-busters UMBC, behind Vermont. UMass Lowell has had a more impressive season overall, but has fallen behind the Catamounts in conference play. The America East Conference Tournament is held at campus sites, which gives Vermont an advantage. If the River Hawks can make the NCAA Tournament, they’ve got some Saint Peter’s-like swagger to them.

It’s a little strange putting the Golden Eagles on this list. Regardless of whether they win the Summit League Tournament or not, they should be in The Big Dance. If Oral Roberts doesn’t win that league tournament, a true bid stealer would emerge. The Golden Eagles have only gone undefeated in the Summit League. And very few of those games have been close. Oral Roberts was a few baskets away from making the Elite Eight in 2021 and has just as much upset potential this season.

Call me a homer? I don’t care. The Tigers are the mid-major version of North Carolina this season. They entered this season with the world of expectations of being one of the best non-high-level conference teams in the nation. Towson has fallen short of that mark by quite a bit. While the Tigers haven’t had a bad season at all, sitting at 20-11 overall and 12-6 in the CAA are disappointing marks for a team that was hoping to do damage in March. If Towson can finally live up to its potential with win-or-go-home stakes, it will be dangerous. If not, Pat Skerry’s future at the Baltimore-area school is no doubt in jeopardy.

The Braves might be one of the hottest teams in the country entering March Madness should they survive Arch Madness (that’s the cute name the Missouri Valley Conference calls the league tournament in St. Louis). Bradley won its regular-season conference title for the first time in 26 years after winning its last 10 games to hold off Drake. This is the quintessential MVC team, lots of experience and scrappy. And just like the Northern Iowas and Murray States of recent years that have been tough outs in the NCAA Tournament, Bradley is cut from the same cloth.

Remember Rick Pitino? How’s he doing? Only winning the regular season title of the MAAC with a team from New Rochelle, New York. Ignore the whole debacle at Louisville and he can still coach basketball well in the lower levels of Division I. The Gaels won a weak Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and should sail into the NCAA Tournament. The only question would be how prepared Iona would be for tougher tests.

The Tar Heels don’t deserve to be on this list. I just want to make fun of them. From No. 1 in the country to likely missing the NCAA Tournament? I just wanted to bring that to anyone’s attention that may have missed it. God bless.

If it feels like the Raiders have been pegged as bracket busters plenty in the last few years, that’s because they have been. Colgate has never won an NCAA Tournament game but has given a valiant effort in the last three tournaments. The Raiders are well on their way to doing that again this season with a 17-1 record in the Patriot League, and a 1-point loss on the road against American.