Year in and year out, a mid-major team advances past the first round of the NCAA tournament by upsetting teams of the power conferences that are seeded higher. It is no surprise that conferences such as the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12, amongst others, get more teams selected for the tournament because of their strength of schedule and quality wins.??However, the mid-major teams who usually have to win their conference tournament to make the dance, are overlooked.
Each year it seems that a mid-major \Cinderella"" team surpasses the odds and defeats a higher ranked and more talented school.?? Kent State made a miraculous run to the Elite Eight last year by defeating Oklahoma State, Alabama and Pittsburgh, all of whom were ranked in the top 25, before losing to national runner-up, Indiana. Additionally, Southern Illinois advanced to the Sweet 16, while Creighton won its first round game against Florida. Furthermore, in both the 2000 and 2001 NCAA tournaments, Gonzaga advanced to the Sweet 16.
In a year where there is no clear-cut dominant team, it can be expected that one or more mid-major teams could advance past the first round of this year's tournament and even make a run at the Final Four. This year's teams that could make an impact on the tournament are headed by the Creighton Blue Jays and their player of the year candidate, senior forward Kyle Korver.
Korver is averaging 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals a game and has led the Blue Jays to an impressive 22-3 record and No. 17 national ranking.??Creighton is tied with Southern Illinois atop the Missouri Valley Conference and has defeated No. 12 Notre Dame on the road, while compiling a 15-0 home record.??
The Horizon league boasts two possible surprise teams in Butler (19-4) and UW-Milwaukee (21-5).?? Neither team has played an extremely difficult schedule, but UW-Milwaukee has played tougher competition with two marquee teams in Wisconsin and Georgia.??Most likely, this race will come down to the team that is playing better come the Horizon league tournament.??The University of Illinois-Chicago (16-7), led by dynamic junior guards Martell Bailey and Cedrick Banks, also has the ability to make a run in the conference tournament.
The Manhattan Jaspers, out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, are another mid-major team with the ability to pull an upset in the NCAA tournament. Led by junior guard Luis Flores, the Jaspers are poised to make a splash in the tourney with their high powered offense. Flores (25.0 ppg), has led Manhattan to a 19-5 record including upset wins over both St. John's and Seton Hall on the road.
Other teams such as Gonzaga (19-6), Southern Illinois (17-5), Kent State (17-5) and College of Charleston (21-5) have shown the integrity and all-around play that could land these teams tournament victories, but they must first win their conference tournaments in order to show off their skill on the national level.
In recent history, a mid-major team has excelled because they have had that one player who takes it upon himself to carry his team.?? Trevor Huffman led Kent State last year and Dan Dickau did it for Gonzaga in 2000 and 2001. The regular season is winding down and many teams find out whether they are contenders or pretenders.?? With players like Korver and Flores, Creighton and Manhattan are in good positions to win their conferences and advance past the first round of the NCAA tournament.
