Top Mid-Majors

[UConnCat]

Graham Hays did a piece on the top mid-majors so far this season.

South Dakota State starts out on top of mid-major rankings

Number 1 is South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits are among the best mid-majors every year. They are 2-0 (win over GW in OT) and will play NC State, Louisville and Oklahoma before heading in to conference play.

Number 2 is Norther Colorado which currently stands at 3-0. Northern Colorado has wins over DePaul and LSU.

Number 3 is Green Bay. GB is currently 2-0 and last night beat Wisconsin 67-34. UW scored 11 points in the 1st and 4th quarters combined.

Number 4 is Middle Tennessee State which already has a win over Vanderbilt.

Number 5 is Western Kentucky, which has a win over Missouri and played Notre Dame pretty tough the other night.

Number 6 is Florida Gulf Coast.

Number 7 is New Mexico. I happened to watch the last quarter of New Mexico's dramatic one-point win over Marquette the other night. The Lobos are pretty good.

Numbers 8-10 are Belmont, Hampton and Western Illinois, respectively.

 

[HoopsFan21]

The top mid-major is none other than the UConn Huskies!!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Just a question on mid-majors. Some of the better ones have had really good coaches who then moved on to P5 teams. Is there a simple answer to the question of their success being based more on having a very good up and coming coach (like Kelly Graves) or having an unusual amount of talent for the school or conference (think Courtney Vandersloot or Elena Delle Donne)?

 

[Shades]

Number 3 is Bowling Green. BGU is currently 2-0 and last night beat Wisconsin 67-34. UW scored 11 points in the 1st and 4th quarters combined. BG and South Dakota State play on Saturday.

You meant Green Bay. They are looking formidable this year. Wouldn't take that team too lightly.

Northern Colorado results so far are a surprise. Have to wait and see if they are for real.

 

[UConnCat]

You meant Green Bay. They are looking formidable this year. Wouldn't take that team too lightly.

Northern Colorado results so far are a surprise. Have to wait and see if they are for real.

Yes. Wrong Green. I'll correct. Thanks

 

[nwhoopfan]

Just a question on mid-majors. Some of the better ones have had really good coaches who then moved on to P5 teams. Is there a simple answer to the question of their success being based more on having a very good up and coming coach (like Kelly Graves) or having an unusual amount of talent for the school or conference (think Courtney Vandersloot or Elena Delle Donne)?

Could be some of both. Gonzaga was good before Vandersloot came along, and they continued to be good after she left. Their high water mark certainly occurred while she was an upperclassman. They've also remained fairly good since Graves moved on to Oregon. They had a Sweet 16 a couple years after he left.

Delaware was a different situation that was almost entirely because of Delle Donne. I think you have to look at whether it was a very short run or sustained over a number of years. Green Bay is good pretty much every year and have been for quite a while, right?

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Northern Colorado is coached by Kamie Etheridge, an all-American pg on Texas' 1986 national championship team. Etheridge was the top assistant to Deb Patterson at Kansas State for many years. When K-State let Patterson go, Etheridge got the job at Northern Colorado and Patterson went along as an assistant. Patterson is now in an administrative position. Etheridge has also coached with usa basketball. Etheridge can coach guards. At K- State, the offense featured a lot of 3 point shots. Etheridge was probably as ready as anyone to know how to play against DePaul.

 

[cayenne]

Just a question on mid-majors. Some of the better ones have had really good coaches who then moved on to P5 teams. Is there a simple answer to the question of their success being based more on having a very good up and coming coach (like Kelly Graves) or having an unusual amount of talent for the school or conference (think Courtney Vandersloot or Elena Delle Donne)?

I follow Green Bay every year because they play very much like Uconn. They do have a good, and young, team this year. They came very close to beating ND last year in South Bend. Their coach, Kevin Borseth, left and went to Michigan for a few years but came back because he said “it’s home”. Most of their games are on ESPN3.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Could be some of both. Gonzaga was good before Vandersloot came along, and they continued to be good after she left. Their high water mark certainly occurred while she was an upperclassman. They've also remained fairly good since Graves moved on to Oregon. They had a Sweet 16 a couple years after he left.

Delaware was a different situation that was almost entirely because of Delle Donne. I think you have to look at whether it was a very short run or sustained over a number of years. Green Bay is good pretty much every year and have been for quite a while, right?

As I was posting, I was thinking that excellence for a few years may be based on their roster--perhaps some luck in recruiting--but sustained excellence was more likely tied to the coach. I think there are a few mid-major coaches who could be in the top 10-20 of all coaches. Kelly Graves was one of them. Teams that performed well over a longer time include Green Bay, Marist, Gonzaga, South Florida, and DePaul. Florida Gulf Coast may be one as well.