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At this point a year ago, St. Peters was 5-6 and ranked 228th in the NET. Little did we know that the Peacocks were about to start one of the most notable runs in college basketball history. There were other much better midfield teams that made it onto the NCAA Tournament field last season, but the one who made the most progress was St. He Peters.
The Peacocks entered the Elite Eight as the 15th seed and were the only mid-major team to reach the Sweet 16 (no, Gonzaga doesn’t count). The Peacocks’ season ended with him losing 69-49 to North Carolina in the East Regional Finals, but St. Peter’s run showed us what we love about Big his dance.
5th seed St. Mary’s, 7th seed Murray State, 8th seed San Diego State or a higher curb program are the safer bets if you’re looking to qualify for a mid-major team. prize. Appeal from St. Peters. But in the end, Peacocks made history as his 15th place finish, the longest in tournament history, past Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue.
We may not see this kind of spectacular performance in many years, but college basketball still has some quality midfield teams this season. In this week’s dribbling his handoff, our writers pick the mid-major programs they think are most likely to win. many 2023 NCAA tournament games.
Saint Mary (16-4)
Gales lost leading scorers Tommy Couse and Matthias Tas from last season’s team, which was seeded No. 5 in the NCAA Tournament and reached the second round. It should come as no surprise that famed coach Randy Bennett quickly reorganized and assembled another outstanding team. However, after such consequential personnel cuts, it is surprising that the St. Marys could have actually improved, and that this team made it to the second weekend of his NCAA Tournament. is not surprising.
St. Mary’s, No. 8 on the NET and No. 8 on KenPom.com as of Tuesday, is headed for the sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to CBS sports bracket science expert Jerry Palm. We are making good progress. Arguably, the biggest factor in Gales’ resilience is the play of freshman guard Aidan Mahaney. Ranked among the top 150 prospects in the country by 247Sports, Mahaney is playing like crazy. In his Loyola games against Marymount and San Francisco last week, he scored his 21st and his 25th and made 18 of 35 shots. Since starting in early December, he has scored 16.9 points per game on a 52.5% shooting percentage, including 46.4% marks from 3-point range.
The team is 10-1 with Mahaney in the starting lineup, with four losses this season for a combined 15 points. When the St. Marys lost to UCLA in the second round of last season’s Big Dance, the Bruins couldn’t pass up. However, Gales continues to display solid defense this season and, with any luck, will be named to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. — David Cobb
FAU (17-1)
Going into the 2022-23 season, FAU coach Dusty May posted a record of 66-56 in four forgettable seasons. Three of those four seasons ended with a winning record, not by much, and were rarely contenders for Conference USA races. But May and FAU caught the lightning bolt in the bottle in one of the best and least-discussed stories in the sport this season, with the Owls, in a 17-1 start, earning his third win on Monday for the first time in show history. We are trying to increase our relevance, including being ranked in the AP Top 25 of
No other team has an unblemished record of playing C-USA – in fact, no team has lost less than two games. regular season conference championship.
A record of 17 wins and 1 loss is no mirage. Metrics loves his FAU. In the NCAA Net Rankings, he is 13th (!), 35th in KenPom, and 34th in BartTorvik.com. This team has the merch to host tournaments and cause havoc in them. — Kyle Boone
Based on Tuesday morning’s CBS Sports Top 25 And 1, my first answer to this question was Florida Atlantic, which was in the daily rankings seven days before the owls entered the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time on Monday. am. The second answer is St. He is Marys. But, unsurprisingly, Cobb took Gales and Boone unsurprisingly took Owl. Now let’s move on to the third option, Boise.
The Broncos, led by Leon Rice, are back in form after losing four of the team’s top six scorers last season. Among them are top scorer Abu Kigab and top scorer Emmanuel Acott. The latter moved to Western Kentucky, where he is unlikely to appear in 2023. His NCAA Tournament considering Hilltoppers ranks him 3-4th in C-USA and 160th in NET. But Akot’s former teammates are doing well. After stumbling in his first three games and losing his two, Boise State has won 13 of its last 15 games, placing him 20th on NET and 27th on KenPom.com. rice field. The Broncos beat the Colorado team that beat Tennessee, the Texas A&M team that beat 4-0 in the SEC, the St. Louis team that beat Providence and Memphis, and the Utah State team that is in the top 50 in KenPom. .
Is it the best resume in the world?
of course not.
But CBS sports bracket science expert Jerry Palm’s current prediction of the Broncos as the 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament is a good enough résumé. The expected seeding would clearly improve if they avoided additional bad losses and added a Quadrant 1 win to seal his second straight win for Mountain West. It will probably be something like the 5th or 6th seed. If so, the Broncos would be on a realistic path to the Sweet 16. That’s amazing considering the program is still chasing its first NCAA Tournament win, even though he appeared in eight big dances between 1976 and last season. — Gary Parrish
Flashback from the first half of this season. Gonzaga had just beaten Xavier on his PK85 and was speaking with Mark Few at the event about his relief that he won 2-1. Few explained why this was the toughest non-meeting schedule he’d ever put together. They could play Kent State in a week, and that would be a nightmare. ”
Few people knew what he was talking about. The Golden Flash led Gonzaga for most of that game, eventually losing 73-66. In fact, Kent State’s only loss this season is to a 52-5 combined team of Gonzaga, Charleston and Houston. Against Charleston on the road, Kent State fell two. Arguably the best team in college basketball, Houston, Rob Sendelof’s team lost by just five. And almost stole the match against Gonzaga.
The Golden Flash are the best team in the MAC and the reason I chose them for this week’s question is their point guard play and defense. Kent State ranks in the top 20 nationally for defensive efficiency. It will come in March. We also have Cynthia Carey, who averages 17 points per night and he has five assists. Sendaroff said he has quietly made it since he enrolled at Kent State University in 2011. Not new to this school, a viable Cinderella candidate here. Remember 2002? — Matt Norlander
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