UNT #2 on NBC Mid Major Rankings

KoldBeer · October 10, 2012

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/10/mid-major-power-rankings-the-top-15/

The definition of what, exactly, makes a “mid-major” program is one of the more contentious debates in college basketball.

Is it simply every program outside of the six conferences associated with the BCS? Does it have to do with the amount of money spent on the program? Or the history of successes of the program? Or the size of the fan base? Or who they are able to recruit?

To simplify things, we eliminated everyone from the BCS leagues, the Atlantic 10, the Mountain West, Conference USA and the top three programs — BYU, Gonzaga and St. Mary’s — out of the WCC. We feel it is more important to celebrate some of the little guys than it is to include teams on a list they — and their fans — want no part of.

So without further ado, here are our Mid-major Power Rankings:

1. Creighton: The Bluejays should not be a secret to anyone heading into the season. They are going to be ranked in every national poll that has any credibility and have a preseason NBCSports.com First Team All-American on the roster in Doug McDermott. Offensively, Creighton is one of the most entertaining teams in the country to watch, as they pass and shoot the ball as well as anyone in the country. But will they be able to get stops? Creighton ranked 178th in defensive efficiency, according to Kenpom, last season.

Player to know: Sophomore forward Doug McDermott averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 boards last year.
Can’t-miss game: Creighton kicks off the season against the No. 2 team in these rankings on Nov. 9th, but dates with Wisconsin (Nov. 23rd) and St. Joseph’s (Dec. 1st) are worth your time as well.

2. North Texas: Tony Mitchell is the reason that the Mean Green will have plenty of chances to play in front of NBA scouts this season, but there is more to this team than simply a potential lottery pick. Chris Jones and Jordan Williams should both be eligible after missing the second half of last season due to academics. Alzee Williams returns for another season, as does Oklahoma State transfer Roger Franklin. New head coach Tony Benford also adds former Marquette and Oklahoma-signee TJ Taylor. There’s a lot of talent here.

Player to know: Sophomore forward Tony Mitchell averaged 14.7 points, 10.0 boards and 3.0 blocks last year. He’ll be a first round draft pick.
Can’t-miss game: Mitchell vs. McDermott on Nov. 9th will be fun, as will a date with St. Louis on Dec. 5th.

UNT Five&Dime · October 10, 2012

Also:

t-8. Bucknell and Lehigh: It’s almost impossible to separate these two teams. They’re by far the two favorites to win the Patriot League, and while most are going to remember CJ McCollum and the Mountainhawks thanks to their upset-win over Duke in the NCAA tournament, they’ll be overlooking the fact that the Bison also return their top four scorers, including former Patriot Player of the Year Mike Muscala.
Players to know: The senior big man Muscala averaged 17.0 points, 9.1 boards and 1.7 blocks last season and will be one of the nation’s best mid-major big men. McCollum is a preseason all-american this season after averaging
Can’t-miss game: Lehigh plays at Baylor while Bucknell plays at Purdue on Nov. 9th. Then, on Jan. 5th, Lehigh is at VCU and Bucknell is at Missouri. But circle Jan. 23rd and Feb. 20th on your calender; that’s when these two square off

meangreener · October 10, 2012

So much publicity!

kalebschumann · October 10, 2012

So much publicity!

It's crazy all the publicity that we've been getting!

So weird and awesome at the same time!

MeanGreenTexan · October 10, 2012

This ranking is actually kinda shocking. There are some very awesome, very accomplished teams on that list that we are ranked ahead of.

If UNT gets more pre-season rankings like this, we may not get to fly under the radar into the preseason NIT, where I hope UNT breaks out and gets on everyone's mid major top 5 lists, and some AP votes.

meangreener · October 10, 2012

Say what you want, but all this basketball airtime will keep our attendance up in football but also in basketball.

Edited October 10, 2012 by meangreener

CMJ · October 11, 2012

Pretty awesome, though I have to say they removed a helluva lot of teams from the MM list that I wouldn't have.

Proud North Texan · October 11, 2012

why Not MAJOR program in the next couple of years??

TheTastyGreek · October 11, 2012

why Not MAJOR program in the next couple of years??

Budget.

The best, most consistent and neutral distinction of a "mid major" team that I know of is the red line: http://www.midmajority.com/redline

The site used to distinguish between CUSA as a whole and Memphis (and Gonzaga, Xavier, and a few others), so that the Memphis budget wouldn't skew the average and CUSA was considered a mid major (below the red line) league. They don't separate them any more... But CUSA will likely drop below the red line again next year when Memphis leaves and the incoming programs pull the average down.

TheTastyGreek · October 11, 2012

One other thing to take very close note of when looking at that list of quality, formidable teams... How many of them made the NCAA tournament last year without winning their conference tournament?

Even Drexel, which went 27-5 in the regular season and lost their conference tournament final to VCU when a last second 3 point attempt didn't land, was left home. RPI 66, only two of those losses came against teams with less than 20 wins on the year.

Just making the field in the NCAAs is very hard. What we're (potentially) capable of doing and what we're given the opportunity to do may not match up to everyone's liking.

Stan R · October 11, 2012

Just making the field in the NCAAs is very hard. What we're (potentially) capable of doing and what we're given the opportunity to do may not match up to everyone's liking.

Wait. Wait. Are you saying my dream of a 2016 Mitchell/Coleman presidency is not realistic? I guess I'll have to just recycle all 10,000 of those yard signs.