Mid Majors in College Basketball
This story by rivals.com got me thinking about mid majors in college basketball.
First, one must gain an understanding of what a mid-major team is.
In general, a mid-major basketball team can be considered, to me, any team that is in the class of Division I-AA schools. Examples from the area would be Winthrop, Coastal Carolina, SC State, Charlotte: I think you get the picture.
Anyway, I agree with the article that the term should no longer be used in the college basketball arena. Why?
For one, there are mid-majors out there that could beat some division I-A schools. Also, look at teams like George Mason University. This team made up of "who's thats" made the Final Four recently, beating teams like UConn. Keep in mind, UConn won a National Title not to far back.
Just look at this years top 25. As of February 19, 5 "mid-majors" (Xavier, Butler, Georgetown, Drake, St. Mary's) were competing with the big boys. Other numerous teams, although not in the top 25, were outplaying D1A schools.
Now I'm not saying all mid-majors will go out and beat D1A teams. It would be a tall task for a team like North Florida (2-23; Atlantic Sun), Sacramento State (4-20; Big Sky), or Stony Brook (5-20; American East) to beat teams like North Carolina (#3), Kansas (#4), or UCLA (#6)...but I've seen weirder things in this life happen.
But what would college basketball be without the mid-major you ask? What about the "cinderella story" of March Madness? What about the drama of seeing a team like Winthrop compete and have the ability to beat a team like Clemson?
Here is my question? Why does the slipper have to go to the "little guy?" Why can't a D1A team have a Cinderella-esc season? Would a team like South Carolina, a team whose most recent success includes back-to-back NIT titles, not be considered a Cinderella team if they went to the Final Four and beyond? What about La. Tech, Idaho, Northwestern, and other teams of that nature? Shouldn't they receive the same level of surprise and underdog support as a mid-major?
So maybe we can't get rid of the mid-major label, but maybe we can spread some of Cinderella's luck to some of the unlucky big boys, and girls, of college basketball.
First, one must gain an understanding of what a mid-major team is.
In general, a mid-major basketball team can be considered, to me, any team that is in the class of Division I-AA schools. Examples from the area would be Winthrop, Coastal Carolina, SC State, Charlotte: I think you get the picture.
Anyway, I agree with the article that the term should no longer be used in the college basketball arena. Why?
For one, there are mid-majors out there that could beat some division I-A schools. Also, look at teams like George Mason University. This team made up of "who's thats" made the Final Four recently, beating teams like UConn. Keep in mind, UConn won a National Title not to far back.
Just look at this years top 25. As of February 19, 5 "mid-majors" (Xavier, Butler, Georgetown, Drake, St. Mary's) were competing with the big boys. Other numerous teams, although not in the top 25, were outplaying D1A schools.
Now I'm not saying all mid-majors will go out and beat D1A teams. It would be a tall task for a team like North Florida (2-23; Atlantic Sun), Sacramento State (4-20; Big Sky), or Stony Brook (5-20; American East) to beat teams like North Carolina (#3), Kansas (#4), or UCLA (#6)...but I've seen weirder things in this life happen.
But what would college basketball be without the mid-major you ask? What about the "cinderella story" of March Madness? What about the drama of seeing a team like Winthrop compete and have the ability to beat a team like Clemson?
Here is my question? Why does the slipper have to go to the "little guy?" Why can't a D1A team have a Cinderella-esc season? Would a team like South Carolina, a team whose most recent success includes back-to-back NIT titles, not be considered a Cinderella team if they went to the Final Four and beyond? What about La. Tech, Idaho, Northwestern, and other teams of that nature? Shouldn't they receive the same level of surprise and underdog support as a mid-major?
So maybe we can't get rid of the mid-major label, but maybe we can spread some of Cinderella's luck to some of the unlucky big boys, and girls, of college basketball.
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