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 reached the Elite Eight as the 15th seed and were the only mid-major team to reach the Sweet 16 (no, Gonzaga not counted). The Peacocks season he lost 69-49, north carolina At the East Regional Final, Saint Peter’s’ run showcased the charm of Big Dance.
If a mid-major team could win, the 5th seed would have been a safer bet. St. Mary’s7th seed malay state8th seed San Diego Or there are any number of programs more engaging than St. Peter’s.But in the end, Peacocks strutting past kentuckyMalaysia, Purdue It goes down in history as the longest finish in tournament history, 15th place.
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.
Saint Mary’s was 8th on the NET and 8th on the NET. ken pom dot com As of Tuesday, he’s on track for the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to CBS Sports. Bracket science Expert Jerry Palm. 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 victory Loyola Marymount When San Francisco Last week, he made 18 of 35 shots from the field, posting 21 and 25. 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 Saint Mary Loses UCLA The Bruins were hard to miss in the second round of last season’s Big Dance. 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. It is number 13 (!). NCAA Net RankingsNo. 35 at Kenpom, No. 34 at BartTorvik.comThis 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. 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. west kentucky, given that the Hilltoppers are ranked 3-4th in C-USA and 160th in the NET, it is unlikely that he will make it to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. I’m doing it to 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 won colorado winning team Tennessee, Texas A&M A team with a 4-0 record in the SEC St. Louis losing team providence When memphisand the Utah The team is also in the top 50 on 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 just won Xavier At PK85, I was talking to Mark Few about his relief at going 2-1 in the event. 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 lost just three games this season to a team with a combined 52-5 record. Gonzaga, Charleston When houstonKent State fell two against Charleston on the road. At Houston, arguably the best team in college basketball, Rob Sendelof’s team lost by just five.
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. A viable Cinderella candidate here, not new to this school. remember 2002? — Matt Norlander
