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NCAA Basketball: The mid-major favorites and darkhorses

By Doug Winkey

Mar 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; View of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders shirts worn during warm-ups prior to the game in the second round against the Syracuse Orange of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; View of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders shirts worn during warm-ups prior to the game in the second round against the Syracuse Orange of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 19, 2016; Providence, RI, USA; Wichita State Shockers Gregg Marshall walks off of the court following a loss to the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes in a second round game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Dunkin Donuts Center. Miami won 65-57. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2016; Providence, RI, USA; Wichita State Shockers Gregg Marshall walks off of the court following a loss to the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes in a second round game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Dunkin Donuts Center. Miami won 65-57. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

The mid-major NCAA basketball conferences are again packed with talent unknown to most of America.

The 2015-16 season consisted of schools outside the established conferences putting forth amazing efforts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Middle Tennessee State upset title favorite Michigan State, Yale took down Baylor, and Hawaii throttled California. There are enough quality programs still out there to make some major noise again during the 2016-2017 season, even if the names of the programs are different.

The Power Five conferences, along with the Big East and the American, are not on this list. We are going to focus on conferences that usually get no more than one NCAA bid. The biggest shockers last year came from the Big West, Southland, and Conference-USA. Some of those leagues could produce another Cinderella or two. It could also be someone completely different.

Because even I get very little chance to watch these programs, each conference will have a favorite and a dangerous outsider. Many are young and hungry teams trying to shock their respective conferences, but some are established squads that have been a step short for years. The variety of teams mean more rosters to study and appreciate. A true wealth of talent exists outside the power conferences.

Next: America East

Home/Mid Major Conferences