NCAA Basketball: 10 Preseason Mid-majors to watch for 2018-19

Loyola-Chicago was the king of mid-majors this season, making it all the way to the Final Four. Which teams are capable of being the next Ramblers next go around?

The life of mid-majors has been hard recently pertaining to the NCAA Tournament, with more obstacles coming in their way of getting an at-large bid. This season was another example, with just three teams getting in without needing an automatic bid.

Those teams were Nevada, Rhode Island, and St. Bonaventure. In reality, there was a good chance that only one mid-major would have made it as an at-large, had Nevada beaten San Diego State and Davidson beaten St. Bonaventure.

The snubbing of both Saint Mary’s and Middle Tennessee eliminated even more mid-majors in the Big Dance. Still, schools like Nevada, Gonzaga, UMBC of course, and Marshall pulled off some great wins. Loyola-Chicago was the last one standing, making it all the way to the Final Four.

Now it’s time to take an early look into the 2018-19 season. So what I’m going to do is look at 10 mid-majors that should have a successful college basketball campaign, and potentially even make an at-large case of their own.

There will be four teams excluded in these rankings (Gonzaga, Nevada, Buffalo, and Montana. That’s because I had them listed in the preseason top 25, so there’s no point in being redundant.

But there’s still plenty of quality teams from one-bid leagues, who will be looking to become the next Loyola-Chicago.