NCAA Basketball: Top 10 mid-majors from first month of 2018-19 season

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SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 16: Jon Elmore #33 of the Marshall Thundering Herd shoots against Markis McDuffie #32 of the Wichita State Shockers in the first half during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 16, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

6. Marshall Thundering Herd 5-2

A common thread for a good number of the teams on the list is that they won a game and last year’s NCAA Tournament and that goes for the Marshall Thundering Herd as well as they knocked off Wichita State in last year’s Big Dance.

Marshall is 5-2 and while their schedule thus far has been less than testing, they do have wins over Hofstra and William & Mary. Their lone loss came against the only power-5 school they have played so far, Maryland, which they suffered a 37-point loss.

What makes Marshall tough is they score, their 87 points per game ranks 17th nationally but they are also tough defensively. They average 10.6 thefts per game, 5th best in the country and they also are 58th best in turnover margin and force 20.14 turnovers per game.

As is the case with a lot of successful teams, Marshall is led by a pair of senior guards, Jon Elmore and C.J. Burks. Elmore is currently leading the team in points (21.4) and assists (5.3), while being 2nd in rebounding (4.7). Burks is second on the team in scoring (18.9) and Burks’ 2.57 steals per contest is 13th best in the country. Sophomore forward Jannson Williams is 3rd on the team in rebounding and has taken advantage in an uptick in playing time averaging 10.1 points per game.

December gets a little more challenging for the Herd with road tilts at Duquesne, Texas A&M, and Virginia before the start of conference play.

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