NCAA Basketball: Clemons, Lipscomb top mid-major performers of the week

Mid-Major Bracketology

In lieu of the usual Best Mid-Major Matchup section, the next month or so will feature a Mid-Major Bracketology breakdown here.

Normally, a section like that would consist of just a few lines: Gonzaga is in, the second-best WCC team is barely out, the Mountain West champs are looking good, and some low-major that is punching well above its weight most likely won’t be rewarded.

However, with a very soft bubble, a lack of high major teams wanting to take advantage of the soft bubble, and a number of legitimately good mid-major teams, this year is different.

The case could (and should) be made for several mid-majors earning at-large bids this season.

Gonzaga, Nevada, and Buffalo should all be in no matter what, but teams like Lipscomb, Wofford, and San Francisco among others have really made a push to be included this year.

The Bulls and the Dons hurt their case this week. Buffalo lost 92-88 at a solid Bowling Green team, while San Francisco fell 86-80 at Saint Mary’s. The Bulls should still be fine, but SF will probably need to win out to earn a bid now.

Lipscomb is 32 in the NET rankings, 2-3 against Q1 teams, 2-1 against Q2 teams, and have no bad losses.

Wofford is 27 in the NET, just 1-4 against Q1 teams, but a killer 7-0 against Q2 and Q3 with no bad losses.

These look like tournament resumes. Lipscomb’s biggest problem is its conference. Any loss in the ASUN outside of Liberty would be killer.

Wofford is in one of the tougher mid-majors. The SoCon has four top-100 squads (ETSU, UNCG, and Furman are the others), so a conference loss wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Other teams like Utah State, the SoCon quadrant, San Francisco, Hofstra, the OVC leaders, and a handful of others are in the discussion as well.

We’ll be following these teams and their chances in this section over the next month.