Mid-major Basketball power rankings: SDSU, BYU and Richmond move up

Mid-major Basketball power rankings: SDSU, BYU and Richmond make gains

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 28: Matt Mitchell #11 and KJ Feagin #10 of the San Diego State Aztecs gesture to fans as they celebrate their 83-52 victory over the Creighton Bluejays during the 2019 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 10: AJ Green #4 of the Northern Iowa Panthers (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

24. UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos 12-4 (1-0 in Big West)

After a 1-3 start to the season, UC-Santa Barbara has since won 11 of 12 games, including the Big West opener against Cal Poly. Head Coach Joe Pasternack’s use of transfers has uplifted this team, led by Matt Freeman and Jaquori McLaughlin. With teams such as UC-Irvine and Hawaii and even Cal State Northridge with Lamine Diane back in the mix, the Big West regular-season battle should be a fun one. But the recent run the Gauchos have been on makes it hard to pick anyone else to win the league.

23. Northern Iowa Panthers 13-2 (2-1 in Missouri Valley)

Three games in Missouri Valley play, all 10 teams have already suffered at least one loss. That includes Northern Iowa, who fell at Illinois State in the league-opener. They do have home wins over both Bradley and Indiana State, with star guard AJ Green going for a career-high 35 points to beat the Braves. The Panthers have a great opportunity to create separation at the top of the conference if they can win at Missouri State this weekend.

22. Pacific Tigers 14-4 (2-0 in WCC)

It was hard to tell how good the Tigers were heading into conference play, having one of the softest scheduled throughout non-conference. Now, it’s hard not to be impressed with Damon Stoudamire and his team, holding the offensively talented Pepperdine Waves to just 56 points before scoring over 100 to beat Saint Mary’s in quadruple overtime. With San Francisco and Portland up this weekend, let’s see if the Tigers can keep it going.

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