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

21. UNC-Greensboro Spartans 12-5 (2-2 in Southern)

Two different kinds of close losses have plagued the Spartans in the last week. They fell in double-overtime at Wofford, 98-92. Then on Wednesday night, a Wes Miller technical foul sealed UNC-Greensboro’s fate at home against East Tennessee State, 64-57. Neither were bad losses in any way but it does hurt the Spartan’s already small chances of getting an at-large bid. And now they’re behind two games to first-place SoCon team Furman…. who they’ll play at their place this weekend. A loss will put UNC-Greensboro way behind the pack for the regular-season title.

20. Utah State Aggies 13-5 (2-3 in Mountain West)

The wheels have fallen off for Utah State, losing three straight conference games at the moment. The loss to unbeaten San Diego State is understandable but falling to both Air Force and UNLV on the road by 19 and 17 points respectively is a major problem. Health issues with Neemias Queta and Sam Merrill make the Aggies vulnerable but the absence of consistent help from the supporting cast puts them in a position where they can lose to anyone. Utah State’s non-conference performance keeps them barely on the list but they have bigger things to worry about… like keeping themselves in at-large consideration for the NCAA Tournament.

19. Kent State Golden Flashes 12-3 (2-0 in MAC)

With five players averaging in double figures, the Golden Flashes have one of the top mid-major offenses in the country. Senior guard Antonio Williams leads the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and assists (4.2 apg). Kent State opened MAC play with solid wins over Toledo and Bowling Green and with Buffalo struggling, the league is as wide-open as ever.