Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: 3 exciting mid-major programs to watch in 2021-22 season

By Cody Mitchell

JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 20: The NCAA March Madness logo on the floor during the NCAA Basketball First round practice session at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 20: The NCAA March Madness logo on the floor during the NCAA Basketball First round practice session at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
NCAA Basketball (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

In 2020-2021 saw a few mid-majors really take advantage of the most bizarre NCAA Basketball season we’ve seen in recent memory. And most of these teams had a common theme, chemistry. COVID really ravished teams that had a lot of turnover from the year before. With limited practices, there was never any real chemistry built. Meanwhile, teams that have played quality minutes together in years past fared very well.

Now the Atlantic 10, Mountain West, WCC, and Missouri Valley are considered mid-majors but no team from these conferences will be featured. I am looking at teams from the smallest conferences in the sport. Conferences that typically never get any at large bids and never get too much national exposure.

It’s unfortunate but making the NCAA tournament isn’t easy for nonpower six teams if you don’t win your conference tournament. Drake and VCU both earned at-large bids despite cutting down the nets. Drake won their play-in game vs Wichita State and VCU season ended abruptly as a player tested positive for COVID right before their matchup vs Oregon.

Now in this article, the mid-major teams we discuss are not real national title threats or teams you’ll see crack the top 25. However, these teams have a shot to crack the top 150 in KenPom and are honestly just going to be some super fun teams to watch especially if you’re a gambler. These teams probably won’t be at the top of their preseason rankings but should be real contenders to win their conference and earn an automatic bid to the big dance.

Home/Mid Major Conferences