NCAA Basketball: 5 mid-major squads with early 2022 Cinderella potential

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Atlantic Sun)

Fans know much has been said about Liberty basketball and top scorer in the nation, senior guard Darius McGhee, Jacksonville State basketball has quietly emerged in Atlantic Sun basketball as the team to beat though. They’re the lone unbeaten in the conference after defeating the Liberty Flames on the road 77-67 on Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard Jalen Gibbs exploded for 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field on Saturday afternoon to keep the Gamecocks unbeaten in a convincing victory over the leader in the Atlantic Sun East division. Gibbs went 5-of-8 from behind the arc to pace the scoring attack for Jacksonville State, but he wasn’t the only one as the team shot 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from 3-point land in the game.

Junior guard Jalen Finch had 16 points, six assists, and knocked down a 3-pointer and junior guard Demaree King knocked down three 3-pointers off the bench to the tune of 12 points along with three rebounds and three assists.

6-foot-7 hybrid wing Kayne Henry also went 3-of-4 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points as well. The Gamecocks will be an early Cinderella team to track in the Mid-Major ranks and have proved to be a formidable foe for the Liberty Flames in their inaugural season in the conference. They’ll look to add to that with their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 this year.