NCAA Basketball: Top 30 mid-major rankings midway through 2021-22

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NCAA Basketball Belmont Bruins guard Ben Sheppard Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports /

Besides the traditional NCAA Basketball power five conferences and conferences with teams like Gonzaga and BYU from the West Coast Conference who are projecting having four teams making the NCAA tournament as well as the teams in the Big East, Atlantic 10, Mountain West, and American Athletic conferences, there are a large group of teams that are truly considered a “mid-major” college basketball division one team.

In these mid-major rankings, there are 236 eligible teams for these mid-major power rankings.

Questions about the mid-major rankings

Why are only 22 conferences in these rankings?

A couple of reasons why there are 236 eligible teams and 22 conferences in these rankings. The ten conferences which are the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, Big East, Pac-12, ACC, AAC, Mountain West, West Coast, and the Atlantic 10 that are not part of these rankings are not considered for these power rankings for various reasons. The biggest reason is that those ten conferences are very much respected and get more attention than the 22 other conferences.

Those ten conferences not included in these rankings also the top ten per average NET rankings conferences. The Atlantic 10 conference for example from top to bottom is considered a better conference than the 11th average NET ranking conference the Missouri Valley Conference and the MVC’s best team Loyola Chicago is leaving to join the Atlantic 10 this July for example.

Is the formula of the five rankings chosen for these power rankings and the total number the only variable to determine these rankings?

No, but a big factor for these power ranking is determined by the five rankings displayed in these mid-major power rankings. Beating a traditional power five conference team on the road matters like how Navy went on the road and defeated Virginia. A team like Bradley from the MVC did not defeat any team of significance on the road in non-conference play in comparison. Many of these teams do not have many quadrant one victories but some have some quadrant two wins and a decent amount of quadrant three victories.

Also, strength of schedule especially in non-conference play matters as well. Teams like Jacksonville State and Oakland played multiple traditional power five schools on the road and challenged themselves early in the season.

Are these ranking subjective and up for debate?

Yes, no power rankings are perfect and these power rankings were created on certain chosen criteria’s that are different from other power rankings. Ranking mid-major teams is always difficult and open for debate and conversation.

What are the five rankings used in these mid-major power rankings?

The five rankings are listed below.

Formula used to determine ranking

Rating Percentage Index (RPI)

Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings

The College Basketball Power Index (BPI)

NET Rankings

Sagarin’s College Basketball Ratings