NCAA Basketball: North Texas, Loyola Chicago among best mid-major teams
By Ryan Kay
No. 5 – Belmont
Conference: Ohio Valley
Last Ranking: 3
Best Wins: Furman (95-89), Drake in the ESPN Events Invitational (74-69), at Saint Louis (64-59), Iona in the ESPN Events Invitational (72-65), Morehead State (48-47), and Chattanooga (76-68),
Quad One and Quad Two Wins: Four (4-5)
Notable Defeats: At Ohio (80-92), at LSU (53-83), Dayton in the ESPN Events Invitational (61-63), Murray State (60-82), and at Morehead State (74-83)
Conference Record: 14-2
RPI Ranking: 53
KenPom Ranking: 65
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 49
Net Ranking: 56
Sagarin Ranking: 72
Total Points from Rankings: 295
No. 4 – UAB
Conference: Conference USA
Last Ranking: 4
Best Wins: New Mexico in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational (86-73), at St. Louis (77-72), at North Texas (69-63), Middle Tennessee (97-75), and at Louisiana Tech (83-76)
Quad One and Quad Two Wins: Four (4-4)
Notable Defeats: At South Carolina (63-66), North Texas (57-58), San Francisco in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational (61-63), and West Virginia (59-65)
Conference Record: 10-4
RPI Ranking: 71
KenPom Ranking: 47
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 46
Net Ranking: 49
Sagarin Ranking: 56
Total Points from Rankings: 269
No. 3 – North Texas
Conference: Conference USA
Last Ranking: 8
Best Wins: Drake in the ESPN Events Invitational (57-54), at UAB (58-57), UMass in the Basketball Hall Of Fame Classic (66-57), at Wichita State (62-52), at Florida Atlantic (54-51), and at Louisiana Tech (63-62)
Quad One and Quad Two Wins: Six (6-3)
Notable Defeats: Kansas in the ESPN Events Invitational (59-71), Miami in the ESPN Events Invitational (63-69), and UAB (63-69)
Conference Record: 13-1
RPI Ranking: 27
KenPom Ranking: 39
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 55
Net Ranking: 38
Sagarin Ranking: 73
Total Points from Rankings: 232
No. 2 – Loyola Chicago
Conference: Missouri Valley
Last Ranking: 1
Best Wins: Arizona State in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis (77-59), at DePaul (68-64), at Vanderbilt (69-58), San Francisco (79-74), and Bradley (78-71)
Quad One and Quad Two Wins: Five (5-5)
Notable Defeats: Michigan State in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis (61-63), Auburn in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis (53-62), Missouri State (69-79), and at Drake (68-77)
Conference Record: 13-4
RPI Ranking: 54
KenPom Ranking: 34
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 37
Net Ranking: 37
Sagarin Ranking: 45
Total Points from Rankings: 207
No. 1 – Murray State
Conference: Ohio Valley
Last Ranking: 2
Best Wins: Long Beach State in the Naples Invitational (80-43), at Morehead State (57-53), Middle Tennessee (93-87), at Memphis (74-72), Chattanooga (87-76), and at Belmont (82-60)
Quad One and Quad Two Wins: Four (4-1)
Notable Defeats: East Tennessee State in the Naples Invitational (58-66) and at Auburn (58-71)
Conference Record: 16-0
RPI Ranking: 40
KenPom Ranking: 29
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College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 31
Net Ranking: 26
Sagarin Ranking: 71
Total Points from Rankings: 197