Mid-major Basketball: Top 30 power rankings heading into 2022 NCAA Tournament
By Ryan Kay
No. 5 – Vermont
Conference: American East
Last Ranking: 6
Regular Season Conference Standing: 1st Place
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated UMBC in the championship game
NCAA Tournament Automatic qualifier: Yes
Best Wins: At Northern Iowa (71-57), Appalachian State (65-63) in the Gulf Coast Showcase, and Yale (61-53)
Quad One and Quad Two Wins: One (1-2)
Notable Defeats: At Maryland (57-68), Oakland (61-63) in the Gulf Coast Showcase, and at Providence (58-68)
RPI Ranking: 52
KenPom Ranking: 59
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 46
Net Ranking: 59
Sagarin Ranking: 89
Total Points from Rankings: 305
No. 4 – North Texas
Conference: Conference USA
Last Ranking: 3
Regular Season Conference Standing: 1st Place (West Division)
Conference Tournament Finish: Lost to Louisiana State in the semifinals
NCAA Tournament Automatic qualifier: No
Post Season Tournament: National Invitation Tournament
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 (6-4)
Notable Defeats: Kansas in the ESPN Events Invitational (59-71), Miami in the ESPN Events Invitational (63-69), and UAB (63-69)
RPI Ranking: 31
KenPom Ranking: 48
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 57
Net Ranking: 46
Sagarin Ranking: 79
Total Points from Rankings: 261
No. 3 – UAB
Conference: Conference USA
Last Ranking: 4
Regular Season Conference Standing: 2nd Place (West Division)
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated Louisiana Tech in the championship game
NCAA Tournament Automatic qualifier: Yes
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: Five (5-3)
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)
RPI Ranking: 53
KenPom Ranking: 49
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 48
Net Ranking: 49
Sagarin Ranking: 54
Total Points from Rankings: 253
No. 2 – Murray State
Conference: Ohio Valley
Last Ranking: 1
Regular Season Conference Standing: 1st Place
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated Morehead State in the championship game
NCAA Tournament Automatic qualifier: Yes
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: Five (5-1)
Notable Defeats: East Tennessee State in the Naples Invitational (58-66) and at Auburn (58-71)
RPI Ranking: 22
KenPom Ranking: 27
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 30
Net Ranking: 21
Sagarin Ranking: 68
Total Points from Rankings: 168
No. 1 – Loyola Chicago
Conference: Missouri Valley
Last Ranking: 2
Regular Season Conference Standing: Tied for 2nd Place
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated Drake in the championship game
NCAA Tournament Automatic qualifier: Yes
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: Nine (9-6)
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)
RPI Ranking: 42
KenPom Ranking: 23
Next. Potential candidates to replace Will Wade at LSU. dark
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 25
Net Ranking: 23
Sagarin Ranking: 35
Total Points from Rankings: 148