Mid-Major Basketball: Final top 30 power rankings for 2021-22 season
By Ryan Kay
No. 10 – Northern Iowa
Conference: Missouri Valley
Last Ranking: 17
Conference Tournament Finish: Lost to Loyola Chicago in the semifinals
Post Season Tournament: National Invitation Tournament
Tournament Finish: Lost to BYU in the second round of the NIT
Best victories: At St. Bonaventure (90-80), at Missouri State (85-84), at Drake (74-69), Missouri State ( 95-75), Bradley (78-65), and Saint Louis in the NIT (80-68)
Significate losses: At Arkansas (80-93), Richmond (52-60), Liberty in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (74-76), Vermont (57-71), at Loyola-Chicago (58-85), Wyoming in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (69-71), BYU in the NIT (71-90)
RPI Ranking: 74
KenPom Ranking: 91
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 105
Net Ranking: 100
Sagarin Ranking: 99
No. 9 – North Texas
Conference: Conference USA
Last Ranking: 4
Conference Tournament Finish: Lost to Louisiana State in the semifinals
Post Season Tournament: National Invitation Tournament
Tournament Finish: Lost to Virginia in the second round of the NIT
Best victories: 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), at Louisiana Tech (63-62), and Texas State in the NIT (67-63)
Significant losses: Kansas in the ESPN Events Invitational (59-71), Miami in the ESPN Events Invitational (63-69), UAB (63-69), and Virginia in the NIT (69-71)
RPI Ranking: 36
KenPom Ranking: 55
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 64
Net Ranking: 47
Sagarin Ranking: 80
No. 8 – UAB
Conference: Conference USA
Last Ranking: 3
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated Louisiana Tech in the championship game
NCAA Tournament: Yes, No. 12 seed
Tournament Finish: Lost to No. 5 Seed Houston in the first round
Best victories: 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)
Significant losses: At South Carolina (63-66), North Texas (57-58), San Francisco in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational (61-63), West Virginia (59-65), Houston in the NCAA tournament (68-82)
RPI Ranking: 45
KenPom Ranking: 51
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 49
Net Ranking: 46
Sagarin Ranking: 56
No. 7 – South Dakota State
Conference: Summit
Last Ranking: 5
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated North Dakota State in the championship game
NCAA Tournament: Yes, No. 13 seed
Tournament Finish: Lost to No. 4 seed Providence in the 1st round
Best victories: Bradley (81-65), Montana State (91-74), Nevada in the Crossover Classic (102-75), George Mason in the Crossover Classic (80-76), at Washington State (77-74), Oral Roberts (82-76), and at North Dakota State (90-86)
Significant losses: At Alabama (88-104), Washington in the Crossover Classic (76-87), at Missouri State (63-75), and Providence in the NCAA tournament (57-66)
RPI Ranking: 38
KenPom Ranking: 78
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 67
Net Ranking: 65
Sagarin Ranking: 77
No. 6 – Vermont
Conference: American East
Last Ranking: 5
Conference Tournament Finish: Defeated UMBC in the championship game
NCAA Tournament: Yes, No. 13 seed
Tournament Finish: Lost to No. 4 Seed Arkansas in the first round
Best victories: At Northern Iowa (71-57), Appalachian State (65-63) in the Gulf Coast Showcase, and Yale (61-53)
Significant losses: At Maryland (57-68), Oakland (61-63) in the Gulf Coast Showcase, at Providence (58-68), lost to Arkansas in the NCAA tournament (71-75)
RPI Ranking: 48
KenPom Ranking: 57
College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 40
Net Ranking: 52
Sagarin Ranking: 85