NCAA Tournament 2023: Mid-major teams with best shot at winning games

These two mid-major teams have aspirations to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

Oral Roberts

Best Wins: At Tulsa (77-66), St. Thomas – Minnesota (81-69), at Texas Southern (82-64), Missouri State (80-77), Liberty (84-70), St. Thomas (70-65), at South Dakota State (69-65), and at St. Thomas – Minnesota (95-88)

Notable Defeats: At Saint Mary’s (70-78), at Houston (45-83), at Utah State (85-95), at New Mexico (75-82)

Conference Tournament Results: They won all three games defeating North Dakota (96-80), St. Thomas – Minnesota (70-65), and North Dakota State (92-58)

NCAA Tournament Seed and Opponent: No. 12 seed and they will play No. 5 seed Duke

NET Ranking: 36

KenPom Ranking: 56

RPI Ranking: 21

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 83

Sagarin Ranking: 75

Quadrant 1 Record: 0-4

Quadrant 2 Record: 1-0

Chances and Odds to make it to the Sweet 16: 13%

Why Oral Roberts can make a run in the NCAA Tournament

Oral Roberts did very well on the court during the regular season by winning both the Summit League regular season and conference tournament. The Golden Eagles played very well at the Mabee Center where they were undefeated on their home court this season. Oral Roberts won all of their conference games as well as defeating Liberty and Missouri State in non-conference play. The Golden Eagles also have won an impressive 17 straight games and they have no Quadrant two, three, or four losses which not many teams can claim. Oral Robert’s only losses were on the road to Quadrant one opponents like Saint Mary’s, Houston, and Utah State.

Oral Roberts has proven in last year’s NCAA Tournament that they are more than capable of making a run to the Sweet Sixteen. The Golden Eagles last year defeated No. 2 seed Ohio State in overtime and then beat Florida in yet another upset before losing to Arkansas by only two points in the round of 16. Oral Roberts has a tough matchup with Duke who won the ACC conference tournament and has won nine straight games but the Golden Eagles are more than capable of pulling off the upset.

Kent State

Best Wins: Portland (77-65), South Dakota State (83-68), at Cleveland State (67-58), New Mexico State (73-63), at UTEP (47-46), at Northern Kentucky (79-57), Toledo (75-63), at Ohio (70-65), Ball State (86-65), Buffalo (74-68), Akron (89-84), at Buffalo (72-65), and Ohio (82-75)

Notable Defeats: At Charleston (72-74), at Houston (44-49), at Gonzaga (66-73), at Ball State (70-82), at Akron (55-67), and at Northern Illinois (76-86)

Conference Tournament Results: They won all three games defeating Northern Illinois (76-57), Akron (79-73), and Toledo (93-78)

NCAA Tournament Seed and Opponent: No. 13 seed and they will play No. 4 seed Indiana

NET Ranking: 59

KenPom Ranking: 71

RPI Ranking: 32

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 73

Sagarin Ranking: 65

Quadrant 1 Record: 0-3

Quadrant 2 Record: 2-1

Chances and Odds to make it to the Sweet 16: 15%

Why Kent State can make a run in the NCAA Tournament

Kent State has won nine of its last ten games and the Golden Flashes played well in the MAC tournament by defeating Akron and Toledo to win their conference tournament. Kent State has played a difficult schedule this season and it is why they are ranked in the top 35 of the RPI rankings. In the non-conference play, the Golden Flashes may not have won any quadrant one game but they played well in losses on the road to Charleston by only losing by two points, they played well against Houston but fell by only five points, and they competed against Gonzaga but ended up losing by only seven.

The Golden Flashes have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2017 but they had a magical run in the tournament in 2002 when they made it all the way to the Elite Eight. This Kent State team is led by senior guard Sincere Carry who was named MAC Player of the Year this year. The Golden Flashes are a defensive-minded team and it would not shock many if they were able to pull off the upset by defeating the Hoosiers.