NCAA Basketball: Top-20 mid-major teams to buy stock into entering 2024-25 season

No. 16 - Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons

Jon Coffman has quietly made the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons a respectable foe in the Horizon League. Last season, the Mastodons got out to a blistering 13-2 start, finishing the season with 23 wins, marking the fourth 20+ win season of the Coffman era. 

Entering the 2024-25 season, the Mastadons will have their sights set on an NCAA Tournament appearance -- the first in program history. According to BartTorvik’s preseason rankings, the Mastodons will return over 80% of their returning minutes, headlined by the dynamic three-guard backcourt of Mastodons, Jalen Jackson and Quinton Morton-Robertson. With an experienced backcourt set in place, buy stock in the Mastodons as they look to secure its position at the top of its conference. 

No. 15 - Vermont Catamounts

Death. Taxes. The Vermont Catamounts winning 20+ games and sitting at the top of the America East Conference. In short, buying stock in Vermont is a very safe choice. 

Vermont, who had one of the more balanced rosters in college basketball last season, will return last year’s leading scorer in TJ Long. Shamir Bouges, who earned AEC All-Defense honors, is back as well as Illeri Ayo-Faleye, who took a major step forward last season.

From the portal, the Catamounts landed Shy Odom (Howard), who will expect to play significant minutes in the frontcourt. Bottom line, John Becker has a knack for developing talent. Many of its players -- either as transfers or from within -- consistently increase their numbers and usage year after year in the program. Now the only task left on the agenda is to break through in the NCAA Tournament -- and this may be the year the Catamounts do just that.