We’re not even two weeks into college hoops season, but it’s never too early to start asking who’s gonna bust brackets come March. Here are your top 10 mid-majors in the season’s early going:
1. New Mexico (2-0)
The reigning Mountain West regular season and tournament champions lost a lot of talent from last year’s squad, but followed up a seven-point home win over Nicholls in the opener with an eight-point win over then-No. 22 UCLA in Boise Friday. Richard Pitino’s Lobos will have a chance for a second AP Top 25 win on Sunday against No. 22 St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.
2. Dayton (2-0)
Anthony Grant’s top six scorers in the early going are upperclassmen, led by fifth-year senior Enoch Cheeks’ 29 points combined in the first two games. UD’s win over Northwestern is one of only three so far for a mid-major over a team in the top 50 at KenPom. The Flyers have three games in which they’ll be heavily favored ahead of a clash with North Carolina on Nov. 25.
3. Memphis (2-0)
Credit to Penny Hardaway’s team for hitting the ground running despite the fact that seven of the eight players who’ve scored new to the program (the other transferred in last year). Former TCU and Tulsa transfer P.J. Haggerty has scored 25 and 29 points in his first two games as a Tiger, the latter pacing Memphis to an impressive win at UNLV Saturday. The Tigers have Ohio at home Friday, followed by a trip to San Francisco and then their Maui Invitational opener against UConn.
4. San Francisco (2-0)
Like New Mexico, the Dons had more trouble with a sub-300 KenPom opponent Cal Poly in the opener (86-78) than they did with a top-50 Boise State in game two (84-73). At this point in the season, being unbeaten and having a win over a top 50 KenPom team is more than enough to put you near the top of this list. The Dons have home games against Long Beach State and Chicago State before seeing Memphis next week.
5. Columbia (3-0)
Columbia had a top 50 KenPom win for a few days, until Villanova lost again and it became a top 60 win (Nova is now No. 59). The Lions’ other two games were against teams in the 340’s at KenPom and Columbia won’t face another opponent above No. 250 until Rutgers in late December. Over time, however, it will be tough for the Lions to hold this spot as other teams stack better wins.
6. Nevada (2-0)
The Wolf Pack have a pair of double-digit wins over teams in the top 120 at KenPom after beating Sam Houston and Washington in the first week of the season. Kobe Sanders has scored at least 20 points with at least 4 assists and 4 rebounds in each game and Nick Davidson also had 26 in the opener. They’ve got three more games against teams currently between 80 and 100 at KenPom coming up after Weber State Wednesday.
7. Saint Mary’s (2-0)
Saint Mary’s didn’t beat anyone in or right on the verge of the KenPom top 100 in the first week, but it beat a couple teams in the upper half of the rankings in Towson and Chattanooga. Augustus Marciulionis and Arizona transfer Paulius Murauskas each have 37 points through two games, the latter with a pair of double-doubles. The Gaels have a chance for their first top 100 win Sunday against Nebraska in Sioux Falls, S.D.
8. San Diego State (1-0)
SDSU’s only game so far was a five-point win over UC San Diego (No. 113 at KenPom) Wednesday. That will be its only game against a D-I opponent until it faces No. 4 Gonzaga next Monday. After that, the Aztecs will play No. 14 Creighton and Oregon (No. 35 at KenPom) in the Players Era Festival, with No. 23 Texas A&M on the other side of that event. A strong couple weeks would put them atop these rankings.
9. Charleston (2-0)
The Cougars have a couple wins over teams in the upper half of the KenPom rankings, good enough for them to claim a spot before hosting two teams on the fringe of the list this weekend. Ante Brzovic scored 61 points through two games. The competition will get a little tougher as the Cougars host FAU (Friday) and Liberty (Sunday) in this weekend’s Field of 68 Tip-Off event.
10. North Florida (3-1)
The Ospreys have a pair of top 100 KenPom wins already at South Carolina and Georgia Tech, but they couldn’t make it a trio as they lost at Georgia on Tuesday. With two more power conference road trips coming up (at Nebraska on 12/1 and Florida on 12/21), UNF will have a chance to rack up some solid wins. The question is whether UNF has done enough to gain an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if it fails to win the ASUN tournament. It’s not likely, but it would probably require a near-perfect regular season.
