It was supposed to be a fluke.
George Mason's improbable Final Four run was, in many people's eyes, little more than a short-lived peasant rebellion.
But college basketball aristocracy beware: We've got a full-fledged mid-major revolution on our hands.
The month of November produced 47 mid-major victories over teams in the six major conferences. Six of those wins came against opponents ranked in the top 10.
Who ever thought that Kansas, ranked No. 2 at the time, would lose at home to Oral Roberts - a school created by a Christian televangelist? And what were the Vegas odds on Butler sweeping through Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga to capture the Preseason National Invitational Tournament? 500-1? 1,000-1?
Then things got even weirder.
Old Dominion dominated eighth-ranked Georgetown in D.C. Missouri State edged No. 7 Wisconsin on a neutral site. Wichita State beat two ranked teams - No. 6 LSU and No. 15 ranked Syracuse - on the road. And North Dakota State (an independent for crying out loud) shocked ninth-ranked Marquette.
As Jacobim Mugatu would say: "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here!"
In just one month, parity has prevailed in just about every corner of the country. Even the oft-forgotten western United States has been a breeding ground for bracket busters. Gonzaga, whose distinction as a mid-major is dubious at best, reached the final of the Preseason NIT by dominating No. 2 North Carolina. After losing to Butler in the finals, they bounced back by trampling Texas. Nevada, on the wings of its superstar senior Nick Fazekas (24.3 ppg, 13.3 rpg), cracked the top 25 in last week's rankings. And Air Force is soon to follow: The Falcons have beaten Wake Forest, Colorado, Texas Tech and Stanford by an average of 31 points.
Parity also exists locally. Dayton upset Louisville, Xavier beat Villanova and Miami beat Rutgers after taking Kentucky and Illinois down to the wire. Cincinnati, meanwhile, lost to Wofford.
By the month's end, four mid-major teams had infiltrated the rankings: Nevada (No. 24), Gonzaga (No. 22), Butler (No. 19), and Wichita State (No. 17). And for what it's worth, Butler and Wichita State were rated first and third, respectively, in last week's Ratings Percentage Index.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
It's totally absurd, and it's the greatest thing that's happened to college basketball since, ironically, the NBA implemented its 19-year old age minimum effective this season. The policy forces blue-chippers like Kevin Durant (Texas), Greg Oden (Ohio State) and Brandon Wright (UNC) to effectively make a one-year pit stop in college basketball before declaring for the NBA draft.
These NBA-ready recruits were to become the princes of the national powerhouses. They were supposed to help restore hierarchy and keep the George Masons of this world in the backwoods of college basketball.
But that just hasn't happened through the first month of the season. And here's why.
First and foremost, mid-majors hardly lose players to the draft and therefore are usually more experienced than the big boys. Kansas, although laden with talent, is led in scoring by a freshman and three sophomores. It faced an Oral Roberts team that is led by four-year starters Caleb Green and Ken Tutt. And on that night in Lawrence, Kan., the experience disparity transcended the obvious talent gap.
Air Force has four senior starters. Wichita State's six leading scorers are juniors and seniors. Butler's seven leading scorers are juniors and seniors. I rest my case.
Another theory is that maybe teams are better off without the NBA-ready blue-chippers. These guys don college basketball jerseys with "NBA" stamped squarely on their foreheads. And if there is any more forehead space, they include a clock that counts down to the 2007 NBA draft.
At the mid-major ranks, there are no bruised egos and no players with agents and shoe sponsor reps on their speed dials.
Mid-major players may not be trimmed with a five-star prep recruiting ranking. But if they fit perfectly into a system and eat, sleep, and dream basketball fundamentals, they'll get plenty of television face time come March.
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.