Tweet
This article is out of Dayton:
In college basketball right now, mid-majors are at the height of fashion. BracketBusters has become a much hyped event on ESPN. The No. 11, 13, 14, and 15 ranked teams in the Associated Press Top 25 are from outside the six major conferences. After making his most recent “bracketology” selections for ESPN.com, columnist Joe Lunardi had to defend his choice to leave Old Dominion out of his projected bracket in favor of a number of major conference teams. At this point, I think it may be worth looking at whether the high popular opinion of mid-major teams has gone too far.
First, we have to understand how we got to this point, and that means the discussion has to begin with the forefather of all power mid-majors: the Gonzaga Bulldogs. When Gonzaga reached the Elite Eight in 1999 as a 10-seed, they were just another lovable Cinderella team, known mainly for being John Stockton’s alma mater. But then they made the Sweet Sixteen again in 2000, still as a 10-seed, and made it for the third straight year in 2001, this time from a 12-seed. After that, it was impossible not to take the Bulldogs seriously as a basketball power, but one team does not make a trend. Instead, Gonzaga essentially became an honorary major conference team. They became nationally ranked, their games went onto national TV, their players were allowed to be seriously considered as All-American and NBA Draft candidates and they were granted high seeds in the NCAA Tournament. At this point, Gonzaga pretty much agreed to stop overachieving and everybody was happy.
First, we have to understand how we got to this point, and that means the discussion has to begin with the forefather of all power mid-majors: the Gonzaga Bulldogs. When Gonzaga reached the Elite Eight in 1999 as a 10-seed, they were just another lovable Cinderella team, known mainly for being John Stockton’s alma mater. But then they made the Sweet Sixteen again in 2000, still as a 10-seed, and made it for the third straight year in 2001, this time from a 12-seed. After that, it was impossible not to take the Bulldogs seriously as a basketball power, but one team does not make a trend. Instead, Gonzaga essentially became an honorary major conference team. They became nationally ranked, their games went onto national TV, their players were allowed to be seriously considered as All-American and NBA Draft candidates and they were granted high seeds in the NCAA Tournament. At this point, Gonzaga pretty much agreed to stop overachieving and everybody was happy.
Comment