Mid-majors to remember come March

Akron may not have the star power and wins like several of the other teams on this list, but the Zips played both Louisville and West Virginia tough before going down. Loren Cristian Jackson is lethal from deep (shooting around 45 percent from three), as is pretty much everyone on the team. If Akron gets hot from behind the arc, the Zips will be a nightmare for whoever draws them in the tournament. 

Three of BYU's seven losses this season have come to San Diego State, Gonzaga and Kansas. The Cougars have one of the best scorers in the nation in Yoeli Childs. Childs was suspended for the first nine games of the season for agent-player violations when he tested the NBA waters last spring, and he missed a couple of weeks with a finger injury. He is currently averaging over 20 points and nearly nine rebounds per game, anchoring an offense that boasts the nation's top three-point shooting attack. 

Come tournament time, Dayton is usually thought of as the site of the First Four. This year Dayton is a legitimate contender for the national championship and features one of the nation's best players. Obi Toppin has captured the country's attention with his athletic play and is one of the favorites to bring home several Player of the Year awards. In a weird season where there doesn't seem to be a dominant team, Toppin is the kind of talent who could carry his team on his back to a championship. 

Let me just start by saying this: The Southern Conference tournament should be one of the best among mid-majors this March. Seriously keep an eye on it, as East Tennessee State, Furman and UNC Greensboro all are good enough to warrant at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament, while teams like Wofford and Chattanooga could make a run. Having said that, I like ETSU's chances of winning the SoCon. This is a balanced team offensively and is one of the better defensive clubs in the nation. The Buccaneers have won 11 of their last 12 games and won at LSU earlier in the season.

Yes, the Zags are technically a mid-major despite being in the forefront of the national championship race over the last decade. This version of Gonzaga has dropped just one game all season long: an 18-point loss to Michigan in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Zags don't boast elite wins (Oregon being their best victory) but have blown out WCC rivals BYU and Saint Mary's so far. The Bulldogs have the nation's second-highest scoring offense (averaging nearly 89 points per game) and should be a No. 1 seed for the third time in four years. 

The Flames are an experienced bunch that beat Mississippi State in last year's NCAA Tournament before losing to Virginia Tech in the second round. This team returned nearly everyone and heavily relies on its top seven guys in the rotation. Caleb Homesley leads the Flames in scoring and is the guy ou want taking the big shots. They also have several players who shoot the three well, including the 5-foot-9 Darius McGhee. 

New Mexico State has become quite the program of late and is expecting to get to the tournament and put a scare in an opponent. The Aggies have gone dancing in seven of the last eight years but haven't won a tournament game since 1993. Last year, they famously lost to the Final Four-bound Auburn Tigers in the final seconds of their opening round battle. Per usual, New Mexico State is disruptive defensively and gives opponents fits. 

Give it up for the Mean Green! Picked in many preseason polls to finish near the bottom of the Conference USA standings, North Texas  instead enters the final week of February at the top. After starting the season 4-7 (with losses to Dayton, VCU, Arkansas, Rhode Island and Oklahoma), the Green have won 14 of their last 16 games. Umoja Gibson and Javion Hamlet lead the way, averaging 14.7 and 13.8 points, respectively. 

The Panthers rely on their top five guys, all of whom average 26 minutes per game and are responsible for over 80 percent of the scoring. AJ Green leads the way with 20 points and three assists per game and is money from the foul line, while Trae Berhow is shooting over 46 percent from three. UNI beat Colorado earlier in the season and gave West Virginia all it could handle. When the Panthers get into the big dance, they tend to do some damage, winning at least one game in their last three tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 run in 2010.

Yes, a third West Coast Conference team is in the mix. The Gaels' methodical style of basketball tends to keep them in games but can work against them if they fall behind big (note the 30-point loss at home to Gonzaga). They don't turn the ball over, and they have a pair of top-notch scorers in Jordan Ford (20.8 ppg) and Malik Fitts (16.6 ppg, 7.4 rbs). The Gaels are typically a tough out and have won at least one tournament game in three of their last five appearances. 

As I write this, the Aztecs are still undefeated and have been bulldozing through the Mountain West. They are stout defensively, allowing less than 60 points per game, and have the kind of leader in Malachi Flynn, who can make the big plays. Flynn, who transferred from Washington State, leads the Aztecs in scoring, but they are one of the most balanced teams in the nation. 

No Mike Daum? No problem. Daum led the Jackrabbits to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments before graduating last spring. Even without the program's all-time leading scorer, the Rabbits haven't missed a beat. They currently lead The Summit League behind leading scorer Douglas Wilson, a JUCO transfer who was named the NJCAA National Player of the Year and helped Kirkwood Community College to the 2019 national championship. 

The Lumberjacks flew onto everyone's radar when they went into Cameron Indoor Stadium the day before Thanksgiving and beat Duke, ending the Blue Devils' 150-game home winning streak against non-conference teams. That wasn't just a lucky game either, as Stephen F. Austin has gone 23-3 thus far behind Kevon Harris, the program's all-time Division I scorer. The Lumberjacks are one of the top scoring teams in the country and are trying to get to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last seven years.

The Catamounts aren't a secret. They've been to the NCAA Tournament two of the last three seasons and four times in the last decade and are forever known for the opening round shocker over Syracuse in 2005. Senior Anthony Lamb is having another great season and will be in the hunt for the America East Player of the Year Award again. The defense is solid and should annoy any big dog it is paired against in the bracket. 

Wright State has the third-best scoring offense in the nation. The Raiders are averaging nearly 83 points per game behind one of the best three-point shooting attacks. This is a deep team, with four players averaging at least 11 points and nine players averaging at least 15 minutes per game. Center Loudon Love leads the way yet again, averaging 15.9 points and 9.5 rebounds this season. 

Give head coach James Jones a ton of credit for what he's pulled off this year. Losing four starters, including last season's Ivy League Player of the Year Miya Oni, had most people pegging Yale to drop to the middle of the pack. Instead the Bulldogs have surged to lead the league, with wins over Vermont and Clemson and close road losses to Penn State and North Carolina. The trio of Paul Atkinson, Azar Swain and Jordan Bruner have really stepped up to possibly win the Ivy League for the second straight season — a first for the university.