February 8, 2022
WATCH: Mid-major mania: The home stretch
Boosting resumes as March approaches
It does not take long to get caught up in statistics and breakdowns of the teams we are accustomed to seeing on our televisions or news feeds. However, some of the best players, coaches and programs across the nation are mid-majors. That is why today we bring you a snapshot of what’s happening in the world of mid-major women’s college basketball.
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It is important to remember that mid-major conferences are traditionally going to be one-bid leagues for the NCAA tournament. The teams that win their postseason conference tournaments will get the automatic qualifying bid and everyone else will be evaluated for an at-large selection. How will their resumes stack up? We must wait and see how the regular season ends up.
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Mid-major teams are splashed all over the national polls again this week. No. 22 BYU bounced back after a loss to Portland last week to beat their WCC rival Gonzaga, 62-50, over the weekend. No. 22 FGCU is consistently winning, but right behind them in the ASUN Conference is Liberty, who is 9-1 in league play and receiving votes in the AP Poll. Other teams receiving votes this week: Princeton, Dayton and Drexel.
All eyes will be on Stony Brook to see how they finish the regular season, currently leading the American East Conference. They will be unable to play in their conference tournament due to a ruling made by the conference after Stony Brook announced their decision to move to the Colonial Athletic Association effective July 1. Without an avenue to an automatic bid, will first-year head coach Ashley Langford’s team get an at-large bid? We will all be intently watching that development.
Some of the best mid-major stars are shining bright right now, including top-five scorers and rebounders nationally. And who doesn’t love players who can distribute and take care of the basketball? Those are the ones with fantastic assist-to-turnover ratios, like Kylie Jimenez of Nevada who currently leads the nation. Keep up the great work!
Written by Missy Heidrick
I am a retired Kansas State shooting guard and spent almost 20 years working in Higher Education and Division 1 athletics. I am currently a basketball analyst for television and radio, contributing correspondent at The Next, Locked on Women's Basketball podcast host, WBB Naismith Award board of selectors member and run my own consulting business. I am a proud mother of two and wife to a patient husband who is almost as big of a sports junkie as I am!
