MID MAJOR REPORT AS BRACKETBUSTER WEEKEND LOOMS

by: Mr East

The NCAAB Tournament is on the Horizon, and the 6th annual Bracket Buster will take place Friday & Saturday, and give some of the bubble teams a chance to step up and get noticed. Let's take a look at a few of the premier matchups amongst the Mid Majors, that are either playing to improve their NCAA Tournament seed, or fighting for recognition.

The top matchup will be between Davidson and Butler. This game may lose some of it's luster as the Wildcat's Stephon Curry went down with an injury, and may or may not play here. If Curry does not play here, the Wildcats become very average without him. Butler graduated everyone from their NCAA Tourney team a year ago, and were expected to be in the middle of the pack in the Horizon. The Bulldogs have gotten immediate contributions from 2 key Freshman in Gordon Hayward, and Shelvin Mack, bot averaging over 10 a game. Matt Howard, the only holdover with lengthy experieince leads the team in scoring and rebounding. If Curry were healthy this game is a buzzer beater waiting to happen.

St. Mary's vs Utah St.

St. Mary's Tournament hopes may have gone up in smoke when they lost future NBA PG Patrick Mills. Mills was leading the Gaels over Gonzaga, when he suffered a knee injury, and the Gaels may really be hard pressed to find their way into the tournament now, as they have lost 4 of 6 without Mills. Utah St. just suffered their 2nd loss of the season to Boise St., and may have a big enough season to make the Tourney, even if they get upset in their conference tournament. The Aggies have a bigtime player in Gary Wilkinson, who averages 17.5ppg and 7.5rpg. This is a very good shooting team, that doesn't turn the ball over and beat themselves. Would love to see Mills healthy for this one, but without him, I think Utah St. wins this one.

Wisconsin Milwaukee vs N. Dakota St.

This isn't the best game, but one that I am most interested in. North Dakota St. is going to be a thorn in someone's side if they make it out of the Summit Conference Tournament. The Bison played USC to a 4 point game on the road, and held their own vs Minnesota on the road, and if they get a team on a neutral court, they are more than capeable of springing the surprise. Their top 4 scorers combined average to shoot over 40% from 3, and one hot game, and someone is going to make an early exit. I wish they got a better draw here, as Wisc-Milw. has lost 3 straight, and it isn't a game that will open many eyes if they win, which I expect they will.

Outside of Butler, Utah St., and Davidson, the Mid Major teams are a bit down this year, but there is always a dangerous Creighton team that is coming together fast, has won 7 straight, and is now 22-6 to watch out for. One more under the radar team that gets little notice, that could make someone get nervous is Arkansas Little Rock. The Trojans have rattled off 10 of 11, and they beat Creighton early in the season, and played Memphis to within 8 points on the road. They are a balanced team, and very deep, but may lack the go-to scorer to be a real threat if they make it through their conference tournament.

OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

BUFFALO 17-6

SIENA      21-6 or Niagara 21-6 out of the Metro Atlantic

The clock is ticking and it will be an exciting Bracket Buster weekend, enjoy the games! 

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