Last week, as the start of college basketball season nears, the Associated Press released its usual preseason Top-25 poll. At the top were most of the expected: Florida, Duke, Illinois, UConn, Arizona, among others.
Nowhere among the 25 teams, however, was a mid-major program; the closest thing to one was Gonzaga at 15.
Six mid-major programs did receive votes: Saint Louis (13), VCU (12), Nevada (2), Grand Canyon (2), Utah State (2) and Santa Clara (1). So, we took those six and asked y’all who among the group is the most likely to appear in the Top-25 polls this season.
Here’s who took the top spot:
VCU, which per FanDuel, is +15,000 to win March Madness, is the pick per the voters. Phil Martelli Jr.’s Rams are expected to be among the best in the mid-major world, and after last season’s run that included a dynamite win over North Carolina in the Round of 64, it is easy to see why.
With returners like Lazar Djokovic, Nyk Lewis and Brandon Jennings, plus the portal additions of Creighton transfer Blake Harper and MTSU transfer Torey Alston, the Rams are set up well to keep things rolling.
Saint Louis spent seven weeks from January into March ranked in the AP Top-25 last season and climbed as high as No. 18 in the nation. This season, the Billikens are awaiting whether or not Robbie Avila will be able to play (as of publication, he is eligible) but are expected to continue last season’s momentum under Josh Schertz.
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Santa Clara and Utah State are known to ball knowers, and hopefully to anyone who has watched college basketball in the past five years, as two of the more consistent programs in the West. One — Santa Clara — does so with a consistent presence on the sideline with longtime coach Herb Sendek (he’s been there a decade!), and the other — Utah State — has had five head coaches in the Herb Era at Santa Clara. Two programs, drastically different coaching experiences, but each succeeding.
Rounding out our voters’ picks are Nevada and Grand Canyon. Nevada enters head coach Steve Alford’s Swan Song in a new-look Mountain West, featuring the aforementioned Lopes as arguably the top competition. Grand Canyon features what could be college basketball’s most expensive mid-major roster.