The 25 preseason best mid-majors in college basketball

In less than two weeks, we will have regular season college basketball.

I’ll give you a second to enjoy the beauty of that statement.

Done? Good. With the start of the season comes endless rankings, predictions, preseason all-whatever teams, and more. The AP Poll and Coaches Poll have been released. KenPom has been updated. Now, it’s time to reveal our first mid-major Top 25 poll of the season, as decided by our writers and editors.

Before we get to the poll, a couple quick notes on the process:

• We plan on doing this every week, beginning two weeks from today (Nov. 14).
• The poll was voted on by six of our staff members, so it’s not just one of us who hates your alma mater.
• For the purposes of our site, a mid-major is a team in any conference other than the Power 5, Big East, and American Athletic Conference. That is subject to change, but for now, it is what it is.
• Unless you are a Gonzaga fan, there is a 100 percent chance you believe we have underrated your team. Guess what? We might have! If that’s the case, your team will prove it on the court. The results will speak for themselves.

Now, without further ado...

Mid-Major Madness Preseason Top 25

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Gonzaga (3)
2. St. Mary’s (2)
3. Rhode Island
4. Dayton (1)
5. Wichita State
6. VCU
7. San Diego State
8. Valparaiso
9. Princeton
10. BYU
11. Davidson
12. Monmouth
13. UT-Arlington
14. Harvard
15. New Mexico
16. Northern Iowa
17. UNC-Wilmington
18. Illinois State
19. George Washington
20. St. Bonaventure
21. Belmont
22. Akron
23. Chattanooga
24. Richmond
25. Nevada

Others receiving votes (in order): College of Charleston, Middle Tennessee, Ohio, Long Beach State, Siena, UAB, William & Mary, Florida Gulf Coast, Fort Wayne, Iona, Yale, Eastern Michigan, Oakland, North Florida, Vermont, Winthrop, Georgia State, Texas Southern, Little Rock