:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53408885/usa_today_8451628.0.jpg)
What if the NCAA Tournament consisted solely of teams from mid-major conferences?
It’s a question you’ve probably never asked, but a question I’ve attempted to answer anyway. Below, you will find an NCAA Tournament bracket made up only of teams from non-Power 5/Big East/AAC conferences.
“How were they chosen?” I can hear you asking because you’re ready to fight with me about seeds. I’m glad you asked! Because this is a meaningless waste of time, I simply took the 68 best mid-majors, according to KenPom, and seeded them accordingly. It’s imperfect, but I wasn’t about to get the Mid-Major Madness Staff together and make a selection committee.
That means there are no at-larges and no auto-bids, so the First Four is just the last eight teams in the field. I also took a few liberties with regions and placement to both keep teams as close to home as possible and avoid first-round conference matchups. That’s as far as I went with it.
Enjoy, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Mid-Major NCAA Tournament
| WEST | EAST | SOUTH | MIDWEST |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEST | EAST | SOUTH | MIDWEST |
| 1 Gonzaga | 1 Dayton | 1 Wichita State | 1 Saint Mary's |
| 16 NDSU/Rice | 16 Fort Wayne/Samford | 16 NC Central/Penn | 16 South Dakota/Wyoming |
| 8 Bakersfield | 8 Richmond | 8 UNC Asheville | 8 Ohio |
| 9 Akron | 9 Furman | 9 George Mason | 9 San Francisco |
| 5 San Diego State | 5 St. Bonaventure | 5 Belmont | 5 Bucknell |
| 12 UNC Greensboro | 12 Buffalo | 12 Florida Gulf Coast | 12 La Salle |
| 4 Nevada | 4 Princeton | 4 BYU | 4 Monmouth |
| 13 Towson | 13 Iona | 13 Georgia State | 13 New Mexico |
| 6 Colorado State | 6 Davidson | 6 College of Charleston | 6 Louisiana Tech |
| 11 Oakland | 11 Harvard | 11 Winthrop | 11 Saint Peter's |
| 3 UT Arlington | 3 Vermont | 3 UNC Wilmington | 3 East Tennessee State |
| 14 Missouri State | 14 William & Mary | 14 George Washington | 14 Toledo |
| 7 Boise State | 7 Valparaiso | 7 Chattanooga | 7 Loyola Chicago |
| 10 New Mexico State | 10 Lehigh | 10 Old Dominion | 10 Fresno State |
| 2 Middle Tennessee | 2 Rhode Island | 2 VCU | 2 Illinois State |
| 15 Santa Clara | 15 Northeastern | 15 Albany | 15 Elon |