Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings: Saint Mary’s steals the No. 1 spot from Gonzaga

Before we begin, a quick word on the methodology to these rankings if you are unfamiliar: We do this similar to how the AP and USA Today conducts their polls, albeit on a smaller scale. We ask 10 voters to submit their personal power rankings of the 25 best teams from mid-major conferences. The No. 1 team on each ballot receives 25 points, the No. 2 team receives 24 points, and so on until the No. 25 team earns its 1 point. All of those point totals are then added together and sorted in order from largest to smallest to make up our top 25.

What have we done?

Last week, Gonzaga barely held on to its No. 1 spot after taking a loss at San Diego State. Saint Mary’s, Rhode Island, and St. Bonaventure all received No. 1 votes, with the Gaels coming the closest, finishing just five points behind the Bulldogs.

This week, Gonzaga held serve at home, defeating bad Pacific and Santa Clara teams. Saint Mary’s won a huge game at BYU. While all four voters who had Gonzaga No. 1 last week kept them there, enough people moved the Gaels up enough spots for them to overtake Gonzaga in the poll.

Last week:
Gonzaga: 240 points
Saint Mary’s: 235 points

This week:
Saint Mary’s: 238 points
Gonzaga: 237 points

“How did the Bulldogs lose three points?” you might be asking.

Here’s how:

Voter Cam Newton dropped Gonzaga from No. 2 to No. 3, not as a punishment but to make room for a Saint Mary’s team that pulled off a huge win.

Voter Pat Tonero dropped Gonzaga from No. 2 to No. 4, again not as a punishment, but to make room for Saint Mary’s and Rhode Island. After all, the Rams are suddenly back at full strength and on a roll.

And that’s it.

If you’re a Zags fan and you’re hoping to see your team back on top next week, watch out for the San Diego-Saint Mary’s game on Saturday. The Toreros are one of the quiet surprises of the college basketball season and could give the Gaels some trouble.

So, without further ado, here’s our poll for the week, with a shoutout to East Tennessee State and South Dakota State for working their way in.

Also receiving votes: Louisiana 20, UT Arlington 17, Bradley 13, South Dakota 12, Wyoming 12, Murray State 10, Lipscomb, San Diego 7, Northern Kentucky 5, UC Santa Barbara 4, Princeton 4, Albany 1.