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This is February.
And because this is February, the college basketball picture is starting to become clear. We’ve seen enough of conference play to know who the real contenders are, both for league titles and at-large consideration.
It’s not a surprise that the probable at-large teams are not only at the top of our rankings, but clearly agreed on by our voters. All nine voters ranked Saint Mary’s, Rhode Island, and Gonzaga in their top four and eight out of nine had New Mexico State in their top five. Middle Tennessee and Nevada, two more at-large candidates, appeared in everybody’s top eight, with no one placing Nevada worse than sixth.
Western Kentucky, which was another strong at-large candidate, took a bad loss at UTSA over the weekend, and dropped out of the top 10.
The entire ranking can be found below. Please do not @ us.
Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings: Week 16
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK | POINTS |
| 1 | Gonzaga (9) | 28-4 | 1 | 225 |
| 2 | Saint Mary's | 28-4 | 5 | 213 |
| 3 | Nevada | 26-6 | 3 | 200 |
| 4 | St. Bonaventure | 24-6 | 6 | 195 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 23-6 | 2 | 188 |
| 6 | Middle Tennessee | 24-6 | 4 | 179 |
| 7 | Loyola Chicago | 28-5 | 12 | 167 |
| 8 | Vermont | 26-6 | 8 | 162 |
| 9 | New Mexico State | 25-5 | 9 | 154 |
| 10 | South Dakota State | 26-6 | 11 | 131 |
| 10 | Murray State | 26-5 | 14 | 131 |
| 12 | Boise State | 23-7 | 10 | 122 |
| 13 | Old Dominion | 24-6 | 13 | 106 |
| 14 | Western Kentucky | 22-9 | 7 | 86 |
| 15 | Davidson | 18-11 | 19 | 73 |
| 15 | San Diego State | 19-10 | 24 | 73 |
| 17 | Bucknell | 24-9 | 21 | 70 |
| 18 | Louisiana | 26-5 | 15 | 68 |
| 19 | UNC Greensboro | 26-7 | 20 | 62 |
| 20 | Charleston | 24-7 | 18 | 55 |
| 21 | East Tennessee State | 25-8 | 17 | 48 |
| 22 | South Dakota | 25-7 | 22 | 40 |
| 23 | Montana | 23-7 | 23 | 35 |
| 24 | BYU | 23-9 | 24 | 32 |
| 25 | Belmont | 24-9 | 16 | 25 |
Also receiving votes: Northern Kentucky 18, Penn 11, UC Santa Barbara 10, San Diego State 8, South Dakota 7, Wyoming 2, Rider 1, Fresno State 1.