Postseason awards: All-Mid-Major Madness Third Team

Welcome to the postseason awards at Mid-Major Madness! As we enter the offseason, we’re honoring the best players, coaches, teams, and games from the 2019-20 season, beginning today with our All-Mid-Major Madness Third Team.

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Fatts Russell — Rhode Island

2019-20 stats: 18.8 PPG - 4.6 APG - 2.9 SPG - 35.7 3P%

He’s been a longtime favorite of the Mid-Major Madness staff, but Fatts finally broke onto the national stage in 2019-20. Despite his small stature, he proved to be one of the best guards at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. This year, he increased his scoring, assist and steal numbers for the third consecutive season, which were all career highs for the junior guard. He earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Defensive Team honors for his play while finishing third in points per game, second in steals, and eighth in assists per game.

Russell was integral in wins over high-major programs like Providence and Alabama, and also had a pair of 30-point games against West Virginia and VCU. For the season, he had 15 games with at least 20 points. His peskiness as an on-ball defender resulted in a steal rate of 4.5% that finished 15th nationally, and his 2.9 steals per game ranked third in the country. If he returns for his senior year, expect Rhode Island to be back in the mix in the Atlantic 10 following this season’s 13-5 record and third place finish.

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Terry Taylor — Austin Peay

2019-20 stats: 21.8 PPG - 11.0 RPG - 1.3 BPG - 1.3 SPG - 55.0 FG%

There are few players in the country that stuff the stat sheet like Taylor. Here’s the list of players that averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, one steal and one block per game this season: Terry Taylor and Cal State Northridge’s Lamine Diane.

The OVC Player of the Year finished ninth nationally in rebounds per game and 13th in scoring average as one of the 28 players in the country to average at least 20 points per game. His 18 double-doubles were tied for seventh in the country, and he finished in the top 100 in both offensive and defensive rebounding rate despite being only 6’5”. With Taylor leading the charge, Austin Peay won 20 games for the second consecutive season and were a game away from tying to for the regular season OVC title. Taylor scored in double figures in all but one game, and his 26-point, 23-rebound performance against Belmont was one of the 15 20/20 games in college basketball this season.

Expect Taylor’s senior season numbers to headline an Austin Peay team that projects to return almost all of its core next season.

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Carlik Jones — Radford

2019-20 stats: 20.0 PPG - 5.5 APG - 5.1 RPG - 48.8 FG% - 40.9 3P%

When it comes to efficiency with a heavy workload, Jones was in a class of his own this season. He was the only player in college basketball to average 20/5/5, and he did it without sacrificing his efficiency shooting the ball.

Radford won 20 games for the third consecutive season, which was highlighted by an upset against Northwestern in the opening weeks of the season. In that game, Jones had a game-high 20 points and seven assists to pull the upset in Evanston. Jones had three 30-point games, four double-doubles, and scored in double-figures in all but one game this season.

Jones took home Big South Player of the Year honors and was named to the All-Conference team for the third consecutive season. His 33-point performance in Radford’s loss to Hampton in the Big South Tournament tied for his career-high.

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Jordan Goodwin — Saint Louis

2019-20 Stats: 15.5 PPG - 10.4 RPG - 3.1 APG - 2.1 SPG - 47.3 FG%

For the second straight year, the Billikens were among the most physical and frustrating teams to play against in college basketball. Goodwin played a big part in their five-game win streak to close the season with a 23-8 record and fourth place finish in the Atlantic 10.

Since he stepped foot on campus, Goodwin has been among the best rebounding guards in college basketball, and he pushed that to new heights this season as he averaged a double-double. Defensively, his length and athleticism helped propel a Saint Louis defense that finished in the top 50 in KenPom. Goodwin earned First Team All-Conference honors in the Atlantic 10, and joined Hasahn French as the other Billiken on the All-Defensive Team.

Goodwin tied with French for the A-10 lead in rebounds per game, and his 15 double-doubles this season were the most of any player in the conference.

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Cameron Krutwig — Loyola Chicago

2019-20 Stats: 15.1 PPG - 8.1 RPG - 4.2 APG - 1.2 APG - 56.3 FG%

As our own Kyle Cajero wrote earlier in the season, Krutwig has become something of college basketball unicorn with his passing ability.

His ability to score in the post or facilitate the offense kept the Ramblers’ offense afloat at times. Although the counting numbers aren’t as gaudy as other players’, his fingerprints were on every aspect of the game. His defensive rebounding rate of 25.9% ranked 37th nationally, according to KenPom. The aforementioned passing ability resulted in a 32.3% assist rate that was 52nd in the country. He was only called for 1.8 fouls per 40 minutes, which allowed him to play a career-high 31.3 minutes per game as he anchored the Missouri Valley’s most efficient defense.

Krutwig’s play landed him on the First Team All-MVC for the second straight year, and was the runner-up for the MVC’s Player of the Year award.