Mid-Majors to Watch Out For

Are you ready to get your bracket busted? A common motif for March Madness is the occasional mid-major pulling off an upset, even to the point of making a Cinderella run in the tournament. Here's who can make such a run in this year's tournament if they make it that far.

• Loyola-Chicago (Missouri Valley): The Ramblers lead a balanced scoring attack onto the floor, with five players averaging double-digits in points per game. This is made evident by being the fourth-best team shooting field goals in the nation (.512 FG%). The Ramblers aren't too shabby at shooting the three-ball, either: They average a shooting percentage of .414 from beyond the arc, good for ninth-best in the nation. Loyola-Chicago also took down Florida on the road.
  
• Vermont (America East): Vermont has won 13 straight after going through a 1-4 stretch in the middle of their season. Like Loyola-Chicago, the Catamounts can shoot a mean three-pointer (.407 3-Pt. %, 16th-best).
  
• Murray State (Ohio Valley): Back in the day, the Racers were a solid team from the Ohio Valley Conference that were also an upset threat in the tourney. Watch out for Jonathan Stark (20.6 PPG, .436 3-Pt. %) and Ja Morant (6.3 RPG, 6.4 APG).
  
• Buffalo (Mid American Conference): The Bulls can get into scoring spurts with the likes of C.J. Massinburg (18.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, .410 3-Pt. %) and Nick Perkins (16.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG).
  
• New Mexico State (Western Athletic): The Aggies have played their opponents tough. They even beat Miami on a neutral court. New Mexico State is also adept at pulling down rebounds, ranking tenth in the nation with 40.5 RPG.
  
• East Tennessee State (Southern): Winners of 16 straight, the Buccaneers are steamrolling the competition. In fact, only two of their wins during the 16-game win streak were by three points or less.
  
• Stephen F. Austin (Southland): This mid-major is no stranger to pulling off upsets; they toppled West Virginia in 2016 and edged VCU in 2014. The Lumberjacks have established themselves as a great sleight-of-hand team, leading the nation in steals per game with 10.67.