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It’s an odd year for mid-major college basketball. For one, there’s a dominant non-traditional team, and it’s not Memphis or Gonzaga. In fact, the three best teams not in a Power Six conference this year are a bunch of newer names to the power structure of college basketball. At the same time, there just aren’t as many good mid-major teams this season as in years past, and it could be a very good year for fringe power conference teams to make the NCAA Tournament as a result.

Here, we will run down the top eight teams not in a traditional power conference, complete with full breakdowns of those teams and a list of honorable mention squads:

1. Butler Bulldogs


2008-09 Record:
26-6, 15-3 Horizon League


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA First Round – Lost to LSU, 75-71


Outlook:
Someone forgot to tell Brad Stevens that his team was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League last season. The Bulldog coach lost four starters from a team that went 30-4 in 2007-08, but went on to have nearly as good a season last year. This time around, though, the expectations are high. Some are touting Butler as a contender to end the season in nearby Indianapolis at the Final Four. Yeah, that high. And why wouldn’t they be? The Bulldogs return every single player who played last season, including Horizon League Player of the Year Matt Howard, an imposing post presence and potential All-American, and conference Newcomer of the Year Gordon Hayward, a crafty, super-talented swingman who looks like a 14-year-old boy. Throw in newcomer Andrew Smith, the team’s tallest player at 6-foot-10, and remember this team has just two seniors, and Coach Stevens may be looking at a mid-major dynasty, if there can be such a thing. Then again, if you’re a high-major program looking for a new coach, Stevens has to be near the top of your list.


Key Depatures:
None


Newcomers:
C Andrew Smith, G Chase Stigal (redshirt), C Emerson Kampen (redshirt)


Top Returnees:
F Matt Howard (14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg), F Gordon Hayward (13.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg), G Shelvin Mack (11.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.9 apg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
76 Classic, Dec. 8 vs. Georgetown (in New York City), Dec. 12 vs. Ohio State, Dec. 19 vs. Xavier, ESPN Bracket Buster

2. Dayton Flyers


2008-09 Record:
27-8, 11-5 Atlantic 10 Conference


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA Second Round – Lost to Kansas, 60-43


Outlook:
Two years ago, a four-star recruit from Ohio named Chris Wright – oddly enough, the second most heralded 2007 four-star recruit by that monicker – spurned offers from seemingly every Midwestern power in favor of joining mid-major Dayton. Maybe it was the team’s nickname, the Flyers, that drew the local swingman’s interest. After all, few in all of college basketball soar with as much authority or frequency as Wright. Either way, after a middling freshman season, Wright threw down more dunks and pulled down more boards as a sophomore, leading the Flyers in points and rebounds last year. For year three, Wright has a stacked returning cast featuring all but one rotation player back. He’s the favorite for Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, and the Flyers are the favorite to push Butler for the title of best mid-major team in the country. Expect guard Marcus Johnson to build on a solid junior season and point guard London Warren to continue as one of the nation’s top leaders and on-ball defenders. In Brian Gregory’s seventh year at the helm, Dayton should be the class of a respectable A-10 conference.


Key Depatures:
F Charles Little (8.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg)


Newcomers:
F/C Matt Kavanaugh, F/C Josh Benson (redshirt)


Top Returnees:
F Chris Wright (13.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg), G Marcus Johnson (11.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg), G London Warren (4.1 ppg, 4.4 apg, 1.6 spg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Puetro Rico Tip-Off, 11/14 vs. Creighton

3. Siena Saints


2008-09 Record:
27-8, 16-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA Second Round – Lost to Louisville, 79-72


Outlook:
Remember when Siena toppled Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year? That wasn’t an upset then, and it’s even more understandable now. The Saints return four starters from last season’s team, which gave No. 1-seed Louisville a run for its money. The frontcourt is particularly impressive, with swingman Edwin Ubiles joining Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossiter down low. This is the same group that demolished Ohio State on the boards, the primary reason the Saints were able to advance. Replacing star Kenny Hansbrouck won’t be easy, but the Saints receive a midseason boost from La Salle transfer Kyle Griffin, adding to a deep and talented team that would be just fine in the MAAC either way. A weak non-conference schedule could leave this team amongst the nation’s leaders in wins, and a 30-win year would be a real statement for Fran McCaffery, who is in line for a step up the coaching ladder, 24 years after taking his first head coaching job at Lehigh in 1985.


Key Depatures:
G Kenny Hansbrouck (14.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2 spg)


Newcomers:
G Kyle Griffin (transfer – La Salle), G Denzel Yard, G Jonathan Breeden, F O.D. Anosike, F Davis Martens


Top Returnees:
F Edwin Ubiles (15 ppg, 4.9 rpg), F Alex Franklin (13.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg), C Ryan Rossiter (10 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 bpg), G Ronald Moore (8.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.4 apg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Philly Hoop Classic, Dec. 2 @ Georgia Tech, Dec. 12 @ Northern Iowa, ESPN Bracket Busters

4. Tulsa Golden Hurricane


2008-09 Record:
25-11, 12-4 Conference USA


2008-09 Postseason:
NIT Second Round – Lost to Auburn, 74-55


Outlook:
Doug Wojcik has turned Tulsa into an annual "really good" team in a conference where there was only ever one team that mattered to the nation as a whole, Memphis. Welcome to 2009. John Calipari has left the Tigers – we’ll get to that later – leaving Wojcik and the Golden Hurricane as the conference favorite. Say it again, slower. Tulsa is the favorite to win Conference USA. In men’s basketball. Well, if Tulsa is going to get over that hill, it’s going to require big efforts from a pair of seniors, center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh. Jordan is a potential first-round NBA Draft pick, with great interior defense and rebounding complimented by solid and developing offensive skills. Uzoh, though, is the heart of this team. The crafty guard is renowned for his leadership, and without him, the Golden Hurricane offense would stall. That’s not to say the duo doesn’t have help. Guard Justin Hurtt is a solid scorer on the wing who seems poised for a breakout season, while Steve Idlet should help Jordan quite a bit with scoring and rebounding in the paint. Things have played out perfectly for Wojcik, who played high school basketball for Skip Prosser and went on to be an assistant under Matt Doherty and Tom Izzo. His team has a pair of star seniors and a large returning cast in the same season Memphis finally looks like less than a championship contender. Now, it will be up to Wojcik to take advantage of that, and in doing so, he could move onto greener pastures as soon as next year. Memphis is recruiting another top caliber class as I write this, though. The window of opportunity is a small one, and Tulsa seems primed to take advantage.


Key Depatures:
F Ray Reese (10.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg)


Newcomers:
G Donte Medder, F Bryson Pope, F Armond Battle


Top Returnees:
C Jerome Jordan (13.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.5 bpg), G Ben Uzoh (14 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.6 apg), G Justin Hurtt (9.6 ppg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Las Vegas Classic, Dec. 2 vs. Oklahoma State

5. Gonzaga Bulldogs


2008-09 Record:
28-6, 14-0 West Coast Conference


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA Regional Semifinals – Lost to North Carolina, 98-77


Outlook:
Four key players from last season’s Sweet 16 Zags are gone. Austin Daye, Micah Downs, Josh Heytvelt and Jeremy Pargo will be missed, unquestionably. But the truth is, Mark Few has built what every other coach on this list aspires to create: a viable, elite program. Gonzaga can be listed as a mid-major only based on its conference schedule. But Few schedules one of the best non-conference slates in the country every year, to balance the WCC’s undeniable weakness. How will this year’s Bulldogs, depleted as they are, fair? Well, even as some expect a major dropoff, the pieces are there for another Gonzaga-esque season. Matt Bouldin might be the best player in the WCC, an oversized lead guard and a former four-star recruit who now takes over as the clear leader on this team. Wing Steven Gray is a sharp shooter and potential lead scoring option. But the potential for this team rests with the less-experienced players, namely point guard Demetri Goodson, an explosive talent, and a trio of international freshmen forwards, Germany’s Elias Harris, Canada’s Kelly Olynyk and Bol Kong. There’s the talent here for another 25-plus win season. And there aren’t too many better at coaxing the most out of a team than Few.


Key Depatures:
C Josh Heytvelt (14.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg), F Austin Daye (12.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.1 bpg), G Jeremy Pargo (10.2 ppg, 4.9 apg), F Micah Downs (9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg)


Newcomers:
F Kelly Olynyk, F Bol Kong, F Sam Dower, F Elias Harris, F Mangisto Arop, G Grant Gibbs, F Andy Poling, G Michael Hart, G G.J. Vilarino


Top Returnees:
G Matt Bouldin (13.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.6 apg), G Steven Gray (9.1 ppg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Maui Invitational, Nov. 17 @ Michigan State, Dec. 5 vs. Wake Forest, Dec. 19 vs. Duke (in New York City), Dec. 31 vs. Oklahoma (in Spokane Arena), Jan. 2 vs. Illinois (in Chicago), Feb. 6 @ Memphis

6. Memphis Tigers


2008-09 Record:
33-4, 16-0 Conference USA


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA Regional Semifinals – Lost to Missouri, 102-91

Outlook: You never want to benefit from tragedy, but Josh Pastner will take whatever help he can get in his first year with a severely weakened Tigers team. Former Duke guard Elliot Williams transferred this summer for family medical reasons, coming back home to Memphis. This, in the year when Memphis coach John Calipari left the program for Kentucky and left his former top assistant without the kinds of pieces that he had used in three straight 30 win seasons. Where does that leave Pastner’s squad? Williams will be the focal point of a team that actually could end up being pretty good, provided Pastner can get his players to buy into the same defensive commitment Calipari was known to elicit. The ex-Duke guard is joined in the backcourt by Willie Kemp, whose role the past two seasons had been seriously cut with Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans in town the past two seasons. But Kemp looks to pick up from a productive freshman season for his final year of eligibility at point guard. Double-wide forward Pierre Henderson-Niles has dropped a lot of weight and should dominate on the boards, while Roburt Sallie and Doneal Mack will take any shot they’re given, making a decent percentage of those. JuCo transfer Will Coleman could actually wind up being the most important player on this team, as he provides more polish than Henderson-Niles down low, with similar physicality. The best thing about Memphis this year, though, will be that you can root for this team. Gone is the "Evil Empire" feel that follows an Calipari team. This is a team of fun to watch, scrappy guys who, in many cases, would have been buried on the bench if Calipari had brought with him the bevvy of recruits he was assured to land even at Memphis. You want this team to win. And they want to win. And they just might win quite a bit.


Key Depatures:
G Tyreke Evans (17.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.9 apg), F Robert Dozier (12.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg), G Antonio Anderson (10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.2 apg), F Shawn Taggart (10.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg)


Newcomers:
G Elliot Williams (transfer – Duke), F Will Coleman (transfer – JuCo), G D.J. Stephens, F Drew Barham, G Tyler Foster, F James Harvey (transfer – JuCo), G Malik Thomas


Top Returnees:
G Doneal Mack (8.7 ppg), F Wesley Witherspoon (4 ppg), F Pierre Henderson-Niles (2.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Nov. 17 vs. Kansas (in St. Louis), Dec. 31 vs. Tennessee, Jan. 6 @ Syracuse, Feb. 6 vs. Gonzaga

7. Xavier Musketeers


2008-09 Record:
27-8, 12-4 Atlantic 10 Conference


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA Regional Semifinals – Lost to Pittsburgh, 60-55


Outlook:
This season will mark the fourth straight year where the Musketeers do not return their leading scorer from the season before. The past three times, they’ve managed to win at least 25 games. The difference this year is simply the man in charge. Top assistant Chris Mack should capably keep departed head coach Sean Miller’s work going, and the Musketeers should have little problem in making a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, even with no returnees who averaged more than 6.7 points per game last year. The key player, then, will be Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford. You might remember Crawford for dunking on LeBron James this summer, but he’s more than a viral video sensation that almost wasn’t. Expect Crawford to lead this team in scoring, the offense running through his very capable hands. He’ll be joined by two starters from last year’s team, center Jason Love and guard Dante Jackson. Six-foot-nothing Terrell Holloway is expected to be the third guard in the starting lineup. There’s also highly touted redshirt freshman Mark Lyons, who sat out last season for academic reasons, and gunner Brad Redford, who took just nine 2-point field goal attempts last season but 114 3-pointers. The big man in focus, though, will be 7-foot sophomore Kenny Frease, who will have to be more consistent this year if the Musketeers are to compete with Dayton at the top of the A-10. Regardless of who does what on offense, expect Mack to have this team playing stringent defense and winning a lot of games.


Key Depatures:
F Derrick Brown (13.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg), G/F B.J. Raymond (14.1 ppg), G/F C.J. Anderson (9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg)


Newcomers:
G Jordan Crawford (transfer – Indiana), G Mark Lyons (redshirt), F Jeff Robinson


Top Returnees:
C Jason Love (6.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg), G Dante Jackson (6.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Old Spice Classic, Dec. 8 @ Kansas State, Dec. 19 vs. Butler (in Indianapolis), Dec. 29 vs. LSU, Jan. 3 @ Wake Forest

8. Brigham Young Cougars


2008-09 Record:
25-8, 12-4 Mountain West Conference


2008-09 Postseason:
NCAA First Round – Lost to Texas A&M, 79-66


Outlook:
Dave Rose’s offseason battle with pancreatic cancer is behind the fifth year Cougar coach. He also signed a new five-year contract not long before the season began. Now, Rose can focus on basketball, and a team that returns enough to be the standout team in a conference full of parity and talent. Four starters return this season, including star swingman Jonathan Tavernari and shooting guard Jimmer Fredette, the team’s leading scorer last season. Tavernari is a flamboyant presence with tremendous talent, much in the way of Greivis Vasquez at Maryland – Cougars fans love him; everyone else hates him. But the guy who can carry this team to new places may just be guard Jackson Emery, a grinder of a combo guard whose tenacity on the defensive end and on the boards has drawn praise from his coach. Down low, there’s quite a history of good big men in Provo, and Chris Miles enters his senior season knowing he has the potential to continue that lineage, despite the results coming up a bit short at times the past two seasons. Miles is an efficient post scorer, but Rose needs more toughness, defense and rebounding from his 6-foot-11 center. This team is deep and committed, and its coach is one of the game’s most underrated. As a result, BYU should be headed to its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.


Key Depature:
G Lee Cummard (16.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg)


Newcomers:
F Brandon Davies, G Tyler Haws, F Brock Zylstra


Top Returnees:
G/F Jonathan Taverni (15.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg), G Jimmer Fredette (16.2 ppg, 4.1 apg), G Jackson Emery (7.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3 apg)


Non-conference Games To Watch:
Las Vegas Classic, Dec. 2 @ Utah State, Dec. 8 vs. Arizona State, Dec. 12 @ Fresno State, Dec. 28 vs. Arizona (in Tuscon)

Honorable Mention

(In Alphabetical Order): Akron, Buffalo, Cornell, Creighton, Houston, Long Beach State, Morehead State, Niagra, Northern Iowa, Richmond, Rider, San Diego State, Temple, UNLV, Utah State, UTEP, Virginia Commonwealth, Western Kentucky, Wright State

Top 5 Mid-Major NBA Prospects:

1. Paul George, Fresno State
2. Larry Sanders, VCU
3. Arnett Moultrie, UTEP
4. Luke Babbitt, Nevada
5. Elliot Williams, Memphis

Top 5 Mid-Major College Players:

1. Gordon Hayward, Butler
2. Marqus Blakely, Vermont
3. Matt Howard, Butler
4. Dior Lowhorn, San Francisco
5. Ryan Thompson, Rider

Top 5 Mid-Major Freshmen Prospects:

1. Aaric Murray, La Salle
2. Zeke Marshall, Akron
3. Hassan Whiteside, Marshall
4. Rashanti Harris, Georgia State
5. Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State

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