Mid-Major Madness: How Sweet 16 It Is Again for Mighty Gonzaga Zags
March 20th, 2017 - 19:03
After an average of four mid-level schools reached the Sweet 16 in a six-year span from 2006 through 2011, the last six seasons could have cemented the premise about mid-major schools deserving additional at-large consideration. But that was before eight mid-level schools - Gonzaga, New Mexico, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Saint Mary's, Southern Mississippi, UNLV and Virginia Commonwealth - were eliminated in games against power six conference members by an average of only four points in 2012, the Mountain West Conference flopped in 2013, only two mid-majors reached the Sweet 16 in 2014 and 2015, Northern Iowa and Stephen F. Austin squandered last-minute leads against power-league opponents in 2016 and Rhode Island squandered a significant lead against Oregon.
Butler, Gonzaga, Virginia Commonwealth and Wichita State advancing to the Final Four this decade was invigorating, but the mid-major community missed out on a potential bonanza. Gonzaga reached the second weekend for the seventh time this Century, but it doesn't help mid-majors when Wichita State gets such a raw draw from the Division I Committee. Following is a look at how at least one mid-major conference member advanced to a regional semifinal or beyond since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985: