Mid-Major Madness: How Sweet 16 It Is Again For Perennial Power Gonzaga
Gonzaga reached Sweet 16 of NCAA playoffs for the fourth consecutive campaign, joined this season by Loyola of Chicago and Nevada. After an average of four mid-level schools reached the Sweet 16 in a six-year span from 2006 through 2011, the last seven 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 frittered away 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 eighth time this Century. 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: