Zigging and Zagging: Will Gonzaga Be Ranked #1 At Start of NCAA Playoffs?

A weekly ritual began on January 18, 1949, when the Associated Press announced results of the first weekly basketball poll. Cliff Clavin could be one of the few individuals knowing that St. Louis was ranked atop the initial poll. The Billikens, who have never been a member of a power league, placed third in the final rankings that season. SLU was the first of eight different mid-major institutions in the first eight seasons of rankings to be atop the national pedestal.

Well, we've traversed from one mid-level school all the way to another (Gonzaga). The Zags, who became the ninth mid-major school entering the NCAA playoffs ranked #1 (2013), has been the only mid-major atop the national poll in the last 11 seasons (achieving feat fourth time in last eight years this campaign). Due to the absence of any elite squads among power conferences, the Zags have a legitimate shot at being ranked #1 entering the 2020 NCAA playoffs.

The term "mid-major" annoys some loyalists as much as #Demonrats and #Hollyweird giving terrorist thug Soleimani more deference than our own President. But the previous 15 teams in this category averaged 33 triumphs with all finishing among the top seven in final AP polls. Following is a chronological list assessing outcomes for nationally top-ranked teams that haven't been members of one of generally-accepted power conferences since AP national rankings were introduced in late 1940s: