A funny thing happened on the way to Selection Sunday. The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (22-5, 14-1) have snuck into the top-25 rankings, entering at 24 in both the AP and Coach’s polls.

Since starting this blog, I’ve certainly been aware that they have a talented squad – including nine wins in a row and first place in Conference USA – but I didn’t think they had earned enough quality wins. In fact, they are winless against the only three top-50 teams they have played this year.

But, being in the polls this close to the end of the season, you have to almost think they will have their named called Selection Sunday, assuming they only lose in their conference championship. However, as the folds on the College Basketball forum over at Reddit have shown, that’s not always the case (https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketball/comments/7z0tcf/what_teams_made_the_final_regular_season_top25/).

Perhaps the most famous example – mainly because they filled their stadium for the selection show in anticipation of a celebration -The 2013-2014 SMU Mustangs finished 23-9 and in the top-25 of both polls, but were left out in the cold come Selection Sunday. The 2003-2004 Utah State Aggie’s went 25-4, finished in the top-25 during the regular season, but lost in the first round of the Big West tournament, and also didn’t get a call come Selection Sunday. Most recently, the 2014-2015 Murray State Racers were left without a dancing partner, when they were shunned after being in the top-25 at the end of the regular season. In other words, if you are mid-major team thinking you are a shoo in based on your ranking, you better think again.

Notable Mid-Major Weekend Games

Another Tennessee team – East Tennessee State (23-6, 14-2) – has been hovering around the “others receiving votes” categories. They can get one step closer to clinching the Southern Conference if they can knock off formidable opponent Wofford (19-10, 10-6) tonight at 7:00 on ESPN 3. Handley High School’s own Cameron Jackson helps lead the charge in Wofford’s attempt to knock off the top squad in the conference. Yes, I went to Handley High School.

As I write this, Wright State (21-8, 13-3) is attempting to hold on to their share of first place in the Horizon League against IUPUI (10-17, 7-9) with 13 minutes to go in the half, IUPUI leads 43-39. If Wright State loses, Northern Kentucky (20-8, 13-3) has their chance to take sole possession of first place if they can beat UIC (17-12, 12-4). That game is at 8:00 and can also been streamed on ESPN3. If UIC gets the win, there will be a 3-way tie for first place with one to go, and a bunch of tie-breakers start to come into play. What a great time of the year to be a basketball fan.

On Saturday, Wagner (21-7, 14-3) travels to Mt. St. Mary’s (17-13, 11-6) in Northeast play at 4:00. This game is important for two reasons. One, Mt. St. Mary’s can move up to second place in the standings, meaning they would at a minimum host everyone of their tournament games into the finals. Secondly, wehavefanstoo.com will be in attendance! The first road trip of the blog will take place, giving me a chance to top out two of the top teams in the conference, right before the conference tournament. Looking forward to it.

The Nicholls Colonels (19-9, 13-2) have been successfully holding off league favorite Stephen F. Austin (23-5, 12-3) all season. If the Colonels can knock off New Orleans (14-13, 11-5) they can get one step closer to winning the Southland title and earn the all important one seed going into the tournament. This can be seen 7:00 on Saturday on ESPN3.

Also on Saturday at 7:00, a pair of teams meet-up with hopes for a Middle Tennessee slip up. Western Kentucky (21-7, 13-2) and Old Dominion (22-5, 13-2) are just a single game behind the top-25 Blue Raiders in the hotly contested C-USA. While both of these teams have been hanging around the top-25, they both probably need to win the C-USA conference title to make to the big tournament. However, a win here will look good on their resume, and give them momentum going into the conference tournament.

Also on Saturday at 7:00 on ESPN3(we are running out of televisions) Harvard (14-11, 9-1) travels to The Palestra to take on Penn (19-7, 9-1) in what should be a wild scene. Both of these squads also play on Friday in games they are expected to win, but it’s very possible both of these teams could be overlooking Friday’s games in favor of this one. This game will determine the Ivy League regular season champion and the number one seed in the tournament.

Sunday sees the previously mentioned Wright State and UIC squads meet at UIC. Wright State was indeed knocked off against IUPUI, so that means Northern Kentucky now owns a .5 lead atop the Horizon standings with UIC just one back. This game starts at 6:00 and will be streamed on ESPN3

Finally, I end on some excited news. The blog will soon be leaving it’s home at wordpress and will be found at wehavefanstoo.com. I expect that transition to take place over the next week or so. Thanks for the continued support, and see you in a few days!