March Madness Prep: Mid-Majors to Watch PLUS MN Teams of the Week

In this episode, host Steve Hartman walks through some of his mid-major teams that you'll want to know as you prepare for March Madness and preparing your bracket. From coast-to-coast Steve walks through what makes these teams dangers and potential upset picks. 

Then it's the weekly teams of the week for Minnesota boys basketball and small colleges. St. Paul Central in AAAA, Northfield in AAA, Minnehaha Academy in AA, Dawson-Boyd in A, plus St. Cloud St. captures the NSIC regular season crown and St. John's makes their 14th straight MIAC tourney. 

Steve starts the show talking about Anthony Edwards winning the NBA All-Star Game MVP and the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Women's basketball team winning 8 straight and solidifying their NCAA tourney resume. 

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. 

Follow Splash City Basketball Podcast on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Bluesky. 

Transcript

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Bag in there, back in there, back again. Whoa, whoa, yeah, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Back in there. Hey, what's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Splash City Basketball Podcast. I'm your host, Steve Hartman, and it's President's Weekend. Got a lot to talk about as it comes to teams of the week. We're gonna talk about your March Madness preparation. Look at a list of my favorite mid-majors to watch this season so far. And also just wanted to quickly go through Anthony Edwards winning the All-Star Game MVP. You know, um, watching back some of the highlights and some of the post-game, it was really interesting to me because I think Ant has the ability to be the face of the league, like a lot of people want, and a lot of you know, in the media it seems like really enjoys him. At the end of the day, the results need to start appearing on the court, and that means breaking through the Western Conference, getting to the NBA Finals, putting him on the national stage, uh, the world stage in the NBA finals because um he's kind of doing everything else that it requires. Um, you know, he's past the 10,000 point mark, he's rookie of the year, he's number one pick. Now he's all-star game MVP. Kind of feels like this is a step uh in the right direction for him. Uh, I know it's a somewhat meaningless award, somewhat meaningless game, but you could tell that some of the players were taking it pretty seriously last night. So I think it it's it's interesting watching other players and the media react to him because they obviously he has this personality, right? And that's partly why I think you see the chemistry on the Timberwolves being so good. Um he mentioned teammate Jade McDaniels again last night during his post-game interviews. And um, so anyway, yeah, it's just I think it's um it's an interesting, interesting step. It'll be fun to watch the wolves come out of the all-star break. Hopefully they got rested up a little bit. They're one of the few teams that doesn't do any load management, right? Like you never see these guys take uh days off just because there's usually a reason, there's usually an injury or something bothering them that they don't want to linger. So um coming out of the all-star break, now that they've had a few days with Io Desumu to practice. I know Finch had talked about not having a lot of practice time in the month of January. So this uh this wolf stretch will be crucial. Sitting in fifth right now, maybe they can get up to third or at least fourth, you know, get a home series in the first round of the playoffs would be would be ideal. But um big stretch for them coming up. Also wanted to quickly mention the Gopher Women's Basketball team, eighth straight win, beating Rival Wisconsin, 83 to 60 yesterday. Again, another dominating defensive performance from them. Outside of a major collapse here in the last couple weeks, they they should be a solid NCAA tournament team. Um that win at Iowa was huge for them to get kind of a signature top 10 win to go along with a lot of really solid wins. And um, you know, as they get into kind of this positioning in the Big Ten postseason play, they should be able to rattle off a couple wins in the tournament as long as they're healthy and playing up to their potential. Um and then, you know, looking at NCAA tournament seeds, they're 20 and 6. Last I checked, they were 13th in the net, but that can only have gone up because they have not lost a game yet. So, you know, that that that gets them into the top, I don't know, top five seeds. They could be a top, they could be a five five seed in the NCAA tournament, which would be huge uh for that program. Don Plitzewitz is absolutely a phenomenal coach, program builder, and she's doing it at the University of Minnesota. Uh, fun to see Mara Brown. She had 20 points yesterday, and um Amaya Battles finishing her career strong. So a lot of gopher women basketball players who've stuck around, went through some difficult seasons, um, are seeing some rewards this year, and that's really fun to see for them. So, um anyway, with that, let's get into uh March Madness prep. I I want to again thank you all for listening. Subscribe and YouTube, um, follow on Instagram and Facebook. Um, and if there's anything you want to talk about, leave a comment, send me a message. I'd love to hear from listeners, and just um as we get into kind of the crux of basketball season, what are the things you want to hear about? What are the things you want to talk about? Um happy to do that. And I am working on possibly doing a live show for the first round of the NCAA tournament in March Madness, uh, either the 19th or 20th. I still have to figure that out, but stay tuned for that because that would be a great time to join and and talk and have some fun. Um with that, let's talk March Madness prep, some of my favorite mid-majors to watch. This is the Splash City basketball podcast. All right, folks, it's February 15th. That means we are 13, 14 days away from March. And with that in mind, I wanted to go through some of my mid-majors to watch. These are mid-major teams, not high major programs to look out for as you're making your bracket, as you're looking at March Madness. Um, teams to look for right now. So maybe you can want to catch a game, see them on TV. Maybe it's a team you haven't seen before or heard about before. Um, but these are the teams that I've seen and that I've read about and that I believe could uh make a run or maybe pull an upset in March Madness. So, first off, we're gonna start in the Atlantic 10 conference with one of the best teams, not just mid-majors, but one of the best teams in the country, the St. Louis Billikans. They are 24-1 right now with their lone loss, a one-point loss to Santa Clara. They're 12-0 in the Atlantic 10. They're ranked number 23 in Ken Palm, and they are elite offensively. They excel. They are uh number 39 in adjusted offensive efficiency. They're second in the nation in effective field goal percentage and first in effective field goal percentage defense. So doing it on both ends. Uh, a player you maybe remember from a couple years ago kind of captured the nation's attention, is Robbie Avila. He's their center, also known as the cream Abdul Jabbar. He's averaging 18.5 points a game, um, but can stretch the floor. He actually followed coach Josh Schurtz from Indiana State after the 2024 season and transferred with him to St. Louis. Um, St. Louis also has Trey Green, Rushard Sophomore averaging 12 points a game, former uh Xavier uh Musketeer who transferred to St. Louis. Um and then they also have Deion Brown and Amari McCotri averaging double figures as well. So very balanced attack, which is why they're one of the most offensively efficient teams in the country.

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Louis Billikens, put them in your bracket. Maybe a second weekend team there. Another A10 team that I've been watching all year, really excited about the DCU Rams. They're 26 right now, currently 46th in Ken Palm. They've gone through coaches through the years. Um, you know, started with Shaka Smart most recently. It was Ryan Odom, who's now at Virginia. They still have that aggressive defense. They force turnovers, they generate easy transition baskets. They are led by Terrence Hill Jr., leading scorer at 14 points a game. Lazar Djokovic, 6'11 transfer from Xavier and Charleston, um, also putting up 14 points a game. Again, their athleticism and their ability to guard and make teams uncomfortable could be a recipe for a disaster for uh if they get the right matchup of a team who doesn't have great point guard play or doesn't have a lot of depth in the backcourt because they are going to put pressure on those teams. Now, another team, uh another conference actually, that's gonna probably put multiple teams in the NCAA tournament, and that's the Mountain West Conference. Um, right now, Utah State is the top team in the Mountain West. The Aegis are 22 and 3, 12 and 2 in the Mountain West, and they are an offensive juggernaut. Number 24 overall on Ken Palm, 12th in an effective field goal percentage, fifth and two-point percentage, 34th and average two-point distance, meaning they're getting shots at the rim. They've got, again, a group of players that make them really tough to guard. MJ Collins, Mason Falslev, uh, Drake Allen, who kind of drives that offense, has 115 assists on the year. So look out for Utah State. They have some big non-conference wins and they played a tough schedule. So they'll be ready. Another team out west, San Diego State Aztecs, they're always there. They're defensive first, right? They're 18-7, ranked 14th in defensive efficiency, 11th in defensive turnover rate, and they're top 32 in block percentage, steal percentage. So again, matchup dependent, but if they get a team that doesn't have a great backcourt, um, you know, think like uh uh, for instance, like a Florida who really relies on their bigs to do a lot of work for them, that can be a tricky matchup. They're currently 28th in Ken Pom. Can't talk mid-majors this year without talking about the Miami of Ohio Redhawks, the lone undefeated team left in college basketball, 24-0, 13-0 in the Mac. Um, Ken Pom only has them at 84th in the country. So the metrics don't love Miami. However, winning is part of the deal, right? And they have done everything they can, beaten every team in front of them. Um, they are fun to watch. I've watched a couple of Miami games. Um, if you get a chance, they really move the ball well. They share it. They have again multiple players that do lots of things and they take care of the basketball. They're number three in effective field goal percentage, number three in two-point percentage. They take great shots and they don't turn it over. They're led by Brandt Byers, a red shared sophomore scoring 15 points a game. They also have senior guard, Peter Souter, who's kind of their engine, kind of does a lot of things for them, scores 14 points a game, but he's really efficient again, shooting 56% from the field. And then they had a starter go down in December. And since he became a starter, Luke Skaljak is averaging 13 points a game, four and a half assists, and has a nearly three to one assist to turnover ratio. So just really well coached team. Uh, Travis Steele doing a great job with the Miami Red Hawks. Going into the season in the mid-American conference, Miami was not the favorite, though. It was Akron Zips, who was also 20 and 5 with their lone conference loss coming to Miami. Uh, they are actually rated higher than Miami in Ken Pom. They are 68th again, very efficient offensively, very similar actually in play to Miami in terms of three-point percentage, two-point percentage. They play fast, they play uh with pace. They're 26th in shortest possession length. So they they shoot the ball quick, they get out in transition. Uh, Akron could be another potential upset bid in March Madness if they somehow beat Miami. Now, if Miami loses only a game or two, they're likely in the tournament regardless, um, just because of their record. However, um, if Miami stumbles, maybe gets two losses, Akron finishes out and wins the conference tournament, you could be looking at a one-bid league. So, this could be an interesting uh final couple weeks in the Mid-American conference. The Belmont Bruins out of the Missouri Valley are having a great season. They're well coached, they have a brand of basketball that is fun to watch. Um, 23-4 right now, 13-3 in the Missouri Valley, currently ranked 57th in Ken Palm. Um, they are, if you remember the old Princeton teams, that's kind of how they play. There's a lot of uh back cutting. There's a lot of things that are difficult for high major teams to prepare for. So if teams come into the tournament and aren't disciplined defensively, Belmont could get them. Um they shoot 40% from three as a team. And in a single elimination tournament, all it takes is one game and Belmont gets hot and they could pull an upset. Look out for the Belmont Bruins. In the West Coast Conference, we always talk about Gonzaga. For this exercise, I don't consider Gonzaga a mid-major. They operate as a high major program. So let's talk about the St. Mary's Gales. They're 23-4, 12-2 in the league. They did lose to Gonzaga, and they also lost to Santa Clara, who we'll talk about in a second. But they have a number 29 ranking in Ken Palm. They are a top 25 defense, they're 14th in effective field goal percentage defense, eighth in giving up offensive rebounds. So they can play defense in the tournament and where that defense will travel regardless of where they play. And then the half game ahead of St. Mary's is Santa Clara Broncos. They're 22 and 6, 13 and 2 in the West Coast Conference, ranked 39th in Ken POM. They are 11th in points from two-point range. They like to turn teams over because they're 18th in turnover percentage, and they rank top 60 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. So Santa Clara is just a good team all around. They have some size, they have a guard, Christian Hammond who can get buckets when they need one. He shoots 50% from the floor. They only have really one bad loss on the season. That was to Loyola Chicago. Otherwise, they lost to St. Louis by one, Gonzaga twice, New Mexico, and Arizona State. All pretty good losses when you're considering them for an at-large bid. So I think the West Coast is likely to get three teams in the NCAA tournament. Look out for Santa Clara as maybe an 11-12 seed in the NCAA tournament, maybe knocking off a five or six seed in the in the first round. All right, some more under the radar teams, teams we don't talk about typically. Um, you know, the West Coast Conference gets some love because the Gonzaga Mountain West is one of the best uh uh mid-major leagues, the A-10, also one of the best mid-major leagues. But let's talk about Ivy League. Yale Bulldogs, 20 and 4, 8-2 in the Ivy League. They're number 75 in Ken POM. But what I love about them, especially in a one-game elimination game in the NCAA tournament, they rank number one in three-point percentage. They are 18th and 22nd in effective field goal percentage and turnover rate. So they don't beat themselves, and they're the best three-point shooting team in the country. And they've also been known to pull an upset in March. So look out for Yale if they make it through the Ivy League tournament and make it to the big dance. Another team I love is the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. 23 and 3. They're 16 and 1 in their league, they're number 87 in Ken Palm, and their calling card is defense. They don't let you get comfortable at the three-point line. They allow the 33rd fewest three-point attempts per game and are eighth in three-point percentage defense. In that same conference is the McNeese Cowboys. They're 25, 13 and 3 in the Southland conference. And actually, they rank a little bit higher than league leading Stephen F. Austin does. They are 64th in Ken Palm. So uh despite Will Wade leaving McNeese to go to NC State, uh, McNeese is still ratcheting up that defense. And despite ranking slightly higher, I think the winner of that league, Stephen F. Austin or McNeese, either one of them is capable of winning a game in the NCAA tournament. Um, Stephen F. Austin, McNeese, winner of the Southland, look out for them in March Madness. Now, in the summit league, we've talked a lot on this podcast over the last few months about St. Thomas, but we haven't talked as much about NDSU. And the Bison are actually leading the summit league right now at 11 and 1. They are 21 and 6 overall. They're number 124 in Ken Palm. However, what I like about them in March Madness is that the ability to match up in different ways. They usually win the turnover battle, and they usually win the battle on the offensive glass. They have enough size with two guys over 6'9 and Trayson Anderson and Noel Federson to play against bigger teams, maybe not Arizona, Florida, or Michigan big, um, but most teams they might face. Uh, they're looking at roughly like a 14 seed at the moment if they were to get in. Um, they also have a really good solid backcourt and a big athletic wing in Marquise Strickland, who can hang with some of the more athletic players they might run into. Strickland's a 6'6 swingman who can kind of uh slash and get to the basket with authority. So they have depth at the guard position, they have decent size, and they have an athletic wing. I think NDSU could be a trendy uh pick if they're in that 13-14 seed range, um, depending on the matchup. All right, so my last couple teams, let's talk about the American Athletic Conference, Tulsa Hurricane and the South Florida Bulls. Tulsa's 20 and 6, they're 8-5 in the American, they're number 61 in Ken Palm, they're number eight in the country at three-point percentage. So that's why I like Tulsa. South Florida actually is leading the American at 10-3 in the league and 18-8 overall. They are number 60 in Ken Palm. So just one spot separates the two of them. South Florida has a win over Utah State, which is a really nice win. South Florida's got something going. They um are averaging about 90 points a game in this season, and they've had six games where they've scored 100 points this season. So they play at frantic pace, they launch a lot of threes, and they hunt the offensive rebounds. So again, matchup dependent, but South Florida and Tulsa both could be uh potential upset picks in the first round of the NCAA tournament. To finish up, let's talk about the Big West. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors love the name, love that Hawaii is good in basketball. They're 18-6 right now, 10-4 in the Big West, tied with UC Irvine in the league. Hawaii is number 104 in Ken Pom, Irvine is 114. Uh, both very good defenses. Hawaii's number eight in effective field goal percentage defense, top 25 at all shooting percentage defense metrics. UC Irvine, eerily similar. Like when you look at the two side by side, they almost look like the same team, same record in the conference, same defensive emphasis. So those two are teams I like to look for in March Madness as well. And lastly, out of conference USA, Liberty Flames, they're 22 and 3, 10 and 1 in Conference USA, 89th in Ken Palm. They have the 10th best turnover rate in the country, and they are seventh in three-point percentage and two-point percentage and 20th in two-point distance, meaning they get quality shots from three, and they make them, and they get easy baskets close to the hoop. They get to the rim, which allows them to put pressure on the defense to open up for those three-point shots. Liberty also has a nice win over Dayton, and Dayton's a pretty good A10 team. So look out for Liberty. That's a big rundown of a lot of teams. There's even more I could go into, but I don't have it all the time in the world. Uh, but as we get closer to March, as these conference tournaments heat up, um, we'll start talking more about specific matchups in the tournament. But just as you prepare these next two weeks, keep an eye on these teams. They could be your upset picks in your bracket in March Madness. Look out for this group of mid-majors across the country. All right, it's Sunday, so that means it's time for my teams of the week: Minnesota Boys Basketball, Small College basketball in the state of Minnesota. Let's start with class 4A. I'm taking the St. Paul Central Minutemen 21-2. They've all but wrapped up the St. Paul City Conference by sweeping St. Paul Johnson this season. They've won 13 games in a row and finished their regular season with Humboldt and Como Park this week before wrapping up with Minneapolis Southwest on the 27th. Unfortunately, for the Minutemen, they're in the brutal section four of 4A with number one Tartan and traditional powers Cretend Durham Hall and Eastridge, which means they could be a 21-2 season right now and end up as the fourth seed in the section. But the St. Paul Central Minutemen are my team of the week in class 4A. In class 3A, my team of the week this week is the Northfield Raiders. 19-3. The Raiders have won four of their last five, including winning both games last week, completing sweeps over Austin and Winona. Northfield is led by Caden Oakland, a South Dakota State football signee who's averaging 21 points a game. They currently sit in second in the Big Nine conference behind Rochester Mayo, but they've all been locked up the number one seed in Section 1 in Class 3A. My class 2A team of the week is the Mini Haha Academy Red Hawks. They are 16-4, maybe flying a little under the radar after a slow start in which they open with three straight losses, but currently they've won 14 straight games since losing a close game to number three and 3A Richfield at the Hamlin Holiday Tournament on December 27th. Kellen Trope, 6'8 sophomores, averaging 18 points a game and nearly eight rebounds a game. Eighth grader Carter Coupideau, yes, son of former Gopher quarterback Brian Coupido is starring for those Redhawks. In Class 1A, my team of the week is the Dawson Boyd Blackjacks. They are 20-3. They are the defending Class A champions, and they're looking to get hot at the right time. They're averaging 87 points a game in their last 11 games with their loan loss in that stretch, an 81 to 80 loss to number three Class B South Dakota Desmet. The Black Jacks are led by the 1 2 punch of Gunner Libel, a 6 1 point guard who's averaging almost 25 points a game, and 6 4 Jackson Hastead. Dawson Boyd hopes for revenge from their loan section and loan conference loss against Central Minnesota Christians. This week, before taking out one of the top teams in double A Montevideo to end the season, Section Three in Class A is absolutely loaded with four of the top 16 teams based on QRF rankings. My team of the week in the NSIC is the St. Cloud State Huskies. For the second time in the season, they are my team of the week. But this week is special, they wrapped up the NSIC regular season crown after an 87-80 come from behind win against August Anna. The Huskies rallied from 16 points down in that game. Kainen Philippe, a 6'5 guard from Australia, led the Huskies in scoring with 19 points, including five of five from three, which was a career high for him in three-point makes. Lee Marks, the third, is a 6'5 guard from Chicago, notched his first career double-double with 15 points and a career high 10 rebounds. The Huskies are 18-2 in the NSIC with games against Concordia St. Paul and Winorta State left to go. At 21-5, St. Cloud State is putting themselves in good position for Division II regional playoffs. In the Mayak, my team of the week this week is the St. John's Johnnies. They've won three in a row. Their 74-72 win over Hamlin earned them their 14th consecutive trip to the Mayak playoffs. Freshman guard Peyton Padaney from Anoka, Minnesota, led all scorers in that game with 17 points. And Vincent Hillsheim, a Hopkins grad, followed with 15. League leading Gustavus finally lost their first conference game at Carlton and thus wasn't quite able to clinch the regular season crown. They will have two opportunities this week to do so. The Mayak playoff field, though, is set. Seating is still to be determined. Gustavus, St. Olaf, Carlton, St. John's, Concordia, and Augsburg are in the Mayak playoffs. So that's the landscape across Minnesota and boys basketball and small college basketball as of February 15th. So those are my teams of the week. Earlier we talked about mid-majors to watch as you prepare for March Madness and the NCAA tournament. I want to thank you all for listening. Thank you for being a part of the Splash City basketball podcast community. Follow me on Instagram. I do a lot of videos there and a lot of commentary there. Subscribe on YouTube. And if you are a Facebook user, you can follow me there as well. And again, leave a comment, leave a review. Let me know how you think the show is going. Let me know anything you want to talk about. Happy to do to do that in the next few months here as basketball season really cranks up. As my son will probably tell you, I continue to count down the days until March 1st, which I call the greatest time of the year. But, you know, we've got a lot of fun things going on in the state. We got girls and boys state basketball tournament playoffs starting pretty soon here. I think the girls might be end of February. And then you get into conference tournament championships. The goal for women are going to be in the NCAA tournament. And then you also have uh the Timberwolves making a push again in the NBA playoffs as they sit in fifth right now. So great time of year, great time to talk basketball. Share this with your friends. I appreciate you listening again. Thanks to everyone. Have a great week. Um, I am traveling for work, so it might be a little bit lighter on information this week, content on socials, but uh we'll be back next Sunday for another episode of the Splash City Basketball Podcast. Bag in it, back in it, back again. Whoa, whoa, bag, yeah, yeah.