Last week we asked you which state is the best for mid-major programs. While the official poll here on our side did not garner any votes, we had a fair amount of social media responses.
Tyler wrote “Ohio and it’s not close.”
The initial intention of the question was about quality of mid-major basketball as well as depth, but by pure breadth of conferences, Texas is right up there with the best.
Ken agreed about Texas’ variety of mid-majors, but pointed out California has two of the top programs over the last few years: Saint Mary’s and San Diego State.
Jordan added that North Carolina has several noteworthy programs as well: App State, Elon, UNCG, UNCW, Western Carolina, and Charlotte.
One Bsky user pointed to Iowa as a strong candidate with the likes of Drake and Northern Iowa. Shoutout the MVC!
Staying in the Midwest, we had some funny responses too. How about Illinois? But not for who you think….
For the record, the Prairie State has 10 mid-majors: Loyola Chicago, Northern Illinois, Illinois State, UIC, Southern Illinois, Bradley, Chicago State, Western Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, Eastern Illinois.
Moving one state east, a fan of IU-Indy pleaded for Indiana to get a mention.
Remember, “in 49 states, it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana.”
As for my take, even this native New Yorker has to give the edge to California. Hard to argue against what SMC and SDSU have done recently.
So, in lieu of any official Mid-Major Madness Reacts Results, let’s take a look some of our SB Nation brethren had.
Staying on the hardwood, 76% of Purdue fans believe Enzo Shahrvin will be cleared to play this season by the NCAA. The 6-foot-7 Frenchman played two seasons for Paris Basketball in EuroLeague. Yay, let’s continue to add more pro international players to college basketball.
Moving down to the Bluegrass State, Kentucky fans are confident in Mark Pope. Nearly half (48%) of them believe the captain of the 1996 championship team will be the coach of the Wildcats for five or more years. We remember his days at BYU in the WCC and Utah Valley in the WAC.
As always, be sure to use FanDuel for all your sports betting needs.