Small-School MCBB Teams You Need to Watch at Least Once Before the NCAA Tournament – Bleacher Report

Want to get in on a Cinderella story at the ground floor?
Now is the perfect time to familiarize yourself with some of the better small schools in the nation as we gear up for another exciting men’s NCAA tournament.
Ahead we’ve highlighted the best squads who reside outside of the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) and five other conferences that regularly receive multiple bids (American Athletic, Atlantic 10, Big East, Mountain West and West Coast Conference).
What’s left is a handful of intriguing teams that the average college basketball fan likely doesn’t know much about.
Let’s change that.
Ahead we’ve highlighted five small schools worth keeping an eye on leading up to March Madness, with a full team overview and a look at where each squad fell in B/R bracketologist Kerry Miller’s projected tournament field last week.

Kerry Miller Bracketology: No. 12 seed
The College of Charleston Cougars have been to the NCAA tournament just once in the past 23 years, punching their ticket as a No. 13 seed in 2018 with a roster that included a trio of players who would make brief NBA cameos in Grant Riller, Joe Chealey and Jarrell Brantley.
After a 17-15 finish under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey last season, they have rolled to a 28-3 record this year while briefly finding their way into the AP poll for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
With nine guys who play at least 15 minutes and six players averaging between nine and 13 points per game, the Cougars are a well-balanced group.
They play a fast-paced game (27th in KenPom.com‘s adjusted tempo) and rank eighth in the nation with 63.4 shot attempts per game, so controlling the tempo is a major key to their success.
They lost to North Carolina (102-86) in their only Quadrant 1 matchup of the year, but they have a pair of Quadrant 2 wins over Kent State and Virginia Tech.

Kerry Miller Bracketology: No. 12 seed
The Drake Bulldogs have been one of the Missouri Valley’s top teams since Darian DeVries took over as head coach prior to the 2018-19 season, winning at least 20 games every year he has been at the helm.
That included a No. 11 seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament with current Kansas guard Joseph Yesufu leading the way, and they are the front-runner to earn the conference’s automatic bid and return to the Big Dance this year.
Sophomore guard Tucker DeVries has been one of the best mid-major players in the nation this year, averaging 18.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and a 38.3 percent clip from beyond the arc, and he is flanked by four senior starters.
Drake picked up a Quadrant 1 win with a 58-52 neutral-site victory over then-No. 15 Mississippi State on Dec. 20, and after stumbling to a pair of early road losses in conference play, it has gone 13-2 in its last 15 games.
It will likely take the automatic bid to punch the Bulldogs’ ticket to the NCAA tournament, and it’s worth mentioning that they lost both ends of the season series against Missouri State (16-14), so that matchup will be one to watch if they collide in the MVC tournament.

Kerry Miller Bracketology: No. 8 seed
The Florida Atlantic Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament just once since joining the Division I ranks during the 1993-94 season, going one-and-done as a No. 15 seed in the 2002 tournament.
With a 26-3 record this year, they have already secured their second 20-win season in team history, and they have the best chance of receiving an at-large bid of any of the teams highlighted in this article.
The Owls rank in the top 50 nationally in both KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency (35th) and adjusted defensive efficiency (43rd), and they have a pair of Quadrant 1 road wins against Florida and North Texas. Equally important, they have taken care of business against lesser opponents with a 21-0 record against Quadrant 3 and 4 opponents.
FAU does not have one go-to scorer, but it’s one of the nation’s best three-point shooting teams with 9.9 made threes per game (12th in NCAA) and a 37.4 percent clip from beyond the arc (36th in NCAA).
North Texas (51st in NCAA Evaluation Tool) and UAB (57th in NET) both potentially pose a tough test in the Conference USA tournament.

Kerry Miller Bracketology: No. 12 seed
With leading scorers Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs both returning and Ball State grad transfer Miryne Thomas adding another experienced player to the mix, Kent State was picked first by a narrow margin ahead of Toledo in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll.
Carry (16.6 PPG) and Jacobs (12.5 PPG) are again leading the way in scoring, Thomas (10.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG) has made an immediate impact, and the Golden Flash are 23-6 overall and 13-3 in conference, though they sit one game behind Toledo in the MAC standings.
That said, Kent State’s 66th NET ranking is higher than Toledo’s (85th), and the Golden Flashes won the only head-to-head matchup by a decisive 75-63 margin back on Jan. 10, so it’s fair to call them the favorites to emerge with the automatic bid.
Despite an 0-3 record in Quad 1 games, the Golden Flashes held their own against Gonzaga (73-66) while limiting Houston to its lowest scoring output of the entire season in a 49-44 loss.
A defense that ranks 30th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency is the key to their success, and it has allowed them to hang around with some of the best teams in the country.

Kerry Miller Bracketology: No. 11 seed
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles put together an impressive Cinderella run during the 2021 NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed with upset victories over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida.
Guard Max Abmas was the star on that team and the nation’s leading scorer during the 2020-21 season with 24.5 points per game. Now in his senior season, he continues to fill up the box score with 22.3 points per game, good for the sixth-highest mark in the country.
That said, the X-factor this year has been Arkansas transfer Connor Vanover.
The 7’5″ center is averaging 12.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks while shooting 34.1 percent from beyond the arc on 126 attempts after playing just 7.5 minutes per game last season for the Razorbacks.
That duo has led the Golden Eagles to a perfect 18-0 record in Summit League play and a 27-4 showing overall, though their only win above the Quad 3 level is an 84-70 victory at home against Liberty in December.
Is there another Cinderella run in the making?
All stats courtesy of Sports Reference.

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