Top Players to Know from Mid-Major and 1-Bid Leagues for CBB Conference Tourneys

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Max AbmasMichael Ciaglo/Getty Images

March Madness is always the featured attraction, but there isn’t a busier schedule of meaningful games than when conference tournaments begin.

As high-major programs have a final regular-season week to play, most of the unheralded leagues in Division I are entering postseason action. And in most situations, the teams know a trip to the Big Dance hinges entirely on these conference tournaments.

Win, you’re in.

Lose, though, and the national stage disappears.

Considering there are 368 D-I teams, these upcoming games may be your introduction to this season’s small-school standouts. First, no shame in that. Keeping track of a favorite team is hard enough sometimes. Still, it’s valuable to know where and when to find these players. We’re not hitting every league but have included most mid-major and one-bid leagues.

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Antoine DavisIcon Sportswire/Getty Images

The first notable names are slated to open postseason play March 1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference and Horizon League.

A-Sun front-runner Liberty has Darius McGhee, who ranks second nationally at 23.8 points per game. Right behind him on the scoring leaderboard is Detroit guard Antoine Davis. The senior has averaged 23.5 points per game, keeping the Titans afloat in a conference topped by Cleveland State.

The next day, Wagner’s Alex Morales and Bryant’s Peter Kiss headline the Northeast Conference’s top teams. Morales has provided 17.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Kiss leads the nation with an average of 24.8 points.

Also on March 2, the Big South and Ohio Valley begin their tourneys.

Longwood and Winthrop are the prime Big South contenders, but UNC Asheville has an under-the-radar star. Drew Pember, a Tennessee transfer, has notched 15.5 points and 3.1 blocks per game. He put up 41 points on Radford in January.

Even if Murray State loses in the OVC tournament, the 26-2 Racers will probably be a part of March Madness. They have two 16-plus-point-per-game scorers in KJ Williams and Tevin Brown. Murray State’s top competition is Belmont, which boasts one of the nation’s most versatile centers. Nick Muszynski is recording 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.

Jumping ahead to March 4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, the quarterfinal round will be the opening day for Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley. Although he’s encountered a cold streak lately, only three players have scored 30-plus points in more than Mosley’s five outings this season.

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Jamaree BouyeaYoung Kwak/Associated Press

March 5 will be the first opportunity to see Chattanooga’s Malachi Smith and VMI’s Jake Stephens in the Southern Conference tournament. Smith has posted 20.6 points and 3.2 assists per game, and Stephens has even greater production than fellow do-everything center Muszynski. Stephens has averaged 19.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 blocks.

Barring a surprise, San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea will begin his West Coast Conference tourney on March 5. He’s tallied at least 17.2 points and 3.8 assists per game in consecutive years. Gonzaga is the prohibitive WCC front-runner.

Depending on how Oral Roberts closes the regular season, the Golden Eagles will tip off their Summit League run on either March 5 or 6. They’ll be leaning on Max Abmas, who’s netted 23.6 points per game during the last two seasons and guided the program to a surprising Sweet 16 trip in 2021.

March 6 is the definite starting date for Vermont, the heavy America East favorite. Ryan Davis and Ben Shungu both average 16-plus points with a three-point clip of 43.8 percent or better.

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Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

March 8 features six championship games and segues nicely into the beginning of more tournaments.

While most top-seeded programs will start on a later date, Utah Valley may open as early as March 8 in the WAC tourney. Expectations will be low for UVU, but that doesn’t apply to Fardaws Aimaq. He’s racked up 19.2 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.

On the other hand, New Mexico State is the WAC favorite. Teddy Allen, who previously played at West Virginia and Nebraska, has accumulated 20.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per night.

The next two programs also have title-winning potential.

UAB guard Jordan Walker, another two-time transfer from Seton Hall and Tulane, is the headliner of the Conference USA tournament. Walker has gathered 19.2 points, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. UAB will start either on March 8 or 9.

Led by Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona has clinched the MAAC’s top seed and is slated for its first tournament game on March 9. He’s averaged 13.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks this season.

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

This season, the Mountain West is stretching the definition of a mid-major league. It’s possible that the conference sends as many as five programs to March Madness, even though three or four bids appear the most likely outcomes.

But this conference is loaded with talent.

Colorado State’s David Roddy has averaged 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Fresno State’s Orlando Robinson is at 18.4, 8.0 and 2.7 per game, respectively, while Utah State’s Justin Bean checks in with 18.1, 9.8 and 2.7. UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton is joint-seventh nationally at 21.7 points per contest.

Wyoming has a pair of high-end contributors. Graham Ike has tallied 21.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and Hunter Maldonado holds standards of 19.6 points and 6.3 assists.

Short story long: Get hyped for March 9, because the Mountain West tourney should be full of excitement.

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Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Deep breath, folks. One more group.

Northern Colorado seems headed for a March 10 opener in the Big Sky tourney and will be relying on 20-plus-point scorer Daylen Kountz. Weber State guard Koby McEwen, formerly of Utah State and Marquette, is likely a familiar name, as well.

Also on March 10, the MAC tournament will get underway. Toledo is the co-favorite with Ohio, which has Mark Sears averaging 19.3 points, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals.

And, lastly, the Ivy League.

Penn has locked in a spot as one of four qualifiers for the tournament, which starts with the semifinals on March 12. Jordan Dingle, who’s poured in 20.2 points per game, is the marquee player of the final one-bid league to play its championship in 2022.

         

Statistics courtesy of KenPom.com or Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.