Mid-Major men’s college teams to watch in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament

by Frank Fear

Can David beat Goliath?

It’s a question I ask every March. Last year we witnessed St. Peter’s come out of nowhere to go to the Elite Eight, knocking off Kentucky and Purdue along the way. Although few Mid-Major teams over the years have accomplished what the Peacocks did, more than a handful have won one or two games during the tournament’s opening weekend, which begins today. Here are the teams and games I’ll be watching.

Oral Roberts vs. Duke (Thursday, 7:10p): ORU may have a chance if the Blue Devils have difficulty containing 7’ 5” Connor Vanover. That said, ORU will have its hands full with Kyle Filipowski, who has outscored and outrebounded Vanover this year (15.4 vs. 12.9 PPG and 9.0 vs. 7.2 RPG). But Duke doesn’t always play well in first-round NCAA games

(e.g., losing to Mercer in 2014). So ORU has a chance to nab a win.

Kennesaw State vs. Xavier (Friday, 12:40p): Xavier is good, but the Musketeers (like Duke) can underperform when it matters most. KSU, on the other hand, is experiencing the big high that Florida Gulf Coast fans felt a decade ago (same conference, the Atlantic Sun, too). I’ve been impressed by the team located in the northern Atlanta suburbs. The Owls might not win, but they should give the Blue Devils a good game.