This document provides a "top ten bracket" listing the top ten mid-major teams to watch in the upcoming NCAA men's basketball tournament, as determined by various analysts and statistics. It profiles each team with their ranking, school name, key player statistics and quotes from analysts about their potential to succeed in the tournament. Teams include Quinnipiac, Wichita State, Butler, BYU, New Mexico, UNLV, Siena, Richmond, Old Dominion, and UTEP.

1. TOP TEN
“BRACKET
Michael Conroy/AP
By: Kels Dayton

2. The Big Red nearly
knocked off No. 1
Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse
in January,
Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore says: “There’s
AP Photo
no more helpless a feeling than when
you’re guarding Cornell in the half court,
and they’re running their flare screens and
back cuts and they get a wide open three
on you. As a head coach you’re just praying
1) it doesn’t go in.”

3. Missouri Valley
Conference, going 15-3 and
capturing the regular season title.
They are led by guard Kwadzo
Ahelegbe,
who is averaging 10.6 points per
game.
Matthew Putney/ WCF Courier
2)
“They’re going to give somebody in the
NCAA Tournament an ‘L’,”--Wichita State
head coach Greg Marshall, after losing to the
Panthers. (Source: http://www.usatoday.com/)
NORTHERN

4. average in double
figures in scoring
(Guards Shelvin Mack
and Willie Veasley,
Forwards Gordon
Hayward and Matt
Howard).
Duane Burleson/AP
SCARY STAT: Butler has not lost since
December 22 (at UAB). Source: Espn.com
3) BUTLER

5. Sweet-shooting guard
Jimmer Fredette leads the
Cougars with 22.1 points
per game.
AP Photo
SCARY STAT: Fredette scored
49 points in BYU’s 99-69
thrashing of Arizona in
Tucson in December.
4 BYU

6. The Lobos are led by guard
Darington Hobson, (1), who
averages 15.9 points and 9.3
reboungs per game.
“They’re legit. Darington Hobson is a
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
6-7 triple double waiting to happen,
and they’ve got two great shooters,
and a terriffic point guard. They play
great together,”-- CBS Sports analyst
5 NEW MEXICO
Steve Lappas, on WFAN’s “Mike’d Up”

7. Runnin’ Rebels with
17.2 points per game.
The Rebs are deep in
the backcourt, with
Willis and guard Chase
Stanbeck.
SCARY STAT: UNLV
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
hasn’t allowed an
opponent to score
more than 77 points
since Decmeber 12.
6 UNLV
(Source: ESPN.com)

8. players who average over
13 points per game.
(Guard Clearance Jackson,
and Forwards Edwin Ubiles,
Alex Franklin, and Ryan
Rossiter.) Source:
Espn.com Saints
SCARY STAT: The
have reached the second
round of the NCAA
Tournament in each of the
past two seasons.
Pete Iorizzo/Albany Times-Union
7 SIENA

9. Princeton-style offense,
and are lead by guards
Kevin Anderson (14), and
David Gonzalvez (5).
AP Photo
“I think Richmond presents
matchup problems for a lot of
teams because of the way they
play. I think they have a chance
to reach the Elite Eight,”--
Doug Gottlieb, ESPN analyst
8 RICHMOND

10. Forward Gerald Lee (12), and
Guard Ben Finney (15) have
lead the Monarchs to a
Colonial Athletic Association
SCARY STAT:
The Monarchs season title.
regular
rank sixth in
the nation in
points allowed,
giving up just
57.5 per
game.
9 OLD
Source:
bbstate.com Pilot
Bill Tiernan/The Virginia

11. High-flying guard Randy
Culpepper leads the Miners
with 17.9 points per game.
“If you’re looking for a
double-digit seed that could
get to the Sweet 16 or
beyond in this bracket, it’s
UTEP.” -- ESPN analyst Andy
Katz
Ruben R. Ramirez/ El Paso Times
10 UTEP