Emerging Mid Major Powerhouse Northern Iowa Beats Wichita State

Every year in college basketball, some team or teams emerge from the mid major conferences and play at the level of the bigger schools and power conferences. Some teams that come to mind are Butler (now a member of the Big East after tremendous success in the Horizon League), Wichita State, and Virginia Commonwealth, formerly of the Colonial Athletic Association and now a member of the Atlantic 10. Mid major teams can be counted on to screw up everyone’s brackets at tournament time by pulling upsets.

This year, Northern Iowa is setting the pace for the mid majors. The Panthers, ranked 18th in the country, hosted #12 Wichita State on January 31st and won decisively 70-54. Northern Iowa improved to 20-2 overall, and 9-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, tying them with Wichita State (19-3, 9-1).

Wichita State has set the standard in the Missouri Valley the last couple of years, reaching the Final Four in 2013. Now they have some serious competition from the Panthers, who are based in Cedar Falls, a nice little town that just screams Iowa.  Northern Iowa is led by senior forward Seth Tuttle, who is averaging 15.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, all of which lead the team.  Wichita State and Northern Iowa will meet once more in the regular season finale on February 28th, and then perhaps in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.  Both will almost assuredly be in the field for the NCAA tournament.