HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

by Scott M Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the land of mid-majorville. Here you can find information that will help fill out a bracket in March. There are also plenty of highlights that didn’t get enough attention. We have it covered.

Mid-Major Player of the Week goes to…

Doug McDermott, Creighton: Realistically, this guy could win the award every week. He’s a player of the year candidate for a reason. His stats tell one story, but his hustle and selflessness don’t show up in the box score. On Saturday against an Akron team dad/coach Greg McDermott said he was “scared to death” of, the Bluejays took care of business behind Doug’s 30 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the floor with six three-pointers.

Mid-Major Top 10 players:

1. Doug McDermott, Creighton: Averages 22.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, shoots 52% from three-point range.
2. C.J. McCollum, Lehigh: Nation’s leading scorer at 24. 9 points a game.
3. Nate Wolters, South Dakota State: Underrated point guard averaging 20.4 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists.
4. Isaiah Canaan, Murray State: Senior do-everything point guard averaging 21.4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists a game.
5. Tony Mitchell, North Texas: NBA prospect averaging 14.2 points and 8.5 rebounds.
6. Mike Muscala, Bucknell: Overlooked big man averaging 18.8 points, 11.4 rebounds a game.
7. Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State: Second-best player in the Valley behind McDermott, averaging 16.2 points, 2.9 blocks.
8. D.J. Cooper, Ohio: Little engine point guard averaging 14.7 points with eyes in the back of his head (7.6 assists per game).
9. De’Mon Brooks, Davidson: Versatile forward averaging 15. 3 points, 6.2 rebounds.
10. Elias Harris, Gonzaga: Key figure on the best mid-major, averaging 16.6 points and 8 rebounds.

Tweets that speak volume:

“New NCAA stat leaders out today, Mike Muscala 6th in rebounding, Muscala & duke’s Mason Plumlee only 2 in DI averaging 18+pts/11+rebs.”

-Bucknell Athletics (@BisonSports) on Monday

“UIC proved again its for real with a 64-55 win over Colorado St. Flames improved to 8-1. Forced 15 TOs & were 19-22 from line in win.”

-ESPNChicago’s Scott Powers (@ESPNChiPowers) on Saturday

“Top six in the Mountain West are now 40-3 with wins over Creighton, Colorado, UConn, UCLA, USC, Iowa State, Davison and … [For more on Mid-Major Cheat Sheet: Ranking the top mid-major players, click here.]