NCAA Tournament mid-major breakdown: Missouri Valley, MEAC, MAC, Southland

As Selection Sunday approaches on March 13, the mid-major conferences in Division I men’s basketball start to gain attention.

Here’s a primer on four such conferences as the regular season winds down and conference tournament play begins in the Missouri Valley, MEAC, MAC and Southland conferences.

Missouri Valley

(Conference tournament: March 3-6, St. Louis)

The favorite: Wichita State

Record: 23-7, 16-2 MVC

RPI: 43

Best wins: Vs. Utah, Evansville (twice), at Northern Iowa

Worst loss: Wichita State has not lost to a team outside the RPI top 150

The top seed in the MVC Tournament, Wichita State is a safe bet to make the NCAA Tournament even if it doesn’t survive “Arch Madness.”

Ever since star senior guard Fred VanVleet (12. 3 points per game, 5.8 assists per game) returned to the lineup after missing a few nonconference games due to a hamstring injury, the Shockers have gone 21-3.

VanVleet and classmate Ron Baker form a veteran backcourt combo that has already made a Final Four, gone through a regular season undefeated and made a Sweet 16 in their first three seasons together.

High-major opponents likely won’t want to be seeded anywhere near the Shockers and find out the hard way what VanVleet and Baker will do in their finale.

The contender: Evansville

Record: 23-8, 12-6 MVC

RPI: 93

Best wins: Vs. Belmont, at Fresno State, vs. UC Irvine (neutral site)

Worst loss: Evansville has not lost to a team outside the RPI top 150.

The MVC Tournament’s second seed, Evansville has been lifted by the transcendent play of two seniors.

Guard D.J. Balentine and forward Egidijus Mockevicius have made their last go-rounds count; both played their way to first-team all-MVC honors.

Balentine, a classic volume shooter, is averaging 20.7 ppg on 16 shots per game. Mockevicius, a 6-10 space-filler, is the top rebounder in Division I (14.0 rpg).

If the Aces can survive their half of the bracket, they could swipe the conference title and NCAA Tournament automatic bid, forcing the Shockers to take an at-large bid and pushing another team off the bubble.

Dark horse: The other serious threat to Wichita State is fourth seed Northern Iowa (19-12, 11-7 MVC), which would face the Shockers in the semifinals. The Panthers have already beaten North Carolina (RPI-9) and Iowa State (RPI-19) and also upset Wichita State on its own floor on Feb. 13, 53-50.

MAC

(Conference tournament: March 7-12, Cleveland)

The favorite: Akron

Record: 23-7, 12-5 MAC

RPI: 41

Best wins: Vs. UCSB (neutral site), vs. Ohio (twice), at Arkansas

Worst loss: Akron has not lost to a team outside of the RPI top 150.

Owners of a perfect 14-0 record at home, the Zips have quietly built a strong RPI for themselves by beating up on the decent teams that populate the middle and bottom tiers of the MAC: Eight teams in the conference currently have RPIs between 100 and 200.

Akron can score in bunches. Kenpom.com’s opponent-adjusted offensive efficiency ratings have the Zips ranked 47th in the country, scoring 111.4 points per 100 possessions.

In a matchup against a plodding high-major, Akron could easily blitz an opponent with its three-point shooting and pull an upset. As a team, the Zips are shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.

The contender: Central Michigan

Record: 17-13, 10-7 MAC

RPI: 130

Best wins: Vs. Akron, vs. Ohio, vs. Kent State, vs. Northern Illinois

Worst loss: At Western Michigan

Currently tied for the MAC West Division lead with Ball State, Central Michigan already has the luxury of owning a head-to-head win over Akron.

Four players scored at least 14 points for the Chippewas in that 92-81 win on Jan. 12, including junior guard Braylon Rayson, who dropped 24.

An ugly stretch of four losses in five games, including a brutal road loss to Western Michigan (RPI-209), knocked Central Michigan back in the standings, but it since has won three in a row.

Dark horse: Ohio (19-10, 10-7) has a solid RPI (80) thanks to a strong nonconference schedule that included games against Tulsa, St. Bonaventure and Florida State. The Bobcats are in second place in the MAC East Division behind Akron.

MEAC

(Conference tournament: March 7-12, Norfolk, Virginia.)

The favorite: Hampton

Record: 18-9, 13-2 MEAC

RPI: 182

Best win: Vs. Louisiana-Monroe (neutral site)

Worst loss: Vs. Nicholls State (neutral site)

It’s a hard life for teams in the MEAC, a conference that has seen its ability to competitively recruit fade over the years.

Hampton played a grand total of one home game from the start of the season until Jan. 3, going 5-6 in that stretch.

Since entering conference play, the defending MEAC champion Pirates have asserted their dominance over the rest of the league, starting out 7-0. They’ve won seven of their last eight.

After winning a play-in game in the NCAA Tournament last year, Hampton will likely be heading to Dayton again if it avoids any slip-ups in the conference tournament.

The contender: South Carolina State

Record: 16-13, 11-4 MEAC

RPI: 219

Best win: At Hampton

Worst loss: Vs. Savannah State (twice)

Junior guard Eric Eaves came off the bench to score 18 points in South Carolina State’s 67-62 win over Hampton on Jan. 25, the Pirates’ first conference loss.

Since then, the Bulldogs have won five of their last seven, putting themselves in position to take the third seed in the conference tournament.

If South Carolina State can knock off Hampton a second time, it will lead to the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.

Dark horse: The only other team in the MEAC with a .500 record is Norfolk State (15-15, 11-4 MEAC). The Spartans currently hold the second seed in the conference tournament thanks to their win over South Carolina State but still have to face Hampton in the regular-season finale.

Southland

(Conference tournament: March 9-12, Katy, Texas)

The favorite: Stephen F. Austin

Record: 23-5, 16-0 Southland

RPI: 85

Best wins: Vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (twice)

Worst loss: Vs. Tulane (neutral site)

To call Stephen F. Austin the favorite in the Southland Conference Tournament is a bit of an understatement. Simply put, the Lumberjacks have dominated the Southland under coach Brad Underwood, winning 51 of their last 52 conference games.

One of the key contributors from the Stephen F. Austin squad that upset VCU in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, Thomas Walkup, is making his case for Southland Player of the Year honors. The senior is averaging 16.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

The only knock against the Lumberjacks this season is their lack of a signature nonconference win, which has softened their RPI. Stephen F. Austin will have to win the conference tournament if it wants to make a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

The contender: Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Record: 22-6, 13-3 Southland

RPI: 102

Best win: At Elon

Worst loss: At Incarnate Word

The Islanders have put together a gaudy conference record in their own right. However, they simply couldn’t keep pace when they played the Lumberjacks twice in a span of 15 games, falling at home on Jan. 30 (66-61) and on the road on Feb. 13 (70-58).

Already locked into the second seed in the conference tournament, Texas A&M Corpus Christi will rely on junior forward Rashawn Thomas to carry most of the scoring load. The 6-8 Thomas has scored at least 30 points five times this season.

The Islanders have only qualified for the NCAA Tournament once, in 2007. That team, a 15 seed, pushed Wisconsin to the limit before wearing down late in a 76-63 loss.

Dark horse: Sam Houston State (16-13, 11-5 Southland) has won four out of five but lost all four games it played against Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.