Mid Majors to Watch

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One of the most shocking results so far this season is Notre Dame’s home loss to North Dakota State on December 11. It’s a bad loss for the Irish, to be sure — especially because Notre Dame still had its best player, senior guard Jerian Grant, available when it happened — but it would be a mistake to dismiss the quality of the opponent their opponent. Picked to finish first in the Summit League’s preseason poll, the Bison are off to an 11-4 start, having suffered three of their four losses to good teams: Saint Mary’s, Southern Miss and No. 3 Ohio State.Preseason Summit League Player of the Year Taylor Braun is having his best season yet, averaging 18.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He’s drawing an average of 8.0 fouls per 40 minutes (13th in the country) and producing 1.23 points per possession on 28.8 percent usage. Braun is complemented down low by senior forward Marshall Bjorklund, who sports the highest field goal percentage (68.1) in the country among players averaging at least six field goal attempts per game. The Bison, who rank No. 18 in the country in offensive efficiency and No. 3 in two-point field goal percentage, are the odds-on favorite to win the Summit league.

http://college-basketball.si.com/2014/01/09/halftime-show-mid-major-teams-tournament-harvard-manhattan-wichita-state/ (http://college-basketball.si.com/2014/01/09/halftime-show-mid-major-teams-tournament-harvard-manhattan-wichita-state/)