Gonzaga's Historic Ranking

For the first time in program history the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the #2 team in the AP Top 25. The Zags are the third WCC team to reach this height. They join the exceptional Dons' teams of the mid-century and a blip on the historic radar (funny to say that about a team that hit #2) Broncos squad from 1968-69. This is historic not just for the program or the conference, but the college hoops landscape on the whole.

In the history of the AP Poll only 24 other mid-major teams have earned a ranking of two or higher. For this article I considered any team that is not currently in a power-six conference to be a mid-major. Some teams got shafted with this definition (DePaul, you shouldn't have sold out), some teams got rewarded (Temple, good thing the move to the Big East isn't until next season).

The Top-25 of Mid-Majors in the Top-25's top-2. Click image for full size view.

To research this article I spent eight hours last night (8pm-4am) looking at every single AP Poll that has been released. That goes back all the way to the 1948-1949 season. During that time I noticed thousands of interesting tidbits. Here are just a few of them.

Until the mid '60s teams that are now, at best, occasionally relevant mid-majors (lots of mid-level A-10 and MVC teams) were able to go toe to toe with schools from the power six conferences. Just take a look at the first AP Poll. Hamline? NYU? Those schools aren't even D-1 anymore! Schools like Bradley, La Salle and Duquesne were legitimate powerhouses back in the day. Their current conferences (MVC and A-10) didn't exist back then, so who knows, maybe they weren't considered mid-majors back then (yes, I know, the term "mid-major" didn't exist then either). 

In a season where "parity" is a buzzword around college hoops it seems we've forgotten all about the parity of the mid-20th century. Take a look at this week's AP Poll, which contains just four mid-majors, then look back at the first AP Poll, it's almost unbelievable.

It does not need to be said but, UCLA used to be really good. There was a good decade plus when I was shocked upon seeing a poll without the Bruins in the top two.

At one point (should have noted when exactly this occurred, my bad) it was good luck to be named after a city. It's worth noting that that trend ended. The end must have been brutal because Oklahoma City, which was in the top-25 all the time, is no longer in Division 1. Seattle, which used to be in the top-25 all the time, just recently returned to D-1. This is the Redhawks' first season back as a member of a conference. Hey, go Pilots!

While becoming the 25th team to do something, especially something with a qualification that eliminates many of the other teams that have accomplished it (there are a lot more than 25 teams to make it to #2 if the power conferences were included) might not seem all that historic, it is. It is when you take a look at the recent history.

Not only did toponymy's greatness end roughly but so did the parity I mentioned earlier. Over the first 15 years of the AP Poll 10 different teams that are either currently mid-majors or no longer participate in Division 1 basketball earned a #1 or #2 ranking in the poll. Those teams spent a combined 92 weeks with a ranking of #1 or #2. Over the past 15, only three have managed to do that (keep in mind it was just two until yesterday, Memphis and St. Joe's). Those teams have combined for 22 weeks in one of the two top spots. Gonzaga is the only of those three teams that had not already reached the top two. Memphis hit #2 on on December 28th, 1982. The Tigers then moved to #1, for just one week, on January 11th, 1983. They reached the top two once more on January 28th, 1986. Saint Joe's spent two weeks at #2 starting with the December 14th, 1965 poll.

Since 1985, when the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 games, only eight different teams from mid-major conferences have earned a #2 or #1 ranking in the polls. It has become a lot harder for a team from a mid-major conference to break through into the top two of the polls. It has taken Gonzaga over a decade, after all, to get past #3. Even teams from the now vaunted Mountain West haven't managed to accomplish it. BYU gave the conference it's best shot at the honor with Jimmer Fredette leading the way, but the Cougars stalled at #3 just like the Zags.

For this week, us fans have something to enjoy. The Zags have accomplished a feat that is becoming increasingly hard to accomplish. Enjoy it while you can because it can be just as hard to go past #2 as it is to get there. That said, #1 Indiana just lost...