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For many of the smaller conferences in Division I, the season hasn't truly begun yet. Sure, all the teams have played 10 games in non-league play, but none will have any impact whatsoever on league-title aspirations or the double-digit seed that goe...

Blog | Conversation | December 24, 2008

You might know some (Stephen Curry, Patty Mills) but others may be unknown to you (Tremaine Townsend, Tywain McKee). These are the players and teams to look for on the mid-major landscape, writes Kyle Whelliston.

The heady days of Gonzaga's multiple-year tourney runs and George Mason's Final Four run are past. Mid-major conferences have fallen on hard times the past few years come tourney time. But don't be surprised to see some familiar faces in this year's tourney, writes Kyle Whelliston.

Here is a viewers' guide and breakdown of the BracketBusters matchups this weekend.

Forget what you know about the Missouri Valley Conference. Southern Illinois, Wichita State and Creighton are down. Drake, Indiana State and Illinois State are up. Talk about a changing of the guard, writes Kyle Whelliston.

Memphis and Butler are pretty much where we expected them to be, but Creighton, Ohio and Gonzaga may be pretenders this season, writes Kyle Whelliston.

The Missouri Valley Conference has established itself as a consistent multi-bid league. But this season, finding a bid beyond Southern Illinois will be hard, writes Kyle Whelliston.

All in all, it was a great two days of mid-major basketball. Kyle Whelliston details the impact of BracketBusters.

Heading into the most glorious mid-major weekend of the season, Kyle Whelliston breaks down all 13 BracketBusters TV games (ESPN networks, Fri.-Sat.). • BracketBusters Wrap | Vitale: Special • Vote: Best of ... | Winners