Undefeated Murray State could be next to shed mid-major label

When two of college basketball's most successful mid-major programs met in December, Gonzaga's Mark Few and Butler's Brad Stevens didn't want to talk about how their teams have succeeded as underdogs and giant killers outside of a power conference.

The two coaches were instead concentrated on recruiting, winning and playing at a national level — just where college basketball's last undefeated team might soon find itself.

At 21-0, Murray State is off to its best start in program history and could be next to transcend the mid-major label.

"The fans are completely wanting that to happen — wanting this Cinderella story to continue," said Sophie McDonald, a Murray State senior and sports editor at The Murray State News.

Under first-year coach Steve Prohm, the Racers have passed every test thrown at them this season, already clinching the program's 25th straight winning season. They've won the Great Alaskan Shootout, beat then-No. 20 Memphis at its home FedEx Forum (the only team to do so this season) and notched a double-digit win over Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) preseason favorite Austin Peay.

The bad news for the rest of the OVC — maybe even the whole country, depending on how the Racers finish their season — is that Prohm's team contains seven juniors. And that it has Prohm, maybe even beyond this year.

"I think he'll have to prove himself over more than just one season," McDonald said. "Plus he recruited most of these guys as an assistant, and I don't think he would leave them."

At Gonzaga, Butler and Murray State, the schools' current head coaches were all promoted from assistant coaching positions to the top job.

Colin Likas, a Butler sophomore and sports editor at The Butler Collegian, said it's inevitable that Stevens will eventually leave, much like Prohm at Murray. But like Stevens' predecessor, Todd Lickliter, he's left a foundation.

"They set up a system where you've got assistant coaches who could take over as a head coach at any time," Likas said. "If they honestly believe that — that an assistant coach could take over Brad's position at any time — then they'll be fine."

A system is only one factor among many that's allowed some mid-majors to rise above others, said Dave Calloway, a former Monmouth head coach and chair of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 that has the Racers at No. 1.

Lower cost of living at schools outside metro areas lets mid-majors retain coaches longer, Calloway said, and certain conferences have a history of winning NCAA Tournament games. Murray has potential in those regards, but Calloway added that "Gonzaga is the exception. We'll see with Butler. They might also be an exception."

No mid-major can boast the same resume as the Bulldogs, who have won either the West Coast Conference regular-season or tournament championship every year since 1999 and appeared 13 straight NCAA Tournaments.

Justin Trujillo, a Gonzaga senior and sports editor at The Gonzaga Bulletin, said four factors have played into the Bulldogs' success: controlling the conference, an established home court advantage, creative recruiting strategies and fearless scheduling.

"All of that combined has helped the community embrace the team, and the team embrace the community," Trujillo said.

The same sign are starting to appear at Murray State, which has sold out its last two games at the 8,600-seat CFSB Center.

The hot start has the Racers looking to become the first team to complete a perfect regular season since St. Joseph's in 2004, and possibly the first to enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated since UNLV in 1991.

But it's consistency beyond the regular season that's elevated Butler and Gonzaga's reputations above other mid-majors. Both programs have both tallied 16 NCAA tournament wins since 1999, while Murray State owns a 2-14 all-time tournament record.

"We're throwing the term mid-major around quite a bit right now," said McDonald, who also covers the Racers for the Associated Press. "Isaiah Canaan told me the other day that opportunities don't come up every day for a mid-major. I think they know where their place is, and regardless of being a mid-major or not, an undefeated season is amazing."

Jonathan Lintner is a Spring 2012 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about him here.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.