Commentary

Look out for Norris Cole, Kyle Weems

Mid-major stars could lead their teams to first-round upsets

Originally Published: February 24, 2011
By Matt Giles | ESPN Insider

Ever want a way to compare every player in college basketball? John Hollinger has your answer. With his college player efficiency ratings (PER), we can now evaluate the productivity of Division I hoopsters from Syracuse to Siena to see who's really helping his team the most.

Here's the key difference between Hollinger's NBA PER and the college PER: The vastly different schedules of college teams have an impact. To address this, we've broken down Division I schools into three sections: high majors (teams that play in a major conference or against elite nonconference programs, such as the Gonzaga Bulldogs), mid-majors (teams from conferences that are usually in the running for at least one at-large NCAA tournament bid) and low majors (teams from conferences that traditionally earn only an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament).

Remember when you first heard about Jimmer Fredette? How about Kenneth Faried? And surely one doesn't forget Ali Farokhmanesh. These players were the hot names during the 2010 NCAA tournament and based on John Hollinger's PER rankings, we present three middies you might want to keep an eye on when it comes time to fill out this year's bracket.


For the full breakdown on players to watch, as well as why Washington State is struggling, you need to be an Insider.

SPONSORED HEADLINES

MORE MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL HEADLINES

MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM