The college basketball landscape is a vast, vast countryside with rolling meadows, open plains,, treacherous cliffs, and other various biomes ripe for hyperbole. 35seconds would like to help everyone explore this random land of wonderment by bringing to light some lesser known programs. Whether they have bracket-busting aspirations, interesting back stories, or just give good mascot, there’s always room for some mid-major lovin’.

The University of Rhode Island Rams- (10-1, 0-0) RPI:19, currently unranked

Notable victories: at USF, Providence, at Syracuse

Notable losses: at BC

Only a 76-72 defeat at Chestnut Hill keeps the URI Rams from 11-0. The former home of the NBA’s Cuttino Mobley and Lamar Odom is always in that fuzzy grey area otherwise known as the perennial bubble. In a conference like the Atlantic 10, it is hard to get noticed on a regular basis, what with the limited berths or mid-majordom and recent runs by Xavier, George Washington, St. Joe’s, and Richmond. Names to know? Junior G Jimmy Baron and senior F Will Daniels lead the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 and 17.9/pts game, while junior big man Kahiem Seawright is this close to averaging a double-double (7.5 pts/7.9 boards) a night. On paper, the Rams have the pieces together to give some larger power conference school fits in the middle of Boise or Greensboro on a random 10pm start. So far, they’ve shown they can hang with the heavies, so we’ll be keeping an eye on their conference play. URI opens up A10 play at Dayton on January 9th.

University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers: (7-3), RPI: 57, unranked

Notable victories: at Richmond, George Washington

Notable losses: Wichita State, Central Connecticut

The noble Retrievers of UMBC, Chesapeake Bay retrievers to be exact, have the kind of plucky charm we like to see in hyphenated underdogs. Currently holding the best record among its America East peers, UMBC looks in the early goings as someone to pencil in for the berth. When the closest peer is Albany at 4-4, we tend to start brushing up on our random mascot trivia for March. Spreading the points around with senior guards Brian Hodges and Ray Barbosa, junior forward Darryl Proctor, and senior forward Cavell Johnson, the Retrievers have 4 players averaging over 14pts/game with Proctor and Johnson combining for 16 rebounds a night. Again, note the senior leadership that is a common watermark of scrappy unknowns. UMBC rounds out their December with trips to West Virginia and Ohio State, and here’s hoping they put a good scare into their “tuneup” games. Am. East play begins January 3rd at Stony Brook.