The lines that separate the Goliaths from the Davids of college basketball have disappeared.

The so-called mid-major schools have spent the past two weeks turning the tables and picking on the bullies.

Last year George Mason showed the rest of the country just how good the mid-major schools are in making a run to the Final Four. Now, plenty of other schools have shown that the Patriots aren’t the only ones that can slay the giants of college basketball.

Vermont takes down Boston College on the road. Missouri State beats preseason Big-10 favorite Wisconsin on a neutral floor. Oral Roberts defeated Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, the same Jayhawk team that just took down defending national champion Florida. Wichita State upended Louisiana State on the Tigers’ home floor.

So how are all these upsets happening? And should they still even be considered upsets if they keep happening so frequently?

Simply put, mid-majors are designated such for a reason. They are generally smaller and have drastically fewer resources than the big boys.

Realistically, they should not be able to compete with the elite programs of college basketball, but through good coaching and that great equalizer in sports, experience, they have been able to compete against more talented foes. Players at these schools often have the talent to play in big-time conferences, but might have been too short, too slow or simply overlooked.

As a result, these players stay more often than not for their senior years, creating continuity at programs and playing team basketball. Combined, these create a perfect formula for a less talented and glamorous team to upend a perceived bigger and better school.

This is the new landscape of college basketball. With early entries to the NBA draining talent at the “elite” schools, any team can be beaten on any given night.

Now the shockers that enthrall the sports nation every March are happening with more frequency throughout the year, and perhaps these big upsets have never been more prevalent than this month.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the NIT Preseason Tip-Off Tournament.

Heavily favored Tennessee faced off against North Carolina last Friday, but it wasn’t in the championship; it came in the consolation third-place game.

Gonzaga upset the Tar Heels’ ACC Player of the Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough to just 9 points in the process.

Butler got by heralded in-state opponents Notre Dame and Indiana before dispatching the Volunteers to set up an all-Bulldog final in Madison Square Garden.

Even that game was a mild upset, with Butler prevailing over Gonzaga, perhaps the most celebrated mid-major of them all.

It’s clear that big-time basketball is played outside of the BCS conferences. Conferences like the Colonial Athletic, Mid-America and Missouri Valley are incredibly competitive. The rigors of this competition leave these teams dangerous by the time March rolls around.

Rather than giving bids to sixth place teams from major conferences, the NCAA needs to recognize these accomplishments and reward more of these smaller, less recognizable schools with NCAA tournament bids.

Newly anointed No. 1 UCLA would be wise to be wary of the rest of its non-conference foes no matter what the front of its opponents’ jerseys say.