Mid-Major Top 25: Harvard Falls to Fordham, Murray State Continues Win Streak

Here are the top 25 mid-majors in the nation based on my own evaluation.

I consider a mid-major team to be any team that is not from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, Mountain West, Atlantic 10 or Conference USA.

*Follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer for more college basketball news and information.

25. Belmont Bruins

Record: 11-6, 4-1 Atlantic Sun

RPI: 97

Belmont's loss to Lipscomb this week was the Bruins' first at home in two years.

Key Wins: Middle Tennessee (Road), Marshall (Home)

Key Losses: Miami-Ohio (Road), Lipscomb (Home)

24. Missouri State Bears

Record: 10-6, 3-1 MVC

RPI: 57

Missouri State rebounded from its loss to Illinois State with a 69-63 win at Indiana State.

Key Wins: Nevada (Road), Creighton (Road)

Key Losses: Illinois State (Home)

23. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Record: 14-4, 6-0 Summit

RPI: 45

Oral Roberts took down South Dakota State behind Dominique Morrison's 38 points to take complete control of first place in the Summit League.

Key Wins: Xavier (Road), South Dakota State (Home)

Key Losses: Texas-San Antonio (Neutral)

22. Denver Pioneers

Record: 13-3, 3-1 Sun Belt

RPI: 46

Denver rebounded from its loss to Arkansas-Little Rock with wins over Arkansas State and South Alabama.

Key Wins: Southern Miss (Home), St. Mary's (Home)

Key Losses: Arkansas-Little Rock (Home)

21. Davidson Wildcats

Record: 10-4, 4-0 SoCon

RPI: 38

Davidson blew out UNC-Greensboro and Georgia Southern this week to stay undefeated in conference play.

Key Wins: Kansas (Road)

Key Losses: Charlotte (Road)

20. South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Record: 13-5, 5-1 Summit

RPI: 69

South Dakota State's four-game winning streak and undefeated Summit League record ended with a loss at Oral Roberts on Saturday.

Key Wins: Washington (Road)

Key Losses: North Dakota (Road)

19. Kent State Golden Flashes

Record: 10-4, 0-1 MAC

RPI: 99

Kent State fell to Buffalo, 66-65, in its MAC opener on Saturday.

Key Wins: West Virginia (Road)

Key Losses: Texas-Arlington (Neutral), Utah State (Road)

18. Charleston Cougars

Record: 11-4, 3-1 SoCon

RPI: 53

Charleston rebounded from a loss to defending SoCon champion Wofford with a 66-43 win at Furman.

Key Wins: Clemson (Road), UMass (Neutral)

Key Losses: Wofford (Road)

17. Wagner Seahawks

Record: 12-3, 3-1 NEC

RPI: 71

Wagner swept its five-game road trip and finally returns home to play Bryant on Thursday.

Key Wins: Pitt (Road)

Key Losses: Lehigh (Home)

16. George Mason Patriots

Record: 12-4, 4-0 CAA

RPI: 131

George Mason survived Georgia State on Saturday to remain undefeated in CAA competition. The Patriots now sit alone in first place in the conference.

Key Wins: Charleston (Road)

Key Losses: Florida Int. (Neutral), Florida Atlantic (Road)

15. Cleveland State Vikings

Record: 14-3, 4-1 Horizon 

RPI: 70

Cleveland State currently sits in a three-way tie with Milwaukee and Youngstown State for first place in the Horizon League.

Key Wins: Vanderbilt (Road), Kent State (Road)

Key Losses: Hofstra (Neutral), Youngstown State (Home)

14. VCU Rams

Record: 11-5, 2-2 CAA

RPI: 91

VCU fell to 2-2 in CAA play with a loss to Drexel on Sunday.

Key Wins: Richmond (Home)

Key Losses: Georgia Tech (Neutral), Georgia State (Home)

13. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Record: 15-2, 4-0 Sun Belt

RPI: 86

Middle Tennessee has won its last three games by double digits. The Blue Raiders take a trip down to Florida this week to play Florida International and Florida Atlantic.

Key Wins: UCLA (Road), Ole Miss (Neutral), Belmont (Home)

Key Losses: UAB (Road)

12. Weber State Wildcats

Record: 12-3, 4-0 Big Sky

RPI: 89

Weber State extended its winning streak to six games with a win at Portland State on Saturday.

Key Wins: None

Key Losses: None

11. Long Beach State 49ers

Record: 10-6, 3-0 Big West

RPI: 23

Long Beach State is off to a hot start in conference play. The 49ers return home for their next two games against UC Davis and Pacific.

Key Wins: Pitt (Road), Xavier (Neutral)

Key Losses: None

10. BYU Cougars

Record: 14-4, 3-1 WCC

RPI: 41

Brigham Young has won three straight games and plays Santa Clara, which is still looking for its first conference win, next Saturday.

Key Wins: Nevada (Neutral), Oregon (Home), Weber State (Home)

Key Losses: Utah State (Road)

9. Northern Iowa Panthers

Record: 12-4, 2-2 MVC

RPI: 24

Northern Iowa ended its three-game losing streak with wins over Indiana State and Drake this week. The Panthers play a key game at Creighton on Tuesday.

Key Wins: Iowa State (Road), Colorado State (Home), Indiana State (Home)

Key Losses: Illinois State (Road), Evansville (Home)

8. Ohio Bobcats

Record: 12-3, 0-1 MAC

RPI: 68

Ohio was upset in its MAC opener at Bowling Green. The Bobcats host Buffalo on Wednesday.

Key Wins: Marshall (Road), Northern Iowa (Road)

Key Losses: Robert Morris (Home), Bowling Green (Road)

7. Wichita State Shockers

Record: 12-3, 3-1 MVC

RPI: 35

Wichita State won a pair of road games this week, defeating Evansville and Southern Illinois.

Key Wins: UNLV (Home)

Key Losses: None

6. Iona Gaels

Record: 13-3, 5-0 MAAC

RPI: 31

Iona improved to 5-0 in the MAAC with a 100-76 rout of Marist. The Gaels have won all five of their conference games by double digits.

Key Wins: St. Joseph's (Home), Denver (Road)

Key Losses: Hofstra (Road)

5. St. Mary's Gaels

Record: 14-2, 3-0 WCC

RPI: 30

St. Mary's survived an upset bid from San Diego on Thursday to remain undefeated in conference play.

Key Wins: Northern Iowa (Home), Weber State (Home), BYU (Home)

Key Losses: None

4. Creighton Bluejays

Record: 13-2, 3-1 MVC

RPI: 28

After losing its MVC opener to Missouri State, Creighton has won its last three games.

Key Wins: San Diego State (Road), Northwestern (Home), Wichita State (Road)

Key Losses: Missouri State (Home)

3. Harvard Crimson

Record: 13-2, 1-0 Ivy

RPI: 48

Harvard lost to Fordham on Tuesday, but the Crimson rebounded with a win over Dartmouth in its Ivy League opener.

Key Wins: Florida State (Neutral), UCF (Neutral), St. Joseph's (Home)

Key Losses: Fordham (Road)

2. Gonzaga Bulldogs

Record: 13-2, 3-0 WCC

RPI: 10

Gonzaga stretched its winning streak to eight games with a victory over Santa Clara on Saturday. The Zags play their first of two meetings with St. Mary's on Thursday.

Key Wins: Arizona (Neutral), Xavier (Road)

Key Losses: None

1. Murray State Racers

Record: 16-0, 4-0 OVC

RPI: 21

Murray State improved to 16-0 with a win at Austin Peay on Saturday. The Racers play 6-12 Jacksonville State on Thursday.

Key Wins: Southern Miss (Neutral), Dayton (Home), Memphis (Road)

Key Losses: None

Just Missed the Cut

Loyola-Maryland (11-4, 4-1 MAAC) survived second half comebacks from Manhattan and Canisius this week to stay in second place in the MAAC.

Illinois State (11-4, 3-1 MVC) defeated Evansville on a buzzer beater on Saturday for its second straight win.

Nevada (12-3, 2-0 WAC) has won its last nine games.

Georgia State (11-4, 3-1 CAA) had an 11-game winning streak come to an end with a loss at George Mason on Saturday.

Robert Morris (12-5, 3-1 NEC) finished 3-2 during its five-game road trip.

Norfolk State (11-5, 3-0 MEAC) currently stands undefeated in conference play.