Mid-Major Top 25—Feb. 14: Zags Sweep St. Mary's, Siena's Win Streak Ends

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (2)

Record: 21-4, 9-1 WCC

RPI: 15

Gonzaga swept the season series against St. Mary's with an 80-61 win.

Key Wins: Cincinnati (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral), Illinois (Road), St. Mary's (Road), Memphis (Road), St. Mary's (Home)

Key Losses: Wake Forest (Home), San Francisco (Road)

2. Butler Bulldogs (3)

Record: 23-4, 16-0 Horizon

RPI: 16

Butler remained undefeated in the Horizon League with a win at Cleveland State on Saturday. The Bulldogs are one of five teams still undefeated in conference play (Kansas, Murray State, Sam Houston State, Morgan State). Butler plays Siena in the Bracket Buster next Saturday.

Key Wins: Northwestern (Road), Ohio State (Home), Xavier (Home)

Key Losses: Minnesota (Neutral)

3. Northern Iowa Panthers (1)

Record: 22-3, 13-2 MVC

RPI: 13

Northern Iowa had a six-game winning streak snapped at Bradley. During that streak, the Panthers won five of the six by single digits—these games came down the wire. This time, Northern Iowa was on the wrong end of a close game and lost 68-59. Northern Iowa hosts Old Dominion in the Bracket Buster.

Key Wins: Boston College (Neutral), Siena (Home), Wichita State (Home)

Key Losses: Depaul (Neutral), Bradley (Road)

4. Siena Saints (4)

Record: 21-5, 14-1 MAAC

RPI: 33

Siena lost their first game in conference play at Niagara. This is the second straight year that the Saints took an undefeated season to Western New York and lost. Niagara looked like the team it was supposed to be at the start of the year, controlling the second half and winning 87-74. Siena got lucky that St. Mary's lost twice this week. Otherwise, it would dropped down in the rankings.

Key Wins: Northeastern (Home), Fairfield (Road), Iona (Road)

Key Losses: Northern Iowa (Road), Niagara (Road)

5. St. Mary's Gaels (5)

Record: 21-5, 8-3 WCC

RPI: 43

St. Mary's dropped back-to-back games this week at Gonzaga and Portland.

Key Wins: Utah State (Road), San Diego State (Home), Portland (Road)

Key Losses: Vanderbilt (Road)

6. Murray State Racers (7)

Record: 24-3, 15-0 OVC

RPI: 85

Murray State remains undefeated in the OVC.

Key Wins: Morehead State (Home)

Key Losses: Louisiana Tech (Road)

7. Old Dominion Monarchs (8)

Record: 20-7, 12-3 CAA

RPI: 36

Old Dominion moved into second place in the CAA with a win over George Mason on Saturday. 

Key Wins: Georgetown (Road), William & Mary (Road), George Mason (Home)

Key Losses: Richmond (Road), George Mason (Road)

8. Cornell Big Red (6)

Record: 21-4, 7-1 Ivy

RPI: 47

Following a loss at Penn, Cornell barely survived at Princeton with a 48-45 win. A loss would have sent the Big Red plummeting in the rankings. The Big Red got lucky that a lot of the teams below them lost this week, otherwise they could have been much lower.

Key Wins: Alabama (Road), Harvard (Home)

Key Losses: Penn (Road)

9. Northeastern Huskies (11)

Record: 17-9, 12-3 CAA

RPI: 59

Northeastern lost at William & Mary on Saturday. 

Key Wins: Utah State (Home), Wright State (Home), VCU (Road), GMU (Home), ODU (Home)

Key Losses: Boston U (Road), Western Michigan (Neutral), Drexel (Home)

10. Virginia Commonwealth Rams (9)

 

Record: 17-7, 9-6 CAA

RPI: 53

Virginia Commonwealth lost at James Madison on Saturday. VCU really could have used a win in that game.

Key Wins: Oklahoma (Road), Richmond (Home), William & Mary (Home), ODU (Home)

Key Losses: Western Michigan (Road), Drexel (Road)

11. Morgan State Bears (15)

Record: 19-7, 11-0 MEAC

RPI: 116

Morgan State is still undefeated in the MEAC.

Key Wins: Arkansas (Road)

Key Losses: Appalachian State (Road), Loyola Maryland (Road)

12. George Mason Patriots (12)

Record: 16-10, 11-4 CAA

RPI: 110

George Mason gutted out an overtime win over VCU, but then lost at Old Dominion. 

Key Wins: Indiana (Neutral), ODU (Home), VCU (Road)

Key Losses: Tulane (Road), Radford (Road), Georgia State (Road)

13. Portland Pilots (14)

Record: 16-8, 7-3 WCC

RPI: 91

Portland upset St. Mary's in front of their home crowd. This was a much needed win for the Pilots, who are now half a game out of second place in the WCC.

Key Wins: Minnesota (Neutral), UCLA (Neutral), St. Mary's (Home)

Key Losses: Portland State (Home), Idaho (Road)

14. Wichita State Shockers (10)

Record: 20-6, 9-5 MVC

RPI: 49

Wichita State lost at Evansville, giving the Aces their first win in conference play. 

Key Wins: Texas Tech (Home), Illinois State (Home), Northern Iowa (Home)

Key Losses: Creighton (Road), Drake (Road), Evansville (Road)

15. Oakland Golden Grizzlies (19)

Record: 20-8, 14-1 Summit

RPI: 70

Oakland is still in first place in the Summit.  

Key Wins: Green Bay (Home), IUPUI (Home)

Key Losses: Eastern Michigan (Home)

16. Sam Houston State Bearkats (21)

Record: 18-5, 10-0 Southland

RPI: 76

Sam Houston State remains undefeated in the Southland. 

Key Wins: Rider (Neutral), Auburn (Road)

Key Losses: Cleveland State (Road), Western Michigan (Road)

17. Northern Colorado Bears (17)

Record: 20-6, 9-4 Big Sky

RPI: 99

Northern Colorado had a chance at first place in the Big Sky, but lost at Weber State.

Key Wins: Montana (Road), Weber State (Home)

Key Losses: Portland State (Road)

18. Harvard Crimson (13)

Record: 17-5, 6-2 Ivy

RPI: 90

Harvard, despite winning, has really struggled in the Ivy League. The Crimson need to start winning by more to move back up.

Key Wins: William & Mary (Home), Boston College (Road)

Key Losses: Army (Road), Princeton (Home)

19. Kent State Golden Flashes (22)

Record: 18-8, 9-3 MAC

RPI: 62

Kent State lost at Buffalo on Saturday, but the Golden Flashes are still in first place in the MAC.

Key Wins: UAB (Home), Morehead State (Road), Wofford (Neutral), Akron (Home)

Key Losses: Green Bay (Home), Bowling Green (Home), Buffalo (Road)

20. Iona Gaels (18)

Record: 18-8, 10-5 MAAC

RPI: 87

Iona has lost two out their last three, with the one win coming over Marist. The Gaels lost to a struggling Manhattan College team on Friday.

Key Wins: Creighton (Neutral), Providence (Road), Fairfield (Home)

Key Losses: Canisius (Road), Manhattan (Home)

21. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (16)

Record: 20-5, 8-3 WAC

RPI: 75

Louisiana Tech is in third place in the WAC. The Bulldogs play a big game at Utah State this coming week.

Key Wins: Murray State (Home), Houston (Road), Utah State (Home)

Key Losses: Arizona (Road), San Jose State (Road), New Mexico State (Home), New Mexico State (Road)

22. Charleston Cougars (20)

Record: 17-9, 12-3 SoCon

RPI: 111

Charleston picked up a bad loss to Citadel this week.

Key Wins: UNC (Home), Wofford (Home)

Key Losses: East Tennessee State (Road), Hawaii (Road), Citadel (Home)

23. William & Mary Tribe (Not Ranked)

Record: 18-7, 10-5 CAA

RPI: 54

William & Mary ended Northeastern's four-game winning streak with a 53-52 win on Saturday.

Key Wins: Richmond (Home), Wake Forest (Road), VCU (Home), Maryland (Road), Northeastern (Home)

Key Losses: Harvard (Road), UNC Wilmington (Home), James Madison (Home)

24. Utah State Aggies (Not Ranked)

Record: 20-6, 10-2 WAC

RPI: 48

Utah State has won 10 straight games and has a one-game lead on New Mexico State in the WAC. 

Key Wins: Weber State (Road), Morehead State (Home), Nevada (Road)

Key Losses:

25. Wofford Terriers (Not Ranked)

Record: 19-8, 11-3 SoCon

RPI: 95

Wofford has won five straight games and is in second place in the SoCon.

Key Wins: Georgia (Road), South Carolina (Home)

Key Losses: Bradley (Road), Appalachian State (Home)

Teams By Conference:

CAA: 5

WCC: 3

Ivy: 2

MAAC: 2

MVC: 2

SoCon: 2

WAC: 2

Big Sky: 1

Horizon: 1

MAC: 1

MEAC: 1

OVC: 1

Southland: 1

Summit: 1

Added (Alphabetically): Utah State, William & Mary, Wofford

Dropped: Coastal Carolina, Green Bay, Morehead State

Considered: Akron, Fairfield, Green Bay, Illinois State, IUPUI, Montana, Morehead State, Princeton, Robert Morris, Stephen F Austin, Weber State, Wright State