Mid-Major Top 25—Mar. 7: First Bids Get Punched To NCAA Tournament

Does not include Sunday's games.

Rank. Team (Previous Ranking)

1. Butler Bulldogs (1)

Record: 27-4, 18-0 Horizon

RPI: 17

Butler is riding a 19-game winning streak. The Bulldogs play Wright State in the Horizon championship this week.

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

Key Losses: Minnesota (Neutral)

2. Northern Iowa Panthers (2)

Record: 27-4, 15-3 MVC

RPI: 23

Northern Iowa has dominated the MVC Tournament entering the championship game. The Panthers battle Wichita State on CBS for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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

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

3. Gonzaga Bulldogs (3)

Record: 25-5, 12-2 WCC

RPI: 36

Gonzaga looks for its fifth straight win in the semifinals against Loyola Marymount.

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

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

4. Old Dominion Monarchs (4)

Record: 24-8, 15-3 CAA

RPI: 37

Old Dominion dominated Towson on Saturday to make its way to the CAA Semifinals.

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

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

5. Siena Saints (5)

Record: 25-6, 17-1 MAAC

RPI: 40

Siena survived in the MAAC Quarterfinals against Manhattan. 

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

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

6. St. Mary's Gaels (6)

Record: 24-5, 11-3 WCC

RPI: 46

St. Mary's looks for its fourth straight win against Portland in the WCC Semifinals.

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

Key Losses: Vanderbilt (Road), Portland (Road)

7. Murray State Racers (7)

Record: 30-4, 17-1 OVC

RPI: 62

Murray State punched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Morehead State in the OVC championship.

Key Wins: Morehead State (Home), Morgan State (Home), Morehead State (Neutral)

Key Losses: Louisiana Tech (Road), Morehead State (Road)

8. Cornell Big Red (8)

Record: 27-4, 13-1 Ivy

RPI: 49

Cornell gets the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Big Red could still get a fairly good seeding despite the loss at Penn.

Key Wins: Alabama (Road), St. John's (Road), Princeton (Road), Harvard (Road)

Key Losses: Penn (Road)

9. Utah State Aggies (9)

Record: 25-6, 14-2 WAC

RPI: 31

Utah State has won 15 straight games and will be the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament.

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

Key Losses: Long Beach State (Road), New Mexico State (Road)

10. Northeastern Huskies (10)

Record: 20-11, 14-4 CAA

RPI: 74

Northeastern survived Hofstra in overtime to move to the CAA Semifinals.

Key Wins: Utah State (Home), VCU (Home), George Mason (Home), ODU (Home), George Mason (Road)

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

11. Oakland Golden Grizzlies (11)

Record: 24-8, 17-1 Summit

RPI: 60

Oakland won in the Summit quarterfinals to keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

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

Key Losses: Eastern Michigan (Road)

12. Virginia Commonwealth (12)

Record: 22-8, 11-7 CAA

RPI: 66

Virginia Commonwealth plays Old Dominion in the CAA semifinals.

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

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

13. Wichita State Shockers (16)

Record: 25-8, 12-6 MVC

RPI: 47

Wichita State defeated Illinois State to move on to the MVC championship game.

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

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

14. Wofford Terriers (18)

Record: 24-8, 15-3 SoCon

RPI: 78

Wofford plays Western Carolina, who the Terriers lost to earlier in the season, in the SoCon Quarterfinals.

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

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

15. Kent State Golden Flashes (19)

Record: 23-8, 13-3 MAC

RPI: 43

Kent State defeated Akron on Friday night to win the regular season MAC title.

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

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

16. Portland Pilots (14)

Record: 21-9, 10-4 WCC

RPI: 82

Portland can keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Pilots are currently in the WCC Semifinals.

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

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

17. William & Mary Tribe (21)

Record: 21-9, 12-6 CAA

RPI: 58

William & Mary plays Northeastern in the CAA Semifinals. The Tribe beat the Huskies in the previous meeting 53-52.

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

Key Losses: Iona (Road), Towson (Home)

18. Morehead State Eagles (20)

Record: 23-10, 15-3 OVC

RPI: 86

Morehead State could not pull out a OVC championship, losing to Murray State on Saturday.

Key Wins: Eastern Kentucky (Road), Murray State (Home)

Key Losses: Louisiana Monroe (Home), Weber State (Neutral)

19. Sam Houston State Bearcats (13)

Record: 22-7, 14-2 Southland

RPI: 75

Sam Houston State will be the No. 1 seed in the Southland Tournament.

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

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

20. Morgan State Bears (22)

Record: 24-9, 15-1 MEAC

RPI: 105

Morgan State is riding a four-game winning streak.

Key Wins: Arkansas (Road)

Key Losses: Loyola Maryland (Road), South Carolina State (Road)

21. Harvard Crimson (15)

Record: 21-7, 10-4 Ivy

RPI: 97

Harvard finished the season in third place in Ivy League, while getting swept by the Princeton Tigers

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

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

22. Charleston Cougars (24)

Record: 21-10, 14-4 SoCon

RPI: 87

Charleston will play Appalachian State in the SoCon Semifinals on Sunday. 

Key Wins: UNC (Home), Wofford (Home), George Mason (Road)

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

23. Northern Colorado Bears (23)

Record: 24-6, 12-4 Big Sky

RPI: 114

Northern Colorado got a bye to the Big Sky Semifinals, where the Bears will play Montana on Tuesday.

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

Key Losses: Portland State (Road)

24. Fairfield Stags (Not Ranked)

Record: 21-9, 13-5 MAAC

RPI: 89

Fairfield will play Niagara in the MAAC Semifinals on Sunday.

Key Wins: Iona (Home), Niagara (Home)

Key Losses: Hofstra (Road)

25. Illinois State Redbirds (25)

Record: 22-10, 11-7 MVC

RPI: 72

Illinois State lost in the MVC semifinals to Wichita State. The Redbirds still have a solid chance at making the CBI or NIT.

Key Wins: Wichita State (Home), Missouri State (Home), Morehead State (Home)

Key Losses: Ohio (Road), Drake (Road)

Added:  Fairfield

Dropped:  Iona

Considered (Alphabetical):  Akron, George Mason, IUPUI, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico State, North Texas, Princeton, Stony Brook, Weber State

Teams By Conference

CAA: 4

MVC: 3

WCC: 3

Ivy: 2

MAAC: 2

OVC: 2

SoCon: 2

Big Sky: 1

Horizon: 1

MAC: 1

MEAC: 1

Southland: 1

Summit: 1

WAC: 1

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