Mid-Major Top 25: Harvard, Creighton's Undefeated Seasons Come to an End

Here are the top 25 mid-majors in the nation based off 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. American Eagles

Record: 8-3

RPI: 113

Previous Ranking: None

After an 0-2 start, American won eight straight games. However, the Eagles' winning streak ended with a loss to St. Francis (PA) on Saturday. They will continue their road trip at Georgetown.

Key Wins: St. Joseph's (Home)

Key Losses: Maryland-Eastern Shore (Road), St. Francis (Road)

24. Missouri State Bears

Record: 5-3

RPI: 80

Previous Ranking: 23

Missouri State ended a three-game skid with a win at Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday. The Bears return home for its next two games against Kennesaw State and Texas A&M-CC.

Key Wins: Nevada (Road)

Key Losses: Oral Roberts (Road)

23. Loyola (MD) Greyhounds

Record: 8-1, 2-0 MAAC

RPI: 112

Previous Ranking: None

Loyola has won its last eight since losing its season opener at Wake Forest. The Greyhounds face St. Bonavenutre on Sunday and then Kentucky next week.

Key Wins: George Washington (Road)

Key Losses: None

22. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Record: 8-2 

RPI: 158

Previous Ranking: 17

Middle Tennessee rebounded from its loss at UAB with a win over Tennessee-Martin. The Blue Raiders face Belmont, against which they lost to in double overtime last month, on Tuesday night.

Key Wins: UCLA (Road)

Key Losses: None

21. Indiana State Sycamores

Record: 7-2

RPI: 38

Previous Ranking: 20

After falling at Boise State last week, Indiana State defeated D-II Maryville on Saturday. The Sycamores will have an opportunity for a key win at Vanderbilt this coming Saturday, December 17.

Key Wins: Fairfield (Neutral)

Key Losses: Boise State (Road)

20. George Mason Patriots

Record: 7-3, 1-0 CAA

RPI: 179

Previous Ranking: 11

George Mason lost by 20 points to Virginia and then beat Radford this week. The Patriots have a short, two-game homestand coming up with games against Duquesne and Manhattan.

Key Wins: None

Key Losses: Florida International (Neutral)

19. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

Record: 4-2

RPI: 103

Previous Ranking: 21

Santa Barbara still has not played since its double overtime loss to UNLV, but the Gauchos will finally be back in action at San Diego on Tuesday for the start of a five-game road trip.

Key Wins: Santa Clara (Home)

Key Losses: None

18. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers

Record: 8-2, 2-0 Horizon

RPI: 93

Previous Ranking: None

Wisconsin-Milwaukee's four-game winning streak ended with a loss at Northern Iowa on Saturday. The Panthers will host Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

Key Wins: DePaul (Road)

Key Losses: None

17. Ohio Bobcats

Record: 7-1

RPI: 26

Previous Ranking: 18

Ohio won a pair of road games this week to improve to 7-1 on the season.

Key Wins: Marshall (Road)

Key Losses: None

16. Weber State Wildcats

Record: 6-2

RPI: 104

Previous Ranking: 14

After losing 94-66 to BYU, Weber State defeated Southern Utah behind the nation's leading scorer, Damian Lillard.

Key Wins: None

Key Losses: None

15. Charleston Cougars

Record: 7-1, 2-0 SoCon

RPI: 90

Previous Ranking: 16

Charleston takes a four-game winning streak into a matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday.

Key Wins: Clemson (Road)

Key Losses: None

14. Virginia Commonwealth Rams

Record: 6-3

RPI: 63

Previous Ranking: 15

VCU won its third straight game by double digits with a 73-51 victory over Richmond on Friday. The Rams will open CAA play against UNC-Wilmington on Saturday.

Key Wins: Richmond (Home)

Key Losses: None

13. Long Beach State 49ers

Record: 4-5

RPI: 40

Previous Ranking: 7

Long Beach State has lost four of its last five games. However, three of those losses are to top 15 teams, and all have been on the road.

Key Wins: Pittsburgh (Road)

Key Losses: Montana (Road)

12. Brigham Young Cougars

Record: 8-2

RPI: 92

Previous Ranking: 13

BYU has won five straight games, all of them by double digits. The Cougars host No. 7 Baylor on Saturday with the opportunity for a huge win.

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

Key Losses: Utah State (Road)

11. St. Mary's Gaels

Record: 5-1

RPI: 1

Previous Ranking: 12

After a 10 day break, St. Mary's is back in action against Jackson State on Tuesday.

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

Key Losses: None

10. Wichita State Shockers

Record: 7-2

RPI: 39

Previous Ranking: 9

After a mediocre 2-2 start, Wichita State has won five straight games, four of them by double digits. The Shockers look to continue their hot stretch against Chicago State on Wednesday.

Key Wins: UNLV (Home)

Key Losses: None

9. Kent State Golden Flashes

Record: 7-1

RPI: 66

Previous Ranking: 6

Kent State won a pair of road games this week against James Madison and Western Carolina. The Golden Flashes play in the Athletes in Action Classic next week, with games against St. Peter's and Texas-Arlington.

Key Wins: West Virginia (Road)

Key Losses: None

8. Cleveland State Vikings

Record: 10-1, 3-0 Horizon

RPI: 41

Previous Ranking: 8

Cleveland State edged out Robert Morris and Akron this week by four points and three points, respectively.

Key Wins: Vanderbilt (Road), St. Bonaventure (Home), Kent State (Road)

Key Losses: Hofstra (Neutral)

7. Belmont Bruins

Record: 6-2, 2-0 A-Sun

RPI: 60

Previous Ranking: 5

Belmont triumphed against Tennessee State this week to stretch its winning streak to six games. The Bruins have a rematch with Middle Tennessee coming up on Tuesday.

Key Wins: Middle Tennessee (Road)

Key Losses: None

6. Iona Gaels

Record: 7-2, 2-0 MAAC

RPI: 29

Previous Ranking: 4

Iona's seven-game winning streak ended with a 82-63 loss at Marshall on Sunday. The Gaels continue their eight-game road trip at Richmond on Wednesday.

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

Key Losses: None

5. Gonzaga Bulldogs

Record: 5-2

RPI: 72

Previous Ranking: 3

Gonzaga has lost its last two since winning its first five. The Bulldogs play a must-win game against Oral Roberts on Thursday.

Key Wins: None

Key Losses: None

4. Murray State Racers

Record: 10-0

RPI: 10

Previous Ranking: 19

Murray State seemed to be losing control of Memphis in the second half on Sunday, but a 14-3 run late in the game boosted the Racers to their first top 25 win of the season. They bring their undefeated record back home and face Lipscomb on Thursday.

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

Key Losses: None

3. Northern Iowa Panthers

Record: 9-1

RPI: 5

Previous Ranking: 10

Northern Iowa stretched its winning streak to eight straight with wins against Iowa and Wisconsin-Milwaukee this week. 

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

Key Losses: None

2. Creighton Bluejays

Record: 7-1

RPI: 19

Previous Ranking: 1

Creighton picked up its first loss of the season, falling 80-71 at St. Joseph's. The Bluejays return home for what should be an easy win against Houston Baptist.

Key Wins: San Diego State (Road)

Key Losses: None

1. Harvard Crimson

Record: 9-1

RPI: 16

Previous Ranking: 2

Harvard lost to No. 9 Connecticut, but the Crimson rebounded with a 76-52 win at Boston University to take the No. 1 spot this week. The Crimson is off for the next 10 days. Its next game is on December 22 against Florida Atlantic.

Key Wins: Florida State (Neutral), UCF (Neutral)

Key Losses: None

Changes from Last Week

Added: Loyola (MD), American, Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Dropped: Davidson, Old Dominion, Valparaiso

Just Missed the Cut

Campbell (8-1) has won three consecutive games since losing to Creighton. 

Denver (6-2) had the opportunity for a key win over Iona last week, but the Pioneers blew a second half lead and lost in overtime, 80-78.

Valparaiso (7-3, 1-0 Horizon) held on to beat Bowling Green on Saturday, 82-79.

Davidson (6-3, 2-0 SoCon) fell out of the top 25 after losses to Vanderbilt and Charlotte last week.

Old Dominion (5-4, 1-0 CAA) made a second half comeback against Fairfield on Friday but still fell eight points short of the Stags.

Fairfield (7-4, 2-0 MAAC) got off to a slow start, but the Stags have now won their last four games.

South Dakota State (8-3, 2-0 Summit) has won four in a row since losing at Nebraska.

Breakdown by Conference

MVC—5

WCC—3

Big West, CAA, Horizon, MAAC, MAC—2

A-Sun, Big Sky, Ivy, OVC, Patriot, SoCon, Sun Belt—1