1. Illinois (6-0). Last week: 1
Illinois defeated Indiana State and Baylor to win the Las Vegas Invitational. The Illini have another tough matchup Tuesday at Miami (Fla.).
2. Northwestern (5-1). Last week: 2
Northwestern struggled with a poor opponent but won again when it beat Miami (Ohio) at the Cancun Challenge. The Wildcats then lost by 19 points to Northern Iowa in the tournament’s title game.
3. DePaul (3-1). Last week: 4
DePaul upset Stanford on Sunday following an embarrassing loss to Lehigh. The Blue Demons have some in-state action this week against Northern Illinois and Chicago State.
4. Illinois State (3-2). Last week: 3
Illinois State looked shaky Saturday against Youngstown State, needing overtime to defeat the Penguins. The Redbirds will have their hands full Tuesday against VCU.
5. Loyola (4-1). Last week: 9
Loyola ended its 20-game road losing streak with a win at Texas-San Antonio and followed that with another road win, this one more impressive, at Kent State. The Ramblers host Tulane on Wednesday in their first home game since Nov. 17.
6. Southern Illinois (3-3). Last week: 5
Southern Illinois knocked off Olivet Nazarene in its only game of the week. The Salukis have now won two games in a row.
7. Northern Illinois (3-1). Last week: 6
Northern Illinois was dominated by Iowa but bounced back with a win against Maine. The Huskies are on the road this week at DePaul.
8. Bradley (2-4). Last week: 7
Bradley was playing much better basketball this week, but the Braves still lost a pair of close games to Texas Christian and St. Louis.
9. UIC (2-5). Last week: 8
UIC ended a three-game losing streak with a win against St. Xavier. The Flames returned to Division I competition Saturday and lost again to Dayton. They host Grand Canyon and Loyola this week.
10. Western Illinois (2-3). Last week: 10
Western Illinois was blown out by William & Mary last week. The Leathernecks have two more tough mid-majors, Akron and Cleveland State, coming up.
11. SIU-Edwardsville (1-3). Last week: 11
In its only game of the week, SIU-Edwardsville fell at Portland State in overtime. The Cougars return home Wednesday to face the Salukis.
12. Chicago State (2-6). Last week: 12
Chicago State lost three games in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic and then also lost at Notre Dame. The Cougars host DePaul Thursday, still looking for their first win against a Division I school.
13. Eastern Illinois (2-5). Last week: 13
Eastern Illinois ended a four-game losing streak Saturday with a 54-43 win against Southern. The Panthers host Ball State this week.
