1. Wichita State (23-0, 10-0 MVC). Last week: 1
Wichita State struggled a bit in games against Loyola (Chicago) and Evansville but still wound up with a pair of double-digit victories. The Shockers play their toughest game of the conference season at Indiana State this week.
2. Gonzaga (20-3, 10-1 WCC). Last week: 3
Gonzaga has been playing good basketball ever since its loss to Portland on Jan. 9. The Bulldogs have won six games in a row and will rematch Portland on Wednesday.
3. Harvard (17-3, 4-0 Ivy). Last week: 4
Harvard is off to a strong start in the Ivy League at 4-0. The Crimson finish their four-game homestand this weekend against Brown and Yale.
4. Southern Miss (19-3, 6-1 C-USA). Last week: 6
Southern Miss has won five games in a row and is tied for first place in Conference USA. The Golden Eagles are at home this week against Marshall and Charlotte.
5. Indiana State (17-5, 8-2 MVC). Last week: 2
Indiana State was upset by Southern Illinois, but the Sycamores bounced back with a win at Northern Iowa. They host Wichita State on Wednesday in their biggest game of the season.
6. Green Bay (18-4, 8-1 Horizon). Last week: 5
Green Bay suffered its first Horizon League loss at Valparaiso, but in its return home Saturday it knocked off Wright State. The Phoenix should get two more W’s this week against UIC and Milwaukee.
7. Toledo (18-3, 6-2 MAC). Last week: 8
Toledo’s at-large hopes essentially vanished Saturday with an overtime loss at Ohio. Still, the Rockets are in first place in the MAC West.
8. Louisiana Tech (18-5, 6-2 C-USA). Last week: 7
Louisiana Tech fell out of a tie for first place in Conference USA with a loss at UTEP on Thursday. The Bulldogs host a surprisingly difficult Tulsa team on Thursday.
9. New Mexico State (17-7, 6-2 WAC). Last week: 11
New Mexico State recorded a huge win Saturday at Utah Valley. The Aggies are now one game behind the Wolverines for first place in the WAC entering a road trip at Idaho and Seattle.
10. North Dakota State (16-6, 5-2 Summit). Last week: 9
North Dakota State fell to second place in the Summit League on Saturday with a loss at Denver. The Bison return home this week to face IPFW and IUPUI.
11. Ohio (16-5, 6-2 MAC). Last week: 15
Ohio has won three straight games to move into a tie for first place in the MAC East. The Bobcats face a tough stretch with three of their next four games coming on the road against some of the league’s best teams.
12. Stephen F. Austin (20-2, 9-0 Southland). Last week: 14
Stephen F. Austin continued to gang up on the Southland with wins against Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word last week. The Lumberjacks finish their homestand against Nicholls State and McNeese State.
13. Belmont (17-8, 8-2 OVC). Last week: 13
Belmont’s five-game winning streak ended Saturday with a loss at Tennessee Tech. The Bruins still hold a one-game lead on Eastern Kentucky in the OVC East with a four-game homestand coming up.
14. Mercer (18-6, 9-2 A-Sun). Last week: 12
Mercer’s eight-game winning streak ended Sunday at USC Upstate. The Bears still hold a half-game lead on Florida Gulf Coast, which they already beat at home, in the Atlantic Sun standings.
15. Manhattan (14-6, 7-4 MAAC). Last week: 10
Manhattan’s slide continued Friday with an 85-73 loss at Iona. The Jaspers have now lost three of their last four games and sit in fourth place in the MAAC.
16. IPFW (18-6, 6-1 Summit). Last week: 17
IPFW has won three straight games and is alone in first place in the Summit League. The Mastodons can take a commanding lead atop the conference with wins at South Dakota State and North Dakota State this week.
17. Georgia State (15-6, 8-0 Sun Belt). Last week: 18
Georgia State survived Texas-Arlington in overtime Saturday to remain perfect in the Sun Belt. The Panthers finish their homestand Monday against South Alabama.
18. UTEP (16-6, 6-1 C-USA). Last week: Unranked
UTEP has been on a roll in conference play, winning its last six games. The Miners are tied for first place in the league.
19. Canisius (16-7, 10-2 MAAC). Last week: Unranked
Canisius has emerged as the favorite to win the MAAC. The Golden Griffins are a half-game ahead of Iona in the conference standings, and they already defeated the Gaels on the road. They host Manhattan and Iona, their top two competitors for the crown, this week.
20. UC Santa Barbara (14-6, 5-2 Big West). Last week: 20
UC Santa Barbara knocked off UC Irvine on Thursday and then easily defeated UC Davis on Saturday. The Gauchos face a tough road trip this week at Long Beach State and Hawaii.
21. Charlotte (14-7, 5-3 C-USA). Last week: 22
Charlotte is still in the mix for the Conference USA title, only 1.5 games behind Southern Miss and UTEP. The 49ers travel to Southern Miss on Sunday.
22. Brigham Young (15-9, 7-4 WCC). Last week: Unranked
BYU rejoins the rankings after defeating St. Mary’s on Saturday. The Cougars are tied for second place in the WCC, and can take complete control of that spot with a pair of wins this week.
23. St. Mary’s (16-7, 6-4 WCC). Last week: 19
The road struggles continued for St. Mary’s last week with double-digit losses to San Diego and Brigham Young. The Gaels finish their four-game road trip at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.
24. Delaware (16-7, 8-0 CAA). Last week: Unranked
Delaware is rolling in the CAA. The Blue Hens survived a scare from last-place UNC-Wilmington on Saturday to remain unbeaten.
25. Akron (14-7, 6-2 MAC). Last week: 25
Akron lost a rivalry game to Kent State on Saturday, falling into a tie with Ohio for first place in the MAC East. The Zips face a tough opponent, Eastern Michigan, on Wednesday.
