The Miami (OH) RedHawks are the No. 1 team in the Men’s Other Top 25 for a second straight week. Travis Steele’s team is 29-0 and is two wins away from an undefeated regular season. It is up to No. 19 in the AP Top 25 as well.
Miami swept the Michigan trip this past week with a 74-64 win at Eastern Michigan and then a thrilling 69-67 win at Western Michigan thanks to Trey Perry’s game winner with 0.4 seconds remaining.
The RedHawks host Toledo Tuesday
before closing out the regular season rival at Ohio Friday night. The MAC Tournament is one of the last to get underway and runs March 12-14 in Cleveland.
Saint Mary’s moved up one spot and came in right behind Miami at No. 2. The Gaels received the other first-place vote following their 70-59 win over Gonzaga to clinch a share of WCC crown.
SMC is 27-4 and has won eight straight. Randy Bennett’s squad is top 25 in the computer metrics at 21 in the NET and 22 in both KenPom and BartTorvik.
Saint Louis slid back one spot to No. 3. Utah St. and New Mexico held steady at four and five.
Nos. 6-10 consisted of the same teams from last week with some shifting. Santa Clara came in at six. VCU jumped from 10 to seven, while Belmont, who tied for sixth last week, dropped to No. 10. San Diego St. and Stephen F. Austin kept the same placement at eight and nine, respectively.
High Point and Akron each moved up three spots and came in at 12 and 13. Nevada, who lost at in-state rival UNLV, fell to No. 18. The Wolf Pack suffered the biggest drop of anyone in the poll.
A trio of teams joined the ranking this week: Saint Joseph’s at 21, Navy at 23 and Utah Valley at 24. They replaced Austin Peay, North Dakota St. and Northern Colorado.
Here is the full ranking:
Others Receiving Votes:
Sam Houston St. 6; Colorado St. 5; Murray St. 4; George Mason 4; Kent St. 3; UMBC 2; St. Thomas 2; Charleston 1; Wichita St. 1
Dropped from Rankings:
Austin Peay – T-20; North Dakota St. – 24; Northern Colorado – 25
