Northern Iowa – After laying an egg in their opening conference game of the year at Evansville and gutting out a 7-point win at SIU this past week, the Panthers finally reached parity with Wichita State at the top of the standings by knocking off the Shockers behind their strongest performance of the year on Saturday, 70-54. At 9-1 in conference, 20-2 overall, and 11-0 at home, #14 UNI will have to guard against a let down this week at third place Indiana State before returning home against in-state rival Drake.

Wichita State - It had to happen sooner or later, but the Shockers finally lost a conference game for the first time since February 2013. Still at #16 in the polls after the loss, they’ll have a chance to get back on the winning track with games this week at struggling Bradley and home against Missouri State.

Indiana State - The Trees managed to keep pace with the top of the league this past week with a split of their two games, dropping the trip to Evansville and getting a six-point home win over Bradley. At 7-3, the Sycs are alone in third place after five weeks, but they still haven’t played Wichita State. This week they will host Northern Iowa before making the trip to Gentile Arena.

Illinois State – With a win at home over Missouri State and a squeaker at Loyola, the Redbirds have climbed back into the top four at 6-4, tied with Evansville. Finally at full strength after a rash of injuries, the Redbirds will host Evansville on Tuesday and make the trip to Carbondale to try and secure sole possession on fourth place.

Evansville – After their head-turning win over UNI to open the conference season, the Aces haven’t done much to impress. Last week they handled Indiana State at home, but followed it up with a loss at Drake that wasn’t as close as the five point final margin. The will head to Illinois State on Tuesday for a road game against the surging Redbirds before meeting Bradley on the weekend at the Ford Center.

Drake - The Bulldogs were given up for dead early in the season, but since pushing Loyola to the last second in a three-point road loss, they’ve restructured their starting lineup and they’ve gone 3-2. Last week they got their first road win of the season at Bradley before taking care of Evansville at home. They will host SIU before a trip to UNI this week, and with a split or better, have a chance to get out of Thursday territory.

Missouri State – You’ve got to hand it to Coach Paul Lusk’s undermanned squad. Instead of packing it in after losing leading scorer Marcus Marshall, they’ve banded together and fought hard, last week earning their first win without Marshall at home against SIU and not giving up in a loss at ISUr. This week they will host Loyola before making the trip to Wichita.

Southern Illinois – The Salukis looked like they wanted to make a run at missing Thursday night when they put together back to back wins over Loyola and Bradley, but have gone winless since. Last week they dropped games against UNI at home and on the road at Missouri State. This week they travel to resurrected Drake before hosting Illinois State.

Bradley - The Braves have hit rock bottom. On the night of their home loss to Drake this week, three players were suspended from an incident at a notoriously sleazy Peoria strip club located almost across the street from Carver Arena. The remaining available players fought hard in a loss at Indiana State, but with two of their best players out, they couldn’t maintain a halftime lead. This week they will host an angrier than usual Wichita State before going back on the road at Evansville.

Apparently you spoke too soon regarding Bradley. Now they have another injury, which coupled with the suspensions that remain in place leaves them with only one guard on the team for tonight's game vs Wichita.

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