AP Poll: Shockers Back in Rankings, Zags Up to No. 9

It was another one of those weeks in the AP Top 25 poll. Voters were treated to a number of perceived upsets which sent teams that were getting a dubious count of votes spiraling downward, or out of contention completely.

That left a few openings in the hallowed Top 25, one of which was taken by Wichita State. The Shockers are now 14-1 on the season, and actually look better without all the injured players than they did with them. It also helps that they have begun the Missouri Valley season by going 3-0 and avoiding the upset land mines in Northern Iowa and Bradley.

They are the only addition to the AP Top 25 from the mid-major ranks this week. Not even another team earned enough respect to start garnering votes.

Bucknell probably missed a big opportunity Saturday when it couldn't close against Missouri after briefly taking control of the game in the second half.

Middle Tennessee State lost its opportunity for a little recognition when they dropped a conference game to Arkansas State (and there is that pesky issue of the loss to Belmont).

And as for Belmont, they continue to suffer from the same syndrome as other mid-major teams: they just don't have enough wins against the top 100 in any format to push ahead into the rankings. The best wins for Belmont this season are against Stanford (who is slipping) and Middle Tennessee. The other chances against Virginia Commonwealth and Kansas ended quite badly, and the rest of the schedule is lacking.

That said, they are No. 22 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, so they are doing something right. The OVC schedule outside of Murray State is going to be murder on their RPI, SOS, [insert ranking system here] numbers.

With Ohio State's loss, Gonzaga moved up to No. 9. Creighton earned a three-spot bump to No. 13 with additional losses by Georgetown and Cincinnati.

Here is the complete AP Top 25 in Week 10: