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This. Is. March.
The best month of the year has arrived and it’s time for a lot of teams to put up or shut up in the postseason.
In The Other Top 25, the top five teams all held steady. Dayton continued its death march through the Atlantic 10, while Gonzaga, San Diego State, BYU and ETSU march on to their respective conference tournaments.
Teams on the bubble had mixed results last week, which led to some movement further down in the poll. In the A-10, Richmond kept their hopes alive with a pair of wins, while Rhode Island took a heavy hit on their home court against Saint Louis. Utah State also took a blow against New Mexico and will need a strong showing in the MWC Tournament to stay in the mix.
The biggest riser of the week was North Texas, who locked up the C-USA title with an exhilarating overtime win against Western Kentucky.
The full poll can be seen below.
The Other Top 25 Week 18
| Rank | School | Record | Change | Our reasoning | This week's games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | Record | Change | Our reasoning | This week's games |
| 1 | Dayton | 27-2 | - | The win streak increased to 18 games. The Flyers are the top 2 seed in Bracket Matrix, and a 1 seed is still possible as they continue to rack up wins. | 3/4 at Rhode Island, 3/7 vs. George Washington |
| 2 | Gonzaga | 29-2 | - | Gonzaga wrapped up its eighth consecutive WCC regular season title. Now the focus shifts to the WCC Tournament and claiming the 1 seed in the West. | None |
| 3 | San Diego State | 28-1 | - | Despite a couple of close calls, the Aztecs finished the regular season with just a single loss. They're still on the 1 seed line and are just one of two teams (Kansas) in the top 10 of both offensive and defensive efficiency metrics on KenPom. | 3/5 vs. TBD (MWC Tournament) |
| 4 | BYU | 24-7 | - | The nation's 3rd best offense rides a nine-game win streak into the WCC Tournament, where they won't play until the semifinals. BYU currently sits on the 6 seed line in Bracket Matrix. | None |
| 5 | ETSU | 27-4 | - | The quest for #2BidSoCon lives on as the Bucs survived another pair of scares to close the regular season. | 3/7 vs. TBD (SoCon Tournament) |
| 6 | Northern Iowa | 25-5 | 1 | UNI closed out Valley play with a pair of dominant 20+ point wins, wrapping up the regular season title in the process. A tough path through Arch Madness looms, but the Panthers have clearly been the best team all season. | 3/6 vs. TBD (MVC Tournament) |
| 7 | Saint Mary's | 24-7 | -1 | The Gaels are comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field, and a win in the Quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament should eliminate any doubt about their resume come Selection Sunday. | 3/7 vs. TBD (WCC Tournament) |
| 8 | Richmond | 22-7 | 3 | George Washington gave them a scare, but Richmond kept its at-large hopes alive. With a pair of Q2 opportunities this week, the Spiders can move even closer to the cut line with a pair of wins. | 3/3 vs. Davidson, 3/6 at Duquesne |
| 9 | Furman | 25-6 | 3 | Whether it should come down to this is a discussion for another day, but Furman's path to the NCAA Tournament goes through the SoCon championship. They'll be the 2 seed and likely have to traverse UNC Greensboro and ETSU to do it. | 3/7 vs. TBD (SoCon Tournament) |
| 10 | Rhode Island | 20-8 | -2 | A lackluster performance against Saint Louis puts Rhody on the wrong side of the bubble. Luckily, their biggest opportunity awaits as Dayton comes to town. If they don't win that one, their at-large hopes will likely be on life support. | 3/4 vs. Dayton, 3/7 at Massachusetts |
| 11 | New Mexico St | 24-6 | 2 | What a season in Las Cruces. They're one game away from an undefeated WAC season and have already locked up their third straight WAC title. | 3/5 vs. Cal Baptist |
| 12 | Yale | 22-6 | 2 | Yale is a game up on Harvard in the Ivy League standings, but a pair of road games to close the season will make the Bulldogs earn the top seed. | 3/6 at Dartmouth, 3/7 at Harvard |
| 13 | Utah State | 23-8 | -3 | It'll be interesting to see where the Aggies sit on the bubble in the next wave of bracket projections following their loss to New Mexico. It's likely that they'll at least need an appearnce in the MWC championship game to stay in the mix. | 3/5 vs. TBD (MWC Tournament) |
| 14 | Saint Louis | 21-8 | 2 | The Bilikens are officially becoming the A-10's personal grim reaper. They've now cratered VCU and URI's at-large hopes in recent weeks and are in a good position to get a double-bye in the conference tournament. | 3/4 at George Mason, 3/7 vs. St. Bonaventure |
| 15 | UNC Greensboro | 23-8 | -5 | A brutal two-game skid to close the season slots UNCG as the 3 seed in the SoCon tournament. The Spartans are a combined 1-3 against Furman and ETSU this year and will likely have to go through both if they hope to cut down the nets. | 3/7 vs. Chattanooga (SoCon Tournament) |
| 16 | Vermont | 23-7 | -1 | Vermont bounced back in resounding fashion with 94 points against UMass Lowell. Pick them in The Jerome. | 3/3 vs. Albany |
| 17 | North Texas | 20-10 | 7 | In one of the most exciting games of the season, the Mean Green wrapped up the C-USA title with an OT win over WKU. Their offense is now in the top 25 in KenPom. They're Good and Fun. | 3/4 at Charlotte |
| 18 | Loyola | 21-10 | - | The Ramblers are UNI's biggest threat in Arch Madness, having gone 7-2 in February that includes a win over the Panthers. | 3/6 vs. TBD (MVC Tournament) |
| 19 | Stephen F. Austin | 26-3 | 2 | It's now 13 straight wins for the Jacks. They're getting a ton of love from Strength of Record and Wins Above Bubble entusiasts (and rightfully so) regarding their tournament resume, but they'll be the heavy favorite to claim the Southland's automatic bid. | 3/3 at Abilene Christian, 3/7 vs. Sam Houston State |
| 20 | Belmont | 24-7 | 5 | They're peaking at the right time. The Bruins rode a 10-game win streak to close the season and earned the top seed in the OVC Tournament via a tiebreaker. The coach may change, but the results stay the same. | 3/6 vs. TBD (OVC Tournament) |
| 21 | Liberty | 27-4 | -4 | They're still the favorite to take home the ASUN title, but a shaky performance against a bad Lipscomb team is a reason for concern. | 3/3 vs. NJIT (ASUN Tournament) |
| 22 | Akron | 22-7 | -2 | Loren Cristian Jackson does not get enough love nationally for his scoring prowess. After two 35-point showings last week, the 5'8" junior is now averaging 24 points per game in MAC play. | 3/3 vs. Ohio, 3/6 vs. Kent State |
| 23 | Harvard | 20-7 | 2 | Six straight wins for the Crimson clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament. With a pair of home games left, including the season finale against Yale, the top seed is still a possibility. | 3/6 vs. Brown, 3/7 vs. Yale |
| 24 | Wright State | 25-6 | NR | Wright State held off Northern Kentucky to lock up the top seed in the Horizon League for the second straight year. They'll be considered the favorite to cut down the nets in Indianapolis next week with a bye to the semifinals. | None |
| 25 | Duquesne | 20-8 | NR | The Dukes are tied for fourth place in the A-10 and in pursuit of the coveted double-bye in the conference tournament. However, pair of tough matchups against VCU and Richmond to close the season will make them earn it. | 3/3 at VCU, 3/6 vs. Richmond |
Also receiving votes: Nevada 5, Hofstra 4, Louisiana Tech 3, Texas State 3, UC Irvine 1, UNLV 1, Pacific 1