Wichita State - The 8-0 Shockers continue to march toward a second consecutive undefeated conference season, getting better along the way. Their wins over Missouri State in Springfield by 23 and Drake at home by 34 in week four show continuing refinement of offense and defense. Standing in their way this week are the hobbled Ramblers at Koch Arena and their biggest challenge of the season, a showdown at Northern Iowa.

Northern Iowa - Indiana State made the Panthers sweat in a 66-60 home win, closing the game to within one possession in the final minute and scoring the most points on the season by a conference foe. And then UNI eked out a last minute 54-53 win (down by 12 in the middle of the 2nd half, three pointer by Buss with six seconds left) at Illinois State, to go to 7-1. UNI visits Southern Illinois before the game that’s been circled on their calendar all year, a chance to be the first MVC team to knock off WSU in nearly two years, on their home court.

Indiana State - The Sycs began to add the three point shot to their repertoire this past week, firing late threes in a close loss at UNI and unleashing a barrage at home in a win over Loyola. At 6-2, they’ll wrap up January with a trip to Evansville before a home game against Bradley.

Evansville – UE got a key road win at Loyola (without Milton Doyle) before dropping Southern Illinois at home to move into sole possession of 4th place at 5-3. If they can beat Indiana State at home and defeat Drake this week, they’ll make a move toward third place with splits against the Trees and Ramblers already in the bank. An easy remaining home schedule should assure an above .500 record and at least a 4 seed.

Illinois State - The rap on the Redbirds is that they’ve done the least with the most talent, and this past week’s 8-point win at Drake and the blown 12-point second half lead at home to UNI did nothing to shake that perception. At 4-4 in conference, Redbird fans have been waiting all year to put together a big winning streak that never seems to come. They may finally have a chance beginning this week when they host Missouri State (without Marcus Marshall) and visit Loyola (perhaps without Milton Doyle).

Southern Illinois – The Salukis seem like they’re ready to make a move out of the bottom half of the league, but have yet to win away from Carbondale. A home win over Bradley and a nine-point loss at Evansville this past week puts them at 2-6, but this week they’ll have to host one of the league’s best (UNI) before heading out on the road against Missouri State.

Missouri State - To their credit, the Bears could have folded their tent after losing Marcus Marshall, but they fought hard in a home loss to Wichita State (by 23) and a two point loss at Bradley. Having now lost six in a row after their 2-0 start, they’ve got a trip to Illinois State and a home game against SIU this week.

Bradley - Still dangerous at home and awful on the road, the Braves didn’t break character this past week with an 11-point loss at SIU and a 2-point home win over Missouri State. They will host another team in a similar mold, Drake, before visiting Indiana State this week.

Drake - The Bulldogs looked tough in an eight point home loss to Illinois State, but got thoroughly waxed at Wichita State this past week. They will visit Bradley and host the Aces this week.

It's quite likely that Loyola and Bradley will be tied at 3-6 after Wednesday's games. So that Illinois State game at home on Saturday is looking even more crucial.