UNI Returns To Top 10 In AP Poll; Iowa State Ranked 13th

Winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship has put UNI back among the nation's elite top 10 teams in the Associated Press (AP) men's college basketball poll, while Iowa State has made the biggest jump in this week's survey.

UNI is back at No. 10 one week after a loss at Wichita State in the regular-season finale, which dropped the Panthers to No. 11. UNI rallied from an 18-point deficit to win the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament title game, beating Illinois State 69-60 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis Sunday afternoon (March 8, 2015).

The Panthers (30-3) have this week off before they begin preparations for the NCAA Tournament. UNI will found out its opponent and destination when pairings for the 68-team field are announced this weekend. As MVC Tournament champions, the Panthers get the league's automatic bid to college's basketball showcase event.

Iowa State jumped four spots from No. 17 to No. 13 in this week's poll after a pair of victories last week. The Cyclones (22-8) closed their regular-season with wins over No. 15 Oklahoma and TCU.

Up next for Iowa State is the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Following a second-place finish in the league, the Cyclones are the No. 2 seed and will open play in the quarterfinals on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between Texas and Texas Tech.

With the final AP poll set to be released next week, Iowa has put itself in position to make a return to the rankings. The Hawkeyes have beaten six-straight Big 10 Conference opponents for the first time in 28 years. After ending the regular-season with a 69-52 win over Northwestern on Saturday, Iowa is preparing for the always rugged Big 10 Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes face either Penn State (16-15) or Nebraska (13-17) in the tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. United Center in Chicago is hosting the 2015 Big 10 Conference Tournament.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through March 8, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:

Others receiving votes: Oregon 69, Providence 63, Ohio State 40, BYU 18, Michigan State 15, LSU 8, Iowa 7, St. John's 6, San Diego St. 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Dayton 1, North Florida 1, Purdue 1, Valparaiso 1.