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38. Memphis Tigers
Record: 16-5 overall; 5-2 conference; 1-3 vs. RPI Top 50; 4-1 vs. RPI 51-100; 8-1 vs. RPI 150+; 4-4 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 154 Loss: 62
RPI: 35
SOS: 47
RPI 1-50 Wins: at UAB
RPI 51-100 Wins: Marshall, at Southern Miss, Miami, UCF
Bad (RPI 150+) Losses: at SMU
Other Losses: Kansas (N), Georgetown, at Tennessee, at Marshall
Last Week: def. UCF 77-61, lost at Marshall 85-70
This Week: Tulsa (Wed.), at Gonzaga (Sat.)
The Tigers are now in a three-way tie atop Conference USA with UTEP and UAB. Saturday's game at Gonzaga has major bubble implications, thanks to the struggles both teams have encountered in the early season. It is a de facto Bracket Buster.
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39. Butler Bulldogs
Record: 13-8 overall; 6-4 conference; 2-3 vs. RPI Top 50; 2-2 vs. RPI 51-100; 6-0 vs. RPI 150+; 6-6 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 134 Loss: 71
RPI: 44
SOS: 27
RPI 1-50 Wins: Cleveland State, Florida State (N)
RPI 51-100 Wins: Valparaiso, Washington State (N)
Losses: Duke (N), at Xavier, at Louisville, at Valparaiso, at Wright State, Evansville, Milwaukee, at Milwaukee
Last Week: lost at Valparaiso 85-79 (OT)
This Week: at Youngstown State (Thu.), at Cleveland State (Sat.), Illinois-Chicago (Mon.)
The Bulldogs are just about out of rope from an at-large perspective after Saturday's loss at Valparaiso, but then again, the bubble is pretty soft this year, so it's hard to set their fate in stone.
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40. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Record: 14-7 overall; 2-5 conference; 2-2 vs. RPI Top 50; 0-4 vs. RPI 51-100; 7-0 vs. RPI 150+; 4-6 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 175 Loss: 74
RPI: 57
SOS: 64
RPI 1-50 Wins: Kansas State, Missouri State
RPI 51-100 Wins: None
Losses: Texas, at Texas A&M, Virginia Tech (N), at Baylor, at Gonzaga, at Colorado
Last Week: lost to Texas 61-46, lost at Texas Tech 75-74 (OT)
This Week: Missouri (Wed.), Oklahoma (Sat.)
The Cowboys played with a lot of emotion on the night they commemorated the 10th anniversary of the plane crash that cost 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball family their lives, but Texas had too much talent. On Saturday, the Cowboys forced OT in Lubbock, but despite Texas Tech's best effort to give the game away, OSU came up short. Five losses in six games see the Pokes on the outside looking in.
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41. Colorado State Rams
Record: 14-6 overall; 5-2 conference; 1-2 vs. RPI Top 50; 3-2 vs. RPI 51-100; 7-1 vs. RPI 150+; 7-3 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 152 Loss: 79
RPI: 48
SOS: 54
RPI 1-50 Wins: at UNLV
RPI 51-100 Wins: Southern Miss (N), Mississippi (N), Air Force
Bad (RPI 150+) Losses: Sam Houston State
Other Losses: Kansas (N), BYU, at New Mexico, at Colorado, Hampton (N)
Last Week: def. Air Force 69-66, won at Utah 74-68
This Week: San Diego State (Wed.), at Wyoming (Sat.)
The Rams' biggest issue is a pair of very questionable losses, one at home to Sam Houston State Thanksgiving weekend, and another against Hampton in San Francisco over New Year's. The good news is that they have opportunities in the Mountain West. CSU has already defeated UNLV at the Thomas & Mack and given BYU a game at home. This week, they'll hope to do even better when they welcome San Diego State to Fort Collins.
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42. Missouri State Bears
Record: 17-5 overall; 9-2 conference; 1-1 vs. RPI Top 50; 1-2 vs. RPI 51-100; 11-0 vs. RPI 150+; 6-4 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 182 Loss: 73
RPI: 46
SOS: 112
RPI 1-50 Wins: at Wichita State
RPI 51-100 Wins: at Northern Iowa
Losses: at Tennessee, Northern Iowa, at Oklahoma State, at Indiana State, at Tulsa
Last Week: won at Drake 73-70, lost to Northern Iowa 60-59
This Week: at Evansville (Wed.), Indiana State (Sat.)
The Bears got another scare in Des Moines, but ultimately prevailed. They weren't so lucky against Northern Iowa on Sunday, as they lost by a point (after beating the Panthers by a point in Cedar Falls). The Bears now sit just outside the field, thanks to a weak non-conference resume.
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43. Duquesne Dukes
Record: 14-5 overall; 7-0 conference; 1-4 vs. RPI Top 50; 1-0 vs. RPI 51-100; 10-0 vs. RPI 150+; 6-3 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 185 Loss: 47
RPI: 77
SOS: 148
RPI 1-50 Wins: Temple
RPI 51-100 Wins: Dayton
Losses: at Pittsburgh, West Virginia, George Mason, at Penn State, at Robert Morris
Last Week: won at Fordham 91-72, def. Dayton 82-64
This Week: George Washington (Wed.), at St. Bonaventure (Sat.)
The Dukes crushed Fordham at Rose Hill on Wednesday night to move to 6-0 in the A-10, then grabbed their seventh league win at home against Dayton. Unfortunately, Duquesne's non-league performance means they'll need to keep winning in the league to find their way to the field.
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44. Kansas State Wildcats
Record: 13-8 overall; 2-5 conference; 0-6 vs. RPI Top 50; 5-2 vs. RPI 51-100; 7-0 vs. RPI 150+; 3-7 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 148 Loss: 32
RPI: 41
SOS: 14
RPI 1-50 Wins: None
RPI 51-100 Wins: at Washington State, James Madison, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Gonzaga (N)
Losses: at Kansas, Duke (N), at Texas A&M, Florida (N), at Missouri, UNLV (N), at Oklahoma State, Colorado
Last Week: lost at Kansas 90-66
This Week: Nebraska (Wed.), at Iowa State (Sat.)
The Wildcats really win both of their games this week, as their chances are on life support, thanks to eight losses, no top 50 wins, and only three triumphs away from home.
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45. Clemson Tigers
Record: 15-6 overall; 4-3 conference; 0-2 vs. RPI Top 50; 5-3 vs. RPI 51-100; 7-0 vs. RPI 150+; 3-5 Road/Neutral
Average RPI win: 167 Loss: 59
RPI: 69
SOS: 102
RPI 1-50 Wins: None
RPI 51-100 Wins: Florida State, Miami, Seton Hall (N), at College of Charleston, NC State
Losses: at North Carolina, Old Dominion (N), at Florida State, at Maryland, Michigan, at South Carolina
Last Week: def. N.C. State 60-50, def. Florida State 62-44
This Week: at Virginia (Wed.), at Georgia Tech (Sat.)
The Tigers used a 38-19 run to overturn a 19-point NC State lead on Tuesday night, then made Florida State look silly on Saturday. Clemson doesn't have the non-conference wins to get in yet, but if they can grab a few more decent ACC wins (and not lose this week), they have a shot.
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