| Rank | Team | Last Week | Change |
| 1. | Youngstown State | 1 | – |
| 2. | Milwaukee | 2 | – |
| 3. | Purdue Fort Wayne | 4 | +1 |
| 4. | Cleveland State | 5 | +1 |
| 5. | Northern Kentucky | 3 | -2 |
| 6. | Robert Morris | 8 | +2 |
| 7. | Wright State | 6 | -1 |
| 8. | Oakland | 7 | -1 |
| 9. | IU Indy | 10 | +1 |
| 10. | Detroit Mercy | 9 | -1 |
| 11. | Green Bay | 11 | – |
On the strength of a seven-game win streak and its first-ever 4-0 start in the league, Youngstown State keeps its spot atop the Power Rankings. It shouldn’t be a surprise that EJ Farmer and Nico Galette have stepped up to lead the Penguins, who swatted away a late-game surge from Detroit Mercy. But Farmer and Galette are just a couple of the many components that have put Ethan Faulkner’s crew well-positioned to stay where it is at the top for the time being.
Make no mistake, Milwaukee is getting everyone’s best shot this season, and IU Indy put a scare in the Panthers until they were eventually able to pull away, led by Themus Fulks and his career-high 26 points. And Milwaukee certain has the firepower to stay where it’s at in the Power Rankings; just not enough to overtake Youngstown State this week, the only Horizon League team that is on more of a tear than the Panthers are.
The consensus was that Purdue Fort Wayne would head up to Green Bay and beat the Phoenix easily. Despite having to change venues at the last second, the Mastodons did just that, and the win would have been even more had Jon Coffman opted to keep his starters in longer. But it wasn’t necessary. Purdue Fort Wayne was good with having some of the less often seen players get in the rotation some additional playing time. And that experience will certainly come in handy as the Mastodons press on in the conference.
For some reason, Cleveland State has had trouble with Wright State in recent years, especially at home. And it looked as if the Raiders would have a shot at getting the best of the Vikings again. But this is not recent years, and CSU has, from top to bottom, bolstered itself from top to bottom. And even with injuries, Daniyal Robinson has been able to call upon any player on the bench to step up, and they haven’t disappointed.
Northern Kentucky, based on how close many of its games gave been, has made its position in the Power Rankings tenuous at best. And then the Norse headed to Robert Morris, another team with something to prove. And after a knock-down, drag-out that took three extra frames to finish, NKU found itself on the losing end of a league for the first time this season. They didn’t slide lower only because of their previous success in games past.
Robert Morris can finally breathe a sigh of relief, winning its first conference game the aforementioned triple-overtime thriller against Northern Kentucky. The Colonials have tried their best to shake off a pair of early conference losses to get to this point, and the expectation is that they will ride this three-game winning streak into something more.
Wright State had a shot at the Wolstein Center against Cleveland State. The Raiders always have a shot against the Vikings, especially in Cleveland. But the shots just wouldn’t fall when they needed to, and Wright State finds itself in the midst of a three-game losing streak to end 2024. If there’s any good news for the Raiders, Green Bay is next on the schedule, and that could prove to be the key to snapping this skid.
It’s not entirely Oakland’s fault that it’s in the spot this week. But after a pair of heartbreaking losses at the Diamond Head Classic and no conference games, the Golden Grizzlies suffer from the success of other conference teams this week. And with a rematch with John Calipari, who coaches for Arkansas now, Oakland still has tough climb to get back up in the Power Rankings.
IU Indy cannot catch a break lately against conference and non-conference foes alike. This time the Jaguars fought tooth and claw, so to speak, against Milwaukee, only to have an opportunity to upset the Panthers slip away. Even with the loss, IU Indy is no pushover, and if a conference team isn’t looking, there’s a chance that the Jags can climb up.
The good news for Detroit Mercy is that Emmanuel Kuac is back in the lineup. The bad news for the Titans is that they had to run into the buzzsaw that is Youngstown State. Detroit Mercy lost but tried to make a game of it in the end. And with a home game coming up against Robert Morris, the young Titans have a chance to turn it around and create some momentum to boost their profile within the conference.
In a season where nothing’s gone right for Green Bay, it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise that the Phoenix had to completely uproot everyone from the Resch Center to the Kress Center to play their game against Purdue Fort Wayne, which of course they lost. Anthony Roy remains out, and now Isaiah Miranda has left the team, leaving Green Bay with even less depth on the bench. And with Wright State up next looking to snap a three-game losing streak, things aren’t looking any better for the Phoenix.
