Last night did not feature a single Power 5 game, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any action. Today CTM will be covering all the major happenings in mid-major basketball around the NCAA.

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Merrimack manhandles marist

Merrimack (17-9, 13-2 MAAC) picked up a 25 point win at home over Marist (16-9, 10-6 MAAC) on Thursday, solidifying themselves as the top team in the MAAC in just their seventh Division 1 season. The Warriors have a real chance at making the Big Dance for the first time in school history, as they currently hold a two-game lead in the MAAC over St. Peter’s (14-8, 11-3 MAAC), who had a Cinderella run of their own a few years back, becoming the first 15 seed to ever make the Elite 8.

Penguins upset the golden grizz on the road

Youngstown State (13-13, 6-9 Horizon) picked up one of their best wins of the season last night, taking down the top team in the Horizon, and CTM’s pick to take the league’s auto-bid, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (14-12, 10-5 Horizon). Oakland’s loss drops them down to second in Horizon League play, with Wright State now in sole possession of first place. Though the Horizon is weaker than in years past, both Oakland and Wright State have a real chance to do some damage as a 15 seed, but both will have to hold off Doug Gottlieb’s incredibly hot Green Bay (15-12, 10-6 Horizon) team, who have now won three straight after demolishing IPFW by 17 at home last night.

Hofstra upsets charleston on the road

The Pride (17-9, 8-5 Coastal) picked up what was perhaps their biggest win of the season last night, beating the Charleston Cougars (16-10, 9-4 Coastal) on the road, and gaining a game on them in the conference standings in doing so. Hofstra now sits just 2.5 games back of UNC Wilmington (21-4, 10-2 Coastal) for first place in the Coastal, and while it’s unlikely they catch them, they’re quietly gaining momentum towards the league tournament, winning four straight after losing their previous four prior. This was Charleston’s second straight loss, and even worse, their second straight loss at home after they dropped an important game against UNC Wilmington earlier this week to decide the top spot in the Coastal.

Thommies lose on the road, now tied for second in the summit

St. Thomas (20-7, 9-3 Summit) lost to the Mavericks of Omaha (13-14, 6-6 Summit) last night in a close 4 point road game, putting themselves in a much tougher spot to take home the Summit title, as they now sit two games back of North Dakota State (20-6, 10-1 Summit) and are stuck in a tie for second with North Dakota (15-13, 9-3 Summit). This is just the fifth season of Division 1 basketball for the Thommies, who were the preseason favorite to win the Summit. While this loss has a huge impact on their odds to win the regular season title, John Tauer’s squad still has a great chance of making it to their first NCAA tournament, and it will all come down to whether or not they can get past a very good North Dakota State team in the conference tournament in March.

Chaos in the ohio valley

Two major OVC games took place last night in a conference that currently holds one of the tightest regular season races in college basketball. The OVC has 6 teams at the top of the standings that are all within one game of each other, and the champion likely won’t be decided until the final day of the league’s regular season. The Skyhawks of UT Martin lost to Lindenwood last night by 1, allowing Tennessee State to gain a game and hold a tie with Skyhawks at the top of the standings, and placing Lindenwood just one game back of the pair, in a tie with three other teams. Additionally, SIU Edwardsville took down Southeast Missouri State at home by 18, moving both themselves and SIUE into the four-place tie for second. Since this league is so close, we’ll show the standings of the top six teams below:

Tennessee State (17-8, 11-4 OVC)
UT Martin (19-7, 11-4 OVC)
SIU Edwardsville (17-9, 10-5 OVC)
Lindenwood (16-10, 10-5 OVC)
Morehead State (14-12, 10-5 OVC)
Southeast Missouri State (15-11, 10-5 OVC)

Wolverines drop out of first, and potentially the tournament

Utah Valley (18-7, 8-4 WAC) lost a close one to Utah Tech (15-11, 8-4 WAC) last night, losing to the Trailblazers by 4 on the road, and falling out of a tie for first place in the WAC with Cal Baptist (19-6, 9-3 WAC). The Wolverines are now tied for second with Utah Tech. This loss comes in the middle of controversy surrounding Utah Valley, who have refused to pay their conference exit fees as they head to the Big West conference in 2026-2027. In retaliation, the WAC is currently refusing to air Utah Valley games on TV, and has placed a temporary conference tournament ban on the team. This could be devastating for UVU, as they have never made an NCAA tournament appearance in their 22 Division 1 seasons, and sit as the conference’s favorite this year to pick up the auto bid.

UC Irvine upset by cal poly

Our final game in today’s roundup comes from last night’s late night slate, as the UC Irvine Anteaters (16-9, 9-4 Big West) suffered a devastating loss to Cal Poly (10-16, 6-8 Big West) in a game they were heavily favored to win. This loss dropped UC Irvine out of their tie for first place in the Big West and gave sole possession to Hawaii (18-5, 10-3 Big West), who is the favorite to take the league’s auto bid at the moment. The conference is still as close as ever, as six teams sit within 2.5 games of first place, but it’s starting to look more likely by the day that the Rainbow Warriors will make their first NCAA tournament appearance in ten years.

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Game to watch (2/13)

• George Mason @ George Washington (7 PM)
• Michigan State @ Wisconsin (8 PM)
• Ohio @ Miami Ohio (9 PM)