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CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 (Feb. 1)

GREELEY, Colo. -- Northern Colorado men's basketball suffered its first home defeat last week, but it's bounce-back effort yesterday afternoon against Montana State kept the Bears from falling too far from the national spotlight.

Northern Colorado (18-5, 7-3 Big Sky) received 366 points in this week's poll to come in at No. 11, just a spot lower than its 10 spot last week, which was the Bears' highest ever national ranking.

This is just the second time this season, in now a school-record 11 weeks of being ranked in an NCAA Division I poll, that the Bears have lost ground in the chase for national notoriety. Northern Colorado also fell a single spot (from No. 22 to 23) in January.

The Bears come in this week just behind No. 10 George Mason and just ahead of No. 12 Western Carolina, No. 13 Northeastern, No. 14 Akron and No. 15 VCU.

No. 1 Butler, Northern Iowa, Gonzaga, Cornell and Siena make up this week's Mid-Major Top 5.

Weber State, which leads the Big Sky Conference so far this season with a 8-1 conference mark, checks in at No. 23 in this week's poll.

Northern Colorado will only play once this week, but it's another big matchup as Northern Arizona, winners of four its last five games, will come into Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion on Sunday afternoon for the Bears' second straight Big Sky Conference "Game of the Week" on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.

The Bears, which had won 12 straight home games before its 64-62 loss to Montana last Thursday night, will be looking for back-to-back home victories against the Lumberjacks after holding off the Bobcats 74-68 yesterday.

The poll of mid-major coaches is now in its eleventh season and is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt and West Coast.