Missouri solidified its standing as an NCAA Tournament team and climbed atop of our regional rankings with another big week.

First, the Tigers took advantage of depleted Ole Miss Tuesday night with a decisive 89-77 victory in Oxford. Yes, the Rebels are reeling and their coach Kermit Davis is in peril – but any Southeastern Conference road win is a huge win.

Then Missouri upset No, 12 Iowa State 78-61 in the final year of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. That was the Tigers’ fourth victory over a nationally ranked team this season, following the neutral site victory over Illinois and league wins at home over Kentucky and Arkansas.

Given the softness of Missouri's early non-conference schedule -- no offense, Houston Christian -- such quality victories are huge. Mizzou has SEC home games remaining with LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, so its path to 20-plus victories is clear.

Who among us expected that level of success during Dennis Gates’ first year?

Illinois also took care of its business this week, handling Ohio State at home and then pulling away from Wisconsin for another valuable Big Ten road victory. The Illini have won five of their last six games to improve to 6-4 in league play.

They, too, are in great shape for the NCAA Tournament after pulling out of their midseason funk.

“We were in close games: UCLA, Virginia and even the Texas game,” Underwood said, reflecting on his team's earlier play. “There were some dog fights in there. Yet, you gotta be able to execute. I’m not saying we weren’t tough. We didn’t execute very well at that time. You go back to Penn State and we just unraveled offensively. We’ve grown a lot. Practice helped. Extended practice over Christmas. But we’ve still got room to grow and we have to grow to get to where we want to go.”

SLU continued its push for the Atlantic 10 regular season title by winning its sixth straight game, 74-70 at Davidson. The Billikens are 7-1 in league play, a half-step better than 7-2 VCU – which suffered a bad loss to St. Bonaventure at home.

SIU Carbondale ran its winning streak to five games in the Missouri Valley Conference by beating Murray State at home, but the run ended with a loss at Illinois State.

SEMO won twice in the Ohio Valley Conference, improving its league mark to 7-3 while reminding rivals that it will be a major threat in the OVC Tournament if it can arrive healthy. The Redhawks have won six of their last seven games despite suffering additional injury hits.

On the other hand, slumping SIU Edwardsville ran its OVC losing streak to four games after its record-setting 14-5 start.

Here is how the region’s Division I teams stack up:

Missouri (16-5): The Tigers got out in transition at Ole Miss Tuesday and earned D’Moi Hodge some catch-and-shoot opportunities from 3-point range. Hodge broke out of his slump with 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Mosley lit up the Rebels for 20 points and five assists by creating offense off the dribble. Diarra came up big with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, With Tre Gomillion sidelined by a groin muscle strain, even Kaleb Brown got in on the fun with six solid minutes. Then the Tigers buried Iowa State with a blizzard of 3-pointers during their first 28 minutes of their victory Saturday. Kobe Brown led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but perhaps Nick Honor was the pivotal player. He knocked down four 3-point shots and helped set the early tone. Gates rotated 10 players into the game prior to garbage time and used that depth to sustain pressure on the Cyclones, who clearly wore down.

Illinois (15-6): Matt Mayer channeled his inner Larry Bird during the 61-51 victory at Wisconsin Saturday. Not only did he flash a nasty step-back 3-pointer at a critical game juncture, he also created some colorful baskets off the bounce as the Illini finally stepped on the gas in the second half. “When Matt’s going, we’ve seen this in practice, he is scary some of the runs he’s been on in games, in practice,” Underwood said. “We’re trying to do it in a variety of ways, not just with the 3. He’s an exceptional ballhandler at 6-9, he’s got a way around the post, he’s a crafty offensive rebounder.” Illinois overcame a rare off-day from Terrence Shannon Jr., who scored just six points and suffered six turnovers. Last Tuesday the Illini overcame cold (5-for-28) shooting from 3-point range to defeat Ohio State 69-60. Coleman Hawkins had another strong all-around game with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots and a steal. Shannon (17 points, seven rebounds, three assists) produced another all-Big Ten level performance and Mayer (12 points, eight rebounds, two blocked shots) was busy too.

SLU (15-6): Foul trouble limited center Francis Okoro to 19 minutes at Davidson Friday, but the Billikens adjusted. Jake Forrester grabbed eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Terrence Hargrove Jr. continued to shine in Fred Thatch Jr.’s absence; he delivered nine points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal. And the Billikens got balanced production from their key veterans: Yuri Collins (12 points, 10 assists), Gibson Jimerson (11 points, six rebounds), Javon Pickett (14 points) and Javonte Perkins (13 points). The Billikens shot almost 53 percent from the floor, made 8-of-20 shots from 3-point range and turned the ball over just 11 times during their efficient road performance.

SIU Carbondale (17-6): Lance Jones (19 points, five rebounds) and Marcus Domask (17 points, five rebounds, five assists) did their thing as the Salukis held off Murray State 68-64 at home Tuesday. The Racers got to the glass for 15 offensive rebounds – including six in the last 66 seconds of the game -- to stay within reach. Domask poured in 32 points at Illinois State Sunday and Jones added 15, but the other eight Salukis who played combined for just 19 points in the 72-66 loss Sunday.

SIU Edwardsville (14-9): Ray’Sean Taylor’s 30 points and five steals weren’t enough as the Cougars fell at Tennessee Tech Thursday. DeeJuan Pruitt had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, but he fouled out after playing 31 minutes. The Wright twins, Shamar and Lamar, struggled with combined 3-for-16 shooting from the floor. Then Lamar Wright fouled out in just nine minutes at Morehead State in a 55-50 loss Saturday. Taylor missed 13-of-16 shots from the floor as the Cougars shot just 32.2 percent collectively. Coach Brian Barone will be looking to reset the Cougars this week and regain some momentum for February’s schedule.

SEMO (12-11): Despite missing injured power forward Kobe Clark, the Redhawks ran away from Tennessee State 92-75 Thursday with former SLU guard Phillip Russell scoring 30 points and dishing nine assists. Aquan Smart had an excellent overall game with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Josh Early had 12 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. Then SEMO hit the road to dispatch Eastern Illinois 79-68 Saturday with Russell scoring 19 points in 27 minutes before fouling out. Israel Barnes came off the bench to score 11 points and dish five assists in 33 minutes. Adam Larson had 11 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench.

Missouri State (11-11): The Bears missed 20-of-25 shots from 3-point range at home against UIC, but they held on for a 63-59 victory Tuesday. Donovan Clay (19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals) and Alston Mason (19 points, five rebounds, five assists) led the way. Mason scored 22 points and had four assists at Murray State Saturday, but Missouri State fell short in 7its 4-71 loss. Clay (14 points, six rebounds), Damien Mayo Jr. (13 points) and Jonathan Mogbo (10 points, 16 rebounds) also had strong games in defeat.

Lindenwood (7-16): The Lions ran their OVC losing streak to seven games during their challenging swing through Tennessee. They hung tough at UT Martin Thursday, but lost 66-59 despite getting 19 points and eight rebounds from Keenon Cole and 11 points from Tommie Williams off the bench. Then Lindenwood lost 83-66 at Tennessee State despite getting 18 points off the bench from Chris Childs and 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals from Kevin Caldwell Jr.