7. Butler Bulldogs (3-1)
Now, things get difficult trying to sort out the bottom five teams in the conference.
DePaul is the only team that doesn't have a loss from the pack but hasn't challenged itself under Chris Holtmann.
Butler lost at home to Austin Peay but tried to redeem itself with an 11-point victory over SMU, a newly minted ACC program. Its trip to Arizona to play Northwestern and Mississippi State or UNLV will tell us if this team has learned from its early season loss.
8. DePaul Blue Demons (4-0)
The biggest riser in the power rankings are the Blue Demons because of its unblemished record.
Granted, the competition has not been strong (Southern Indiana, Prairie View, Mercer, and Duquesne) but it should be noted that DePaul definitely loses one of those games in previous seasons.
Victories should come of its next three games, all at home and against mid-major foes, before the Blue Demons go to Texas Tech for the Big East vs. Big 12 Challenge on December 4. That's when the schedule stiffens and the rest of the league will know how much this team has improved.