Drake was ranked 9th in RPI ratings. On January 28, 2008, Drake received 220 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll, which had them ranked 17th. They also were ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 poll with 616 points. On January 30, 2008, with the Drake win over Creighton and Kansas' loss to Kansas State, Drake held the 2nd longest winning streak in the nation at 18 wins in a row. They were second only to Memphis' 20 consecutive wins. On February 2, 2008, Drake won 20 games in a season for the first time since the 1970–71 season. On February 4, 2008, Drake received 334 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll, which had them ranked 15th. They also were ranked 15th in the AP Top 25 poll with 817 points. On February 9, 2008, Drake extended their winning streak to 21 games. On February 11, 2008, Drake received 361 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 15th. They also were ranked 14th in the AP Top 25 poll with 863 points. On February 16, 2008, Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship for the first time since the 1970–71 season. Also with the win they now held the second most wins in Drake history with 23, with the school record being 26 by the 1968–69 team. On February 18, 2008, Drake received 243 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 18th. They also were ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 poll with 612 points. On February 23, 2008, with Drake's 71–64 win over No. 8 Butler, they claimed their first win over a top-10 team since a 56–55 home victory over No. 7 Tulsa on February 15, 1982. On February 25, 2008, Drake received 259 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 20th. They also were ranked 20th in the AP Top 25 poll with 621 points. On March 1, 2008, with Drake's win over Wichita State, Drake won its most games ever in the Missouri Valley Conference with 15. On March 3, 2008 Drake received 116 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 21st. They also were ranked 20th in the AP Top 25 poll with 346 points. The ranking marked the 7th consecutive week