Tekele Cotton scored 18 points and fourth-ranked Wichita State beat Northern Iowa 82-73 on Saturday night, clearing perhaps its toughest remaining regular-season hurdle.
Cleanthony Early had all 16 of his points in the first half for the Shockers (25-0, 12-0 Missouri Valley Conference), who beat second-place Indiana State on the road Wednesday night.
They became the first team to open 25-0 since Derrick Rose helped Memphis win its first 26 games in 2007-08.
Matt Bohannon scored 17 points and Seth Tuttle had 16 for the Panthers (11-13, 5-7), who were outrebounded 40-24.