What's up this week

Texas at Oklahoma, Monday: The Sooners can forget about winning the Big 12 if they get swept by the Longhorns. Both teams come into this game riding impressive wins Saturday. Dayton at Xavier, Wednesday: Forget about the Musketeers' win over Cincinnati -- this game is bigger for Xavier. Beating Dayton (16-3, 6-1 A-10) is a must if Xavier (11-7, 2-4) wants to get to the NCAA Tournament. Xavier needs wins and a decent A-10 tournament seed if it wants to make that Cincinnati win mean something in March. Kansas at Iowa, Thursday: If the Jayhawks think they were treated rudely in a loss to Iowa State in Ames (boos for native sons Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison), imagine the reception in Iowa City. This may be a non-conference game, but the stakes are just as high for the Jayhawks as they were last week at Iowa State. Duke at North Carolina, Thursday: The Tar Heels couldn't have asked for a better two-game streak going into this matchup. Beating Georgia Tech on Saturday and defeating Maryland at home gives the Tar Heels the momentum to challenge Duke. If the Tar Heels were smart, they'd keep the students in the lower section. Pepperdine at Gonzaga, Thursday: First place in the West Coast Conference is on the line in Spokane, Wash. The Bulldogs can't afford to lose, with a return trip to Malibu on the docket in two weeks. Weber State at Eastern Washington, Friday: Just down the road in Cheney, Wash., the Eagles have a rare chance to create distance with themselves and the Wildcats. Eastern Washington (5-2 in the Big Sky) holds a one-game lead over Weber State (5-3) in the loss column. The Wildcats can't afford a low seed in the Big Sky tournament if they want to return to the NCAAs. Stanford at USC, Saturday: Did anyone think the USC game would be the bigger matchup for the Cardinal in the road trip to the L.A. schools? It is. A win by the Trojans would keep them in the hunt for first place in the Pac-10. Connecticut at Michigan State, Saturday: The Huskies' drop down to mortal status has taken a little luster off this matchup. But a win by Connecticut would certainly help the Huskies' confidence. Michigan State can establish itself yet again as a title contender with another high-profile non-conference win. Ohio State at Michigan, Sunday: The Wolverines blew their last chance in the spotlight in a humiliating loss at Indiana. They can't let this one slip away. The problem is the Buckeyes are peaking with Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd back to their 1998-99 level of play. N.C. State at Maryland, Sunday: The Terrapins proved they shouldn't be forgotten by handling Florida State on the road. Beating the Wolfpack would go a long way toward keeping the erratic Terps in the top four in the ACC.

The Orangemen took full advantage by dismantling Connecticut on Big Monday. Sure, it's one game, but Syracuse proved it has the offensive options, the physical strength defensively and the depth to hang with -- yes, we're speculating here -- the likes of Cincinnati, Stanford, Michigan State, Duke and Tennessee (read into that if you want).

The Orange crush continued when Syracuse pulled away from a gritty Boston College team Saturday to run its record to 17-0. And, once again, Tony Bland was out front on a break finishing with a jam (this seems to be the most common highlight).

Syracuse has gone through adversity, playing without injured Etan Thomas earlier this season. No one saw them handling the challenge, but they obviously sailed through without a hitch. Struggling St. John's is next on the hit list, followed by a likely win at Providence for a potential 19-0 record heading into non-conference matchups against Louisville (on the road) and UCLA (at home).

Team of the week
Tennessee: Yes, the Volunteers are ranked, but they still seem to be searching for national respect. Huh? Why can't the Volunteers be considered a Final Four and national title contender? If Syracuse's win over Connecticut was the most impressive this season, Tennessee's punishing win over Auburn last Tuesday ranks a close second.

The Volunteers have adapted throughout the season, giving Jon Higgins more time at the point to let Tony Harris run free at shooting guard. The collective inside game is crashing the boards better than any team in the SEC and no player, save LSU's Stromile Swift, is having a better breakout sophomore season than Vincent Yarbrough.

Tennessee can take a commanding lead in potential tiebreakers in the SEC East with a win at Kentucky on Tuesday before finishing the week at Mississippi State on Sunday. Tennessee has already won at Florida -- pushing its school-record SEC road winning streak to six games -- which gives it a realistic shot to win in Lexington.

Player of the week
Jamaal Magloire, Kentucky: Magloire won't get player of the year honors, but he could win a most improved award if you look just at this season. Magloire was simply not good early in the season, trying to do too much with his limited offensive skills. But in late December, he realized that if he stayed true to his game and remained a force on the backboard and close in the lane, he could help the Wildcats win.

Magloire has been a regular double-double performer during Kentucky's rise back to the elite of the SEC. Kentucky was once 4-4, but sits at 15-5 heading into Tuesday's showdown with Tennessee.

The Wildcats have won five straight since losing at Auburn, with four of those wins coming on the road. Magloire's presence in the middle has given the 'Cats new hope for a deep NCAA Tournament run..

Climbing up
Iowa State: OK, so the Cyclones didn't received the necessary hype for a lofty record. The reason? They hadn't beaten anybody. Now they have. Iowa State's pounding of Kansas on Saturday, even though it was at home, showed that Iowa State can contend for the Big 12 title.

The Cyclones have one of the nation's best point guard/center combinations in Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Fizer. Fizer talked about leaving for the NBA a year ago but came to his senses and is having a Big 12 MVP season.

The 18-3 Cyclones can clinch a NCAA Tournament bid if they continue to clean up during a homestand that includes Kansas State and Nebraska over the next two weeks. The win total could reach 22 with home wins over Texas and Oklahoma State in late February, giving Iowa State a gaudy record, regardless of what happens in its four remaining road games.

Falling down
Akron: Unfortunately, the Zips are becoming victims to a competitive Mid-American Conference. That doesn't bode well for the conference's hopes of landing three bids -- or maybe even two -- if the selection committee doesn't respect the high-level of parity in the league this season. Akron fell prey to it with a loss last Monday to last-place Buffalo before losing to newly crowned favorite Bowling Green Saturday.

Akron (14-6, 8-3) lost its lead in the East Division and maybe its at-large chances with an RPI that sits at 84 in one replication of the selection committee's formula. The Zips have to play catch-up with games vs. Central Michigan and at Western Michigan on the schedule this week.

Bowling Green (15-4, 7-2 and 71 in the same RPI) began its week losing at Kent (15-4, 7-3 and 13 in the RPI) before beating Akron.

Five worth tracking
Saint Louis: Lorenzo Romar has the Billikens on track in his first season, winning three straight -- at DePaul and beating Marquette and Louisville at home -- to improve to 12-7 and 4-3 in Conference USA's American Division (yes, the one with Cincinnati). The Billikens still have work to do to get in NCAA contention, but at least they're on the radar screen. Beating South Florida on Saturday would keep them on course.

Tulane: The Green Wave (15-4, 4-3) are atop the National Division in C-USA with five straight wins. Tulane took apart Houston, New Orleans (a non-conference win) and UAB this past week. The UAB-UNO games were back-to-back last Sunday and Monday. A message can be sent to the rest of the league if Tulane can beat DePaul on Wednesday in Chicago before returning home to play Southern Mississippi on Saturday.

	Alex Scales is one of Oregon's talented wing players.

Oregon: The Ducks (15-3, 6-1) held on to beat USC and then came back to demolish UCLA for a necessary home sweep. It's time some folks back east commit to some late nights to catch the Ducks -- they're that good. Oregon has one of the quickest and most versatile scoring backcourts, complementing them with a stable crew of bangers inside to keep the boards on its side. But the true test for the Ducks comes the next two weeks when they go on a four-game road swing to Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford and Cal. Split those four and the Ducks are an NCAA tourney team. Lose all four and they'll be back on the bubble.

UNLV: The Runnin' Rebels took over second place in the Mountain West with a win at Colorado State. They play Wyoming on Monday in Laramie before a crucial home game Saturday against Utah. UNLV has won four straight since losing to BYU in the MWC opener. The Runnin' Rebels (13-4, 4-1) still have work to do to get at-large status (the MWC doesn't have an automatic berth).

Fresno State: The Bulldogs (14-7, 4-1 WAC) had one chance to save their season. They took advantage of it by beating Tulsa on Saturday night on Demetrius Porter's 12-foot turnaround jumper. The basket and the win gave Fresno State new life in its quest to get Jerry Tarkanian into the NCAA Tournament. But the dreams could come crashing down if the fragile Bulldogs don't get through a three-game road trip to San Jose State, Hawaii and UTEP.

Question these five
Wisconsin: The Badgers have been one of the hardest teams to figure this season. Some games they can't score, but can defend. Some times the reverse is true. They started the week by beating Purdue at home but then lost to Iowa on Saturday. Traveling to Ohio State and Minnesota this week could prove pivotal in their postseason plans. But a top-10 strength of schedule could lead the Badgers (11-9, 3-5 Big Ten) into the tournament if they can get to at least .500 in the league.

Detroit: The Titans were drilled at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday to drop from the top of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference standings. Detroit's erratic play this season has canceled any hopes for the Titans (13-8, 4-3) to get an at-large berth if they can't win the conference tournament. Too bad. Detroit has beaten St. John's and UCLA in consecutive first-round games.

St. John's: The Red Storm appeared to have righted their inconsistent play with a win over Rutgers earlier in the week. But they were taken apart by Notre Dame and Troy Murphy with a 17-2 run to close the game. The Red Storm has struggled to finish games, not a good sign going into Monday's game at Syracuse. The worst could still come. St. John's ends the season with these five games: Syracuse, Connecticut, at Duke, Seton Hall, at Miami.

Delaware: The Blue Hens fell two games behind first-place Hofstra after Maine completed a rare season sweep Saturday. The loss to Maine at home put the Blue Hens (15-5, 7-3) in jeopardy of finishing third and having a tougher route during the America East tournament. Maine (16-5, 8-2) outscored the Blue Hens 43-24 in the second half.

DePaul: Can anyone figure this team out? DePaul loses to Saint Louis at home, beats Florida but then loses at UAB. The Blue Demons have had trouble getting up for the non-showtime games. That had better end soon, with DePaul's bubble-like 13-7 overall record (and rather pedestrian C-USA record of 3-4). Playing surging Tulane on Wednesday and then dangerous UNC Charlotte on the road Sunday puts even more pressure on DePaul to snap out of its funk.

What worked last week
Putting the students in the lower section at the Dean Dome: It wasn't done on purpose. Snow and ice kept most of the established boosters home for the Maryland game. So, rather than have the lower bowl empty, the Tar Heels moved the students down and created a Duke-like atmosphere. The energy in the building helped the Tar Heels snap out of their four-game losing streak. Fans normally don't rush the court when North Carolina beats Maryland, but it may have been the confidence boost the sagging Tar Heels needed to get their self-esteem back.

Starting Kenny Satterfield at the point: Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins moved his freshman ahead of Steve Logan in the Bearcats' game at Louisville and it worked -- Satterfield scored 11 points, had 10 assists, two steals and no turnovers in 28 productive minutes. Logan's ego may have been bruised, but Satterfield answered the challenge he was given by making the No. 1 team even better.

Northwestern's offense: The Wildcats had been one of the worst offensive teams in the nation prior to Saturday's game at Minnesota. Northwestern scored 29 points in a loss to Michigan State -- in Evanston -- earlier in the week. But the Wildcats found the net to their liking with 60 points, in a rare, close 69-60 loss to the Gophers.

Air Force's homecourt advantage: Every year, the Falcons beat a team they're not supposed to at the Academy. This past weekend, Reggie Minton almost nabbed two. The Falcons beat BYU on Thursday and had Utah down but couldn't convert late in losing the one-point game in the final minute Saturday.

Kareem Rush's improved game: The Missouri freshman returned even better after a nine-game suspension. He led the Tigers with 16 points (6 of 10 shooting, three assists and three steals) in only 20 minutes in Saturday's win over Texas A&M. Missouri coaches didn't allow Rush to sit still during his suspension, working on improving his shooting and conditioning in rare in-season individual workouts.

And what didn't work
Clemson's consistent play: Maybe it was asking too much of the Tigers to follow a shocking win over N.C. State with a win at Duke. But how about being a bit more competitive. Duke was up 58-16 at the half Saturday before cruising to a 93-59 win.

Oregon's fans attempting to rattle USC's Brandon Granville: Granville missed the first of two free throw attempts late in the game against Oregon, but the USC staff complained that fans jumping up and down were making the basket move. The officials agreed and gave him another shot. He made both free throws for a 67-66 lead, much to the anger of Oregon coach Ernie Kent. But the Ducks came down and scored on their next possession and held on to hand the Trojans their first Pac-10 loss of the season.

Florida State's ability to capitalize on a Carolina win: The Seminoles became the second team in as many weeks to fail to build on a win at the Dean Dome. UCLA won in Chapel Hill but then lost its next game to Arizona. Florida State, which was hoping to climb in the ACC standings, followed the Carolina win with a road loss at Virginia and a home loss to Maryland.

Duquesne's once-proud Atlantic 10 start: The Dukes should be given credit for improving from five total wins last season to eight overall in 1999-2000. But since a 2-0 A-10 start, Duquesne has lost three of the last four, including a brutal 81-37 showing against Temple on Saturday.

UCLA's chances for the Pac-10 title: Any thoughts of the Bruins hanging around for first, or even second place, have ended after UCLA's loss at Oregon on Saturday. The Bruins fell to 3-4 in the league (12-6 overall), three games behind first-place Stanford, Oregon, Arizona and USC.

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com. His Weekly Watch appears every Sunday.