What's up this week

Marshall at Kent, Monday: Marshall can be a spoiler for Kent's MAC title chances with an upset on the road. Kansas at Oklahoma State, Monday: The Jayhawks are trying to snap a three-game road losing streak. The Cowboys can establish themselves as the team to beat in the Big 12 with wins over Kansas and Oklahoma (Saturday) this week. Notre Dame at Villanova, Tuesday: Notre Dame's loss to Pittsburgh put the Wildcats on alert that the Irish can be beaten this week. Notre Dame needs a win against Villanova to get off the Big East bubble. Kentucky at Florida, Tuesday: The Wildcats have risen to the top of the SEC. Florida needs to knock off Kentucky to compete for a top seed in the SEC tournament. The Gators follow this one up with a road game at Tennessee. Auburn at LSU, Wednesday: The Tigers are back on a high and could position themselves for a top-two seed in the conference tournament if they can beat Auburn. Kentucky comes calling next for the Tigers, creating a make-or-break week for LSU in the SEC elite. Iowa State at Missouri, Wednesday: While Oklahoma State has a chance to pick up two quality wins in the Big 12, this game is for first place. The Cyclones need a road win against a Big 12 elite team for more credibility nationally. USC at UCLA, Wednesday: The Bruins get a chance for revenge against the Trojans. But, more importantly, they need a win before heading to Syracuse. Syracuse at Louisville, Thursday: The Orangemen continue their brutal week with a non-conference road game that could be the first -- and possibly only -- loss this season. Louisville needs to improve its NCAA Tournament résumé. Oregon at Cal, Saturday: Suddenly, this game has NCAA implications for the Bears. Oregon continues its brutal four-game road swing, heading to Berkeley after playing at Stanford on Thursday. N.C. State at Virginia, Saturday: Second place is on the line in the ACC after the Wolfpack blew a chance for an upset at Maryland. Virginia needs wins like this to break out of a growing middle class in the ACC. Gonzaga at Pepperdine, Saturday: The rematch is down in Malibu. A loss by the Waves and the WCC title is a lock for Gonzaga. DePaul at Cincinnati, Sunday: The Blue Demons get the first of two looks at the Bearcats. A competitive, decent showing is a necessity for DePaul.

Losing point guard Jamal Crawford for six games will likely send Michigan to the NIT, rather than the NCAA. Crawford's first absence came in a home game against Michigan State. The Wolverines would have been more competitive; without him, they were done before the tip. Then he missed a drubbing at the hands of Ohio State. Michigan had trouble just bringing the ball up the court against the Buckeyes, something that probably wouldn't have happened if Crawford had played.

So what did Crawford do to deserve the suspension? In high school, he lived with someone other than his mother.

St. John's lost its best player, point guard Erick Barkley, indefinitely after a violation for the swapping of a car with a longtime family friend. Once again, the issue of a pre-existing relationship was called into question by the NCAA.

The Red Storm beat Boston College 59-58 at home Saturday, but if Barkley is out any longer, the Red Storm's chances for a bid could be finished. St. John's closes the regular season with a five-game stretch against Duke, Connecticut, Syracuse, Miami and Seton Hall.

Team of the week
Duke: Forgive us for questioning this Duke team back in November, when the Blue Devils went winless in two games at the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament in New York. The Blue Devils have been simply awesome since then.

At times, these Devils have looked more like the UNLV team of the early '90s than the Duke team of a year ago. Duke has been simply dominating in stretches in running out to 18 consecutive wins.

Anyone who questioned Chris Carrawell and Shane Battier earlier in the year (like myself) has to admit that they've responded to the challenge of being leaders and go-to players. Point guard Jason Williams has calmed down and is playing like a seasoned veteran, as are fellow frosh Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy Jr.

The coach-of-the-year race between Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Cincinnati's Bob Huggins and Stanford's Mike Montgomery is a dead heat.

Player of the week
Loren Woods, Arizona: The Wildcats center had 14 blocks in Arizona's critical Pac-10 win over Oregon on Thursday. The Ducks matched up well with Arizona's backcourt, but Woods' play inside gave the Wildcats the necessary advantage. He also chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Woods followed up that swat party with 15 points, nine rebounds and -- gasp! -- just one block in a win over Oregon State on Saturday to keep the Wildcats tied for the Pac-10 lead with Stanford.

Climbing up
Temple: Now that Pepe Sanchez is back, the Owls are once again a realistic threat to make the Final Four. Temple has taken apart its competition in the Atlantic 10. The Owls have had exceptional play from Sanchez at the point, Mark Karcher on the wing and even Lamont Barnes inside. The Owls still get two more non-conference tests -- vs. Maryland (Feb. 13) and at Cincinnati on Feb. 20. But they're already proving that they're tournament tough.

Falling down
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons have spiraled down to the outskirts of the bubble (no, it's not too early to say that word). Wake Forest has lost six of its last seven games, including a non-conference game against Davidson. The Demon Deacons still have the talent to salvage a run in the ACC tournament, especially with combo guard Robert O'Kelley. But it might be too late with a pedestrian 12-10 record (3-6 in the ACC).

Five worth tracking
Maine: The Black Bears keep cruising in the America East, sweeping Vermont and Hartford to stay a game behind first-place Hofstra. But four straight road games await Maine over the next two weeks.

Syracuse: The Orangemen are in the midst of a brutal week playing at Providence on Saturday (a win), hosting Seton Hall on Monday (in game rescheduled after the tragic fire on the Seton Hall campus), traveling to Louisville on Thursday and then hosting UCLA on Sunday. Sweep all three and the No. 1 seed should be a given.

Miami, Fla.: Leonard Hamilton has done one of the better in-season coaching jobs after turning around the Hurricanes. Miami stands at 7-2 in the Big East and is cruising toward a top-three finish in the league after staying in the top half looked doubtful when January started.

Cal: The Bears pulled off the rare sweep of the L.A. schools by beating USC and UCLA last weekend. Ben Braun's youth brigade is finally maturing, making the Bears a threat to play a spoiler's role for the Pac-10 title. The Bears have an outside shot at the NCAA tourney, but they'll probably need to finish fourth in the conference.

UNLV: The Runnin' Rebels got the necessary win they needed to stay in the Mountain West race. UNLV beat Utah, snapping the Utes' 23-game conference win streak (stretched over the WAC and Mountain West). UNLV has to distance itself from Brigham Young and New Mexico and clearly become the second-best team in the MWC if it wants to earn an at-large berth. But with the win over the Utes, winning the conference isn't out of the question, either.

Question these five
Connecticut: The Huskies have answered three non-conference challenges -- Duke, Texas and Arizona. But the problem is two of the three were prior to New Year's and the Texas game was at home. Connecticut has been blitzed in its last two efforts away from the state -- at Syracuse and Saturday at Michigan State. Neither was even close. There's no doubt the Huskies will get into the NCAA Tournament, but they're a long way from making a difference.

	UConn suffered a humbling loss at Michigan State.

Tulane: Just when it was safe to believe in the Green Wave again, they lost to Southern Mississippi to fall below .500 in Conference USA. Tulane faces a critical stretch -- a home game against Memphis and road games against UAB and South Florida -- in its quest to be an NCAA team.

Princeton: The Tigers had to go without injured freshman forward Spencer Gloger against Yale. They lost and will likely need help from someone else in the conference (maybe Yale) to beat out Penn for the league title. Penn and Princeton are one game apart in the standings and don't play each other until Feb. 15.

New Mexico State: Lou Henson's Cinderella hopes took another hit when New Mexico State lost to Utah State on Saturday. The loss dropped NMSU three games behind undefeated Utah State in the Big West East. Any hopes New Mexico State had of earning an at-large bid seem gone.

Weber State: The Wildcats are in jeopardy of falling too far back in the quest to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Losing to Big Sky-leader Eastern Washington put the Wildcats two games behind the Eagles in the loss column and a game behind Cal State-Northridge and Montana. Harold "The Show" Arceneaux may be on display in the NIT this year, instead of the NCAA.

What worked last week
Temple's matchup zone: The Owls stunted Rhode Island's offense Saturday, destroying the Rams 74-40. That's the seventh straight game the Owls have limited their opponent to 50 points or less. After a nine-point first half, Rhode Island's 31-point second half almost looks respectable.

Air Force's homecourt: OK, so this has been used before, but the Falcons deserve praise for pulling off another victory by beating Wyoming at home. Air Force was a basket away from winning three straight (remember the loss to Utah). The Falcons have eclipsed last year's win total in the WAC by one, with three thus far. They could actually challenge for second with wins over Colorado State, New Mexico and San Diego State.

College of Charleston's dominance in a conference: Just when it seemed safe to anoint Appalachian State as the team to beat in the Southern Conference, the Cougars won at home Saturday to hand the Mountaineers their first conference loss this season. This could come down to the conference tournament final (the Southern Conference has two divisions, so a No. 1 seed isn't up for grabs).

Fresno State's road toughness: The Bulldogs usually struggle in WAC games away from Selland Arena but they pulled off a sweep of San Jose State and Hawaii. The wins keep the Bulldogs tied with Tulsa for first in the WAC (they own the tie-breaker with a victory over the Golden Hurricane).

Central Connecticut's hold on the Northeast lead: The Blue Devils (the other ones) continued their control of first place with wins over Mount St. Mary's and Maryland-Baltimore County. The Blue Devils, undefeated in league and with only two losses overall, are playing the best basketball in the state (and that's making a statement in Connecticut).

And what didn't work
Bill Guthridge's technical: The long-time silent partner of the Carolina basketball finally snapped during the Duke game in an attempt to fire up his team. It didn't work, as the Tar Heels were down by as many as 17 in the first half. They did come back, forcing overtime with a sensational second-half surge led by freshman Joseph Forte. But the energy Guthridge tried to give the Tar Heels didn't translate in the first 20 minutes, putting the Tar Heels in too deep a hole.

Pepperdine's perimeter defense on Gonzaga's Richie Frahm: The Bulldog guard took apart the Waves' defense in the second half, scoring 13 points in a comeback win for the Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash. The win gave Gonzaga the lead in the West Coast Conference and the head start toward a potential NCAA at-large berth (if they can't win the WCC tournament).

TCU's momentum: The Horned Frogs looked like they were going to be a threat to upset the WAC race after beating SMU handily and taking apart Rice. But they were shut down by Tulsa on Saturday, pulling the Frogs back to earth and down to the middle of the standings at 4-4.

Shooting in the Ohio State-Wisconsin game: The Buckeyes beat the Badgers, but not before clanging their way to 36.7 percent overall, 25 percent on 3s (3 of 12). Wisconsin was 31.5 percent overall, 22.2 on 3s (4 of 18).

Boston College's late-game luck: The Eagles can't catch a break late in a game, losing in the final minutes to Seton Hall, Rutgers and then against Erick Barkley-less St. John's on Saturday. Freshman Troy Bell had a decent chance to win the game but couldn't convert a last-second runner.

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