What's up this week

Penn at Princeton, Tuesday: The Tigers must beat the Quakers at home to have a chance to win the Ivy League. Ohio State at Michigan State, Tuesday: First place in the Big Ten is on the line in this return matchup. Too many conferences have lost home-and-home series. The Big Ten lucked out that these two teams play twice this season. The Buckeyes follow this one with a trip to Indiana on Saturday. Iowa State at Kansas, Wednesday: The Cyclones are going for the Jayhawk sweep and a chance to win the Big 12. Jamal Tinsley's ability to get past Kansas' Jeff Boschee at the top of the key may be the deciding factor. UCLA at Arizona State, Thursday: The Pac-10 may only get four teams in the NCAA field. The race for fourth could lose one of its participants after this game, with the loser slipping behind Cal and USC in the standings. Temple at Dayton, Thursday: The Owls have a brutal week (Maryland-Dayton-Cincinnati) while Dayton should be rested for its point-to game of the season. If the Flyers win at home, the Top 25 shouldn't be the only lock for this team at week's end. Syracuse at St. John's, Saturday: First place in the Big East could be in jeopardy if the Orangemen lose in the Garden and Seton Hall keeps pace with a win over Connecticut on Monday. Louisville at DePaul, Saturday: The Cardinals are under .500 in Conference USA, yet have decent non-conference wins. They can't think about the NCAA unless they get out of the C-USA cellar. A win in Chicago would help. Akron at Kent, Saturday: The rematch in the MAC could decide first place in the East, but also help shape potential at-large berths. Kent has room for error. Akron does not. Temple at Cincinnati, Sunday: The Bearcats' nemesis comes calling after beating them in the NCAA second round last March. If the Owls can pull off the upset, they should be seen as not only a Final Four threat but a realistic favorite to win the title. Oklahoma at Kansas, Sunday: This game has no bearing on first in the Big 12, but seeding for the tournament may be clearer after this game. The Sooners' physical play could pose problems for the Jayhawks. Virginia at North Carolina, Sunday: The Cavaliers are back in bubble land in the ACC. A sweep of the Tar Heels would help their résumé in late February.

Oregon and Oregon State were the latest fodder to come through Maples Pavilion. Didn't matter, Stanford disposed of them like it has every other team save Arizona. Since losing to the Wildcats on the opening weekend of conference play, Stanford has won its last nine Pac-10 games by at least 10 points.

While the talk turns to Cincinnati, Duke and Michigan State in the Midwest and East, Stanford has put together just as an impressive season, if not more so.

Will the Cardinal lose before the NCAA Tournament? Most likely, since Stanford travels to Arizona on March 9. But the Cardinal should still be a No. 1 seed in the West.

Team of the week
Maryland: Keep in mind this is being written before Maryland plays Temple on Sunday. Regardless of what happens (we're counting Sunday's games toward next week), the Terrapins deserve praise for their best week of the season. Maryland started the week by holding off N.C. State last Sunday night and then shocked Duke in the middle of the week.

There was legitimate concern in early January if the Terrapins would play themselves out of the NCAA Tournament. Now, they're looking like a top-four seed, with Lonny Baxter becoming one of the nation's most improved players.

Point guard Steve Blake isn't getting the recognition he deserves among a talented freshman class and Juan Dixon has made himself into one of the ACC's top shooters. Oh yeah, the Terps also have some guy named Terence Morris on their team. Not bad.

Player of the week
Tony Harris, Tennessee: The sophomore guard was simply sensational in three games last week as the Volunteers pushed their record to 21-3 overall, 9-2 in the SEC East.

Harris gave the Gators bulletin-board material when he offered a choke sign during a win in Gainesville back in January. But he answered the challenge with 26 points (nine in overtime) in Saturday's win over Florida in Knoxville.

Harris scored 21, including four 3-pointers, in the 110-83 rout of Georgia on Wednesday. Last Sunday, Harris put up 24 points, including 9 of 10 from the free-throw line in an 88-81 victory at Mississippi State. If Harris keeps this up, he has a right to the SEC MVP award.

Climbing up
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have risen to become one of the country's elite teams. Beating Kansas by 33 and pinning a 20-point lead on Oklahoma in the first half means the Cowboys are in the Final Four hunt.

The Cowboys' defense is as stingy as it has ever been under Eddie Sutton. Now there's more balance on offense, with Joe Adkins' perimeter scoring and a newfound low-post threat from Fred Jonzen (at least at the line, after he gets fouled). Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma without the offense of Desmond Mason and Brian Montonati (both were in foul trouble).

The Cowboys still have to travel to Texas (Wednesday), Missouri (Feb. 21) and Iowa State (Feb. 26), and are in a three-team race with Texas and Iowa State for the Big 12 title. But, if the NCAA Tournament were held today, it would be tough not to give the Cowboys a No. 2 seed.

Falling down
Connecticut: The Huskies are officially done in the Big East. Overtaking Syracuse or Seton Hall is virtually impossible, based on the way Connecticut is playing in games that truly matter.

The Huskies looked sensational for 30 minutes against Boston College, but then couldn't close the deal at Notre Dame. Last year's Connecticut team would have risen to the challenge of avoiding a sweep by the Irish.

Point guard Khalid El-Amin is still one of the best leaders in the nation, but he's not getting enough help inside. The Huskies play too passively at times and are now headed for a grinding Big East conference tournament with a seed that may be as low as five.

Five worth tracking
LSU: The Tigers looked vulnerable when they lost three of their first four SEC games. But they've won four of their last five league games, including a rousing win over once-formidable Auburn. LSU heads into Sunday's matchup with Kentucky shedding their label as a bubble team. Instead, LSU is suddenly a Selection Sunday lock.

Seton Hall: The Pirates can send Connecticut into Big East mediocrity with a win Monday night. Seton Hall proved it's not only a tournament lock, but a legitimate Big East regular-season title contender with a sweep of Syracuse and Rutgers on the road, before beating Boston College at home Saturday. The Pirates have weathered the suspension of Gary Saunders with consistent perimeter scoring from Darius Lane. And no other point guard in the league is as valuable to its team as Shaheen Holloway.

Texas: The Longhorns dispelled the myth that they can't win an important Big 12 game on the road with a gritty victory at Missouri on Saturday. The tandem of Chris Mihm and Gabe Muoneke seems to mesh better every outing. The Longhorns have a chance for their second straight Big 12 title if they can outlast Oklahoma State and Iowa State. The Longhorns' only tough road game left is at Iowa State (Feb. 22).

Indiana State: The Sycamores continued to establish themselves as the elite team in the Missouri Valley with a win over Evansville on Saturday. Indiana State looks like the only team in the league with a chance to earn an at-large berth, should it fail to win the conference tournament. But the Sycamores had to create some distance in the division. The schedule doesn't get easier with a trip to Creighton on Wednesday and final road games at Southern Illinois and Evansville.

Pepperdine: The Waves got back at Gonzaga with a home victory Saturday. Pepperdine tied Gonzaga atop the West Coast Conference standings, splitting the season series. The Waves' victory may ensure that both teams earn NCAA Tournament berths, assuming one of them wins the conference tournament. While Kevin Stallings is receiving just praise at Vanderbilt, former Commodores coach Jan van Breda Kolff deserves a shout for putting the Waves in position for a bid.

Question these five
N.C. State: What happened to the Wolfpack in the last month? N.C. State looked like the second-best team in the ACC in early January but now is fighting to stay at fourth. N.C. State lost at Maryland, North Carolina (at home) and at Virginia this week. The streak could reach four or five with a game at Wake Forest (Tuesday) before returning home to play Duke on Saturday.

Auburn: The Tigers are no longer a given to earn the SEC West's top seed. Losing to LSU left them just one game ahead in the loss column -- but maybe further back in NCAA seeding. Auburn's depth took a hit with the departure of forward David Hamilton, who left school to return to California after the second death in his family in the past year.

Missouri: Mizzou was a contender for the Big 12 title a week ago but has since slipped with a tough two-game stretch, losing at home to Iowa State and Texas. The Tigers (14-8, 7-3) should still earn a NCAA Tournament berth but they're making it harder on themselves at home. They still have to go to Oklahoma and Kansas later this month, but first they must win on the road this week against cellar-dwellers Texas Tech (Tuesday) and Kansas State (Saturday).

Brigham Young: The Cougars had a chance to beat Utah in Salt Lake City for the first time in years as the Utes were without Hanno Möttölä. Instead, BYU lost (third in four games overall) and is fading from the NCAA Tournament bubble. BYU had to stay with second-place UNLV to still have a chance, but has slipped to 4-4 (15-6 overall) in the Mountain West.

Fresno State: The Bulldogs lost the type of game they can't afford to this late in the season. Fresno State was easily handled at UTEP Saturday night to drop its fragile overall record to 16-8 (6-2 in the WAC). The Bulldogs can still win the league if they win at Tulsa (Feb. 24) for a season sweep of the series. But, they have to win the games they're supposed to: SMU, TCU, San Jose State and Hawaii at home and Rice on the road, to feel secure about landing Jerry Tarkanian his first bid in five years at Fresno.

What worked last week
St. John's with or without Erick Barkley: The Red Storm went 2-0 without the suspended Barkley (including a buzzer-beating defensive effort over Boston College). When he returned, the Red Storm took apart Villanova Saturday. Barkley scored 16 points but made even more of a statement with his shoes. He wrote NCAA on them, and one shoe read, "Free at Last," and the other, "Only God can judge me."

	Matt Doherty celebrates Notre Dame's win over UConn amid a horde of student revelers.

Joel Przybilla's offensive game: The formerly offensively challenged Minnesota sophomore center suddenly had game against Indiana, pouring in 33 points in the Gophers' upset. While Przybilla's offense is finally good news for the Gophers, it could turn sour for them if he thinks he's now ready for the NBA.

Brendan Haywood's inside presence: The North Carolina center was knocked throughout the first two-thirds of the season (here included) for his passive play. But he has helped surge the Tar Heels to four of five wins and a second-place tie (in the loss column) with Maryland in the ACC. Haywood hit 9 of 12 shots and had 10 rebounds in a crucial win at N.C. State, showing that he has the Wolfpack's number (Haywood went 7-for-7 against N.C. State earlier this season). He also scored 20 in the win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Alabama's reserves: The Tide, who are waiting anxiously to see if top signee Gerald Wallace honors his commitment rather than enter the NBA draft, beat Vanderbilt with their reserves. The Crimson Tide snapped a three-game losing streak by using only six scholarship players. Injuries to key players, including starter Schea Cotton, kept the Tide's numbers down to eight available players (including five freshmen and two walk-ons).

And what didn't work
Kansas State's latest attempt to beat Kansas: The Wildcats went down rather easily to the Jayhawks, losing their 14th straight game to Kansas under sixth-year coach Tom Asbury. Asbury is naturally tense with the heat on his back, but don't be surprised to see him resurface in the West next season.

Syracuse's standing as the last unbeaten team: The Orangemen weren't ready for Seton Hall on Monday and were beaten at their own game by a fast-breaking Louisville on Thursday. The suddenly mortal Orangemen limped into Sunday's game against UCLA with two straight losses and a fragile hold on top seeds in the Big East tournament and the NCAA's.

Iowa's NCAA chances: The Hawkeyes scored their second upset in two years at the Value Center in Columbus but then couldn't pull off the second shocker Saturday against Illinois. The Hawkeyes don't look as good at 11-12 as they did at 11-11 coming off the Ohio State win.

Hofstra's hold on first in the America East: The Flying Dutchmen lost at Vermont on Saturday to end a 10-game win streak. The loss dropped Hofstra into a tie with Maine, which also lost at Vermont this season. Hofstra has to get by Drexel and New Hampshire this week before hosting Maine in a title showdown Sunday.

Central Connecticut's streak: The Blue Devils ended their 15-game win streak with a loss at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. The loss dropped them to 12-1 in the Northeast Conference, two games ahead of second-place St. Francis (N.Y.).

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