1. ARIZONA (21-0): With ten minutes to play in Wednesday's game at Stanford, Arizona was trailing by a score of 53-49. They ended up winning 60-57. So over the final ten minutes, Arizona's defense only surrendered four total points and forced Stanford to miss all but one of its final 13 shots. That'll work.
2. KANSAS (16-4): Another week, another win over a ranked opponent. By completing a season sweep over Iowa State, the Jayhawks remained undefeated in the Big 12. More bad news for everybody else: in his last two games, Andrew Wiggins has scored a combined 46 points on 18-of-29 shooting from the field.
3. SYRACUSE (19-0): Just like Arizona, Syracuse used stifling defense to avoid a potential upset on the road. The Orange were losing to Miami with eight minutes remaining, but only surrendered one field goal the rest of the game to pull out the win.
4. FLORIDA (18-2): Now on a twelve-game winning streak. What's really impressive about this team is the fact that five different players are averaging at least ten points per game. And the Gators could add to that depth thanks to news that forward Chris Walker -- one of the many highly-touted members of this year's freshman class -- has finally been cleared to play.
5. WICHITA STATE (22-0): In lieu of a comment, a dunk is worth a thousand words:
6. MICHIGAN STATE (19-2): Down two starters, the Spartans still had a solid week by beating Iowa on the road after losing to Michigan. The NCAA Tournament will be significantly better if this team is fully healthy when the time comes.
7. SAN DIEGO STATE (18-1): Where did this come from? In the preseason, San Diego State was picked to finish fourth in a mediocre Mountain West conference. The Aztecs have now won seventeen straight games since losing to Arizona back on November 14th. They're single-handedly making the bland Mountain West Conference relevant.
8. DUKE (17-4): For much of the season, the Blue Devils have been a fairly awful defensive and rebounding team. But then they suddenly collected a whopping 27 offensive rebounds against Florida State, and unleashed an excellent defensive performance against a good Pittsburgh offense. If Duke has improved even marginally in those two areas, to go along with its already-elite offense ... look out.
9. MICHIGAN (16-4): Maybe the hottest team in sports right now. Over the past week, Michigan has beaten Wisconsin (then ranked #3 in the country), Iowa (#10), and Michigan State (#3). Two of those games were on the road. The Wolverines' offense has become unstoppable -- Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III are future pros, and Derrick Walton and Caris LeVert have emerged as reliable secondary options. After starting the season with a dubious 6-4 record and losing Mitch McGary to back surgery, Michigan has won ten straight and launched itself to the top of the Big 10 standings. An unbelievable turnaround.
10. CINCINNATI (20-2): On Thursday night, Cincinnati built a 17-point lead at Louisville, blew all of it, and then won anyway. That impressive 69-66 victory kept the Bearcats undefeated in league play and cements their status as the best team in the American Athletic Conference. Much like San Diego State, Cincinnati has vastly outperformed meager expectations behind dominant defensive play and an extended winning streak (no losses since early December). It's not pretty, but these guys are methodically grinding out wins.
Key Games to Watch This Weekend:
#24 Ohio State at #14 Wisconsin, 12:00 PM Saturday
Three weeks ago, Ohio State was the #3 team in the country, and Wisconsin was #4. Remarkably, they've combined to win just two of their last eleven games. On Wednesday, Ohio State lost at home to Penn State and Wisconsin lost at home to Northwestern. Not too long ago, those results would have been unthinkable. Both of these teams desperately need to stop the bleeding.
#17 Duke at #2 Syracuse, 6:30 PM Saturday
Obviously a huge and well-hyped game, one that will include multiple first-round draft picks, two Hall of Fame coaches, and an undefeated record on the line.
#1 Arizona at California, 10:30 PM Saturday
Arizona has been somewhat vulnerable recently and Cal has both the talent and the desperation to pull off the colossal upset. Maaaaybe.
Virginia at #18 Pittsburgh, 12:30 PM Sunday
It's shaping up to be a character-defining weekend in the ACC. If Duke-Syracuse features the two best teams in the conference, then Virginia-Pitt is a showdown between #3 and #4. Pitt needs this one badly -- after coming up short against Syracuse and Duke, the Panthers still haven't beaten a single team projected to make the NCAA Tournament. Their reputation is suddenly at stake here.
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