Rush The Court

It is that time in the college basketball season where one week can send a team into a downward spiral. This past week has given us two candidates for teams that can fall off the national landscape if there is no course correction. #15 West Virginia experienced a nightmare week. The Mountaineers first were stunningly upset Wednesday in Morgantown by a rebuilding Oklahoma team before becoming victims of the Octagon of Doom in a Saturday loss at #25 Kansas State. While West Virginia had a bad week, #19 Creighton definitely had a worse one. On paper, the Blue Jays winning at #24 Xavier on Monday looks like a quality victory, but in that win, the team lost star point guard Maurice Watson Jr. for the season due to a torn ACL. In Creighton’s first game without Watson’s services, it was upset at home Saturday by unranked Marquette. It will be worth keeping an eye on both West Virginia and Creighton moving forward to see if either team can overcome this past week and get back on course towards a fruitful finish to the regular season.

This week’s Quick N’ Dirty Analysis of the RTC25 is after the jump.

Quick N’ Dirty Analysis.

• Villanova remains #1. The Wildcats are still in the top spot this week after putting forth impressive performances in healthy home victories over Seton Hall and Providence. Jay Wright’s squad continues to look as if it will definitely have a say in things when it comes to defending its national title. This coming week, though, will put Villanova to the test, as it travels to face a plucky Marquette squad on Tuesday before hosting #13 Virginia in a rare mid-season non-conference tilt. If the Wildcats are still in the top spot next week, they will definitely have earned that distinction.
• #6 Arizona makes a move. Sean Miller’s group unquestionably had their best week of the season. On the hardwood, Arizona completed a clean Los Angeles sweep earning noteworthy hard-fought victories at both USC and #7 UCLA. The Wildcats also received terrific personnel news when it was announced Saturday morning that sophomore swingman Allonzo Trier was cleared to return to the court after missing the first 19 games of the season due to a PED suspension. With the Arizona now at full strength and it performing very well on the hardwood, the Pac-12 race between the Wildcats, #7 UCLA, and #10 Oregon. College hoops fans should certainly keep a keen eye on this conference race because it figures to be unquestionably intriguing.
• #25 Kansas State enters the RTC25. Bruce Weber began the season on the hot seat. Kansas State has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2014 and it has struggled mightily to be a factor in the Big 12 over the last two seasons. This year’s Wildcats seem primed to end that drought as they moved to 15-4 overall this past week with impressive victories at Oklahoma State and home against #15 West Virginia. The team has been getting it done through a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging double digits in points scored per game. This coming week will give Kansas State a chance to prove if it is a legitimate RTC25 team, as it has opportunities to earn road wins over Iowa State on Tuesday and Tennessee on Saturday.

Game of the Week. #2 Kansas vs. #5 Kentucky. Two of college basketball’s premier programs will do battle Saturday in Lexington in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge’s main event. Not only are both teams rich in history, they also are each contenders for this year’s national title. The match-up to watch in this showdown will be between the backcourts, as both teams carry what might be the two best units in the country. Kansas veteran guards Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham will look to get the better of Kentucky freshmen De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. It must be noted that Fox’s status for this game is a bit up in the air after he left Saturday’s victory over #22 South Carolina with an ankle injury. If Fox is unable to play, it will certainly be interesting to see what John Calipari does with his guard rotation to try to keep Mason and Graham from controlling the game.

Keep Tabs On. #2 Kansas vs. #15 West Virginia; #18 Purdue vs. Michigan State; #13 Virginia vs. #17 Notre Dame; #20 Cincinnati vs. #24 Xavier; #1 Villanova vs. #13 Virginia.

Conference Call: ACC (6), Big 12 (4), Big East (4), Big Ten (3), Pac-12 (3),  SEC (2), WCC (2), AAC (1).