Is it as big a game as some people thought it would be before the season? No.

Did Saturday's Kansas-Arizona game lose a little luster Wednesday night when the Jayhawks lost at Colorado? Yep.

Is it still a big game? Absolutely.

	Colorado may have tripped up Kansas, but Kirk Hinrich (10) and company will certainly test Arizona on Saturday.

While No. 1 will be in Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas is a few spots lower than No. 2 -- as some felt would be the case back in the preseason polls. Still, the top-ranked Wildcats' trip to Lawrence is the most difficult road game left on the Arizona schedule. And, a victory here would solidify the Wildcats as the best team in the country.

For the Jayhawks, a victory would, despite the loss to the Buffs, show how much they've improved over the past six weeks since early-season losses to North Carolina, Florida and Oregon dropped KU as low as No. 19 on Dec. 9.

It's also the beginning of a three-day stretch against Final Four-caliber teams for Roy Williams' team. After the game with Arizona, Kansas will turn around and host Texas on Monday night.

"It's a good barometer on how your team is playing at this point," Arizona coach Lute Olson said. "I'd much rather play a really good team like this, even with a chance to get beat. It's going to help us. It gives you an idea of where you stand. This is an opportunity to play a Final Four-caliber team in one of the most difficult arenas in America. We're going to know a lot more about our ballclub when the game is over."

But what if it leads to a loss? After all, the Jayhawks are pretty good at home. Let's just say Olson isn't to concerned about Arizona protecting it's No. 1 ranking in the two major polls.

"To me it's meaningless," Olson said. "If this were football it might mean something. It has no meaning to me. I know our players sort of like it, but I see no advantage in it. It's something that's not very meaningful for me. We're there because someone got beat, and if we get beat, Pittsburgh will be there if they don't get beat."

A loss certainly isn't out of the question against a Kansas team that has improved greatly since the early-season struggles.

While the hoops hysteria has focussed on Arizona, Alabama, Duke and Pitt over the past six to eight weeks, the Jayhawks flew under the radar a little bit. Before the loss at Colorado, Kansas had won 10 consecutive games, including road wins at Tulsa, California and Iowa State.

In that stretch, Kansas has gotten better ball-handing from point guard Aaron Miles, Kirk Hinrich's back has improved, Nick Collison has remained steady and Wayne Simien's shoulder injury has led to more minutes and more production from big man Jeff Graves.

"Part of it has been nice, but the way that we got under the radar, with all those people beating our tails early, that wasn't very nice," Williams said. "But at the beginning of the season, I didn't feel like that ranking (number two in the nation) was quite justified because we were so thin. Still, I feel that way, and yet, if we can get Wayne back, I think we've strengthened ourselves with the way that Jeff Graves has matured since we told him we had to have him be a player for us.

"Hopefully our team continues to grow throughout this whole process. I think we gained something from those losses, even though I think we could have possibly gained something by sneaking out a win in one or two of those (games) as well."

	“	They have three guys I tried my darndest to recruit that don't even start for them. So they're really good. ”
		— Roy Williams, Kansas head coach on playing Arizona

Simien, who injured his shoulder earlier this month against Missouri-Kansas City, didn't play against Colorado. Williams said that Simien would be reexamined, but it's unlikely whether he will be cleared to play against the Wildcats.

"I don't foresee that happening. I really don't," Williams said. "And I have to think that I'd probably have a little say in the whole thing. But I just don't see that happening myself.

"He's probably shooting so much he's getting sore just from the shooting part. We're trying to get him used to being able to play with that brace on. But I really don't foresee that happening."

Regardless, Williams knows how difficult defending all that Arizona talented will be on Saturday. Since losing at LSU, the Wildcats have won nine consecutive games by an average of 16.3 points per game. Only three teams in that stretch -- Oregon, USC and Arizona State -- have come within 10 points of Arizona. And the 'Cats led in-state rival ASU by 26 before letting the lead dwindle in the second half.

In addition, Wildcats forward Luke Walton appears to be getting back in the flow after missing games earlier this season because of a sprained ankle. In Wednesday's victory over the Sun Devils, Walton scored 13 points and dished out five assists.

"They have three guys I tried my darndest to recruit that don't even start for them," Williams said. "So they're really good."

If there's a team that has more to gain in this game, it's Kansas. While the Jayhawks have shown improvement, they don't have a true marquee victory yet this season. Kansas is 2-3 this season against teams with top 50 RPIs. With the Wildcats currently No. 2 in the RPI, a Kansas victory will have impact in March. If it doesn't happen, it isn't the end of the world. After all, Kansas has regular-season games remaining with Texas and Oklahoma in addition to the Big 12 tournament.

"I think beating Cal at Cal and beating Tulsa at Tulsa, you know, those were some pretty good wins for us," Williams said. "I think in those kind of terms right there, (and) what we have is a marathon. And you've got to run every one of those 26 miles in that marathon, and that's what we've got to do in this schedule."

Is it still a big game? Absolutely.

Games of the Week

Arizona at Kansas Saturday Sure it lost a little luster with the Jayhawks losing to Colorado. Still, this is a Final Four-type game. Butler at Wisconsin-Milwaukee Thursday This might be Butler's most difficult game remaining in Horizon League play. The game lost some luster when Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost at Wisconsin-Green Bay last weekend, but the Panthers are still one of the best three teams in the Horizon. Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, Sunday First the Cowboys beat in-state rival Oklahoma and followed it up with a good win over Missouri. A victory over the Red Raiders would extend Oklahoma State's winning streak to 14. For Texas Tech a victory here would help the Red Raiders avoid a 1-3 start in Big 12 play. Texas at Kansas Monday The last two Big Monday's have led to great games in the Big 12. First was the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State then the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game. This could be three in a row. N. Illinois at Bowling Green Saturday The Huskies have quietly won four consecutive games and are the surprise team in the MAC. Bowling Green needs to win this game to keep a share of the West Division lead. Michigan State at Michigan Sunday Can the Wolverines extend their winning streak to 13 games? Or will Michigan State continue its dominance in this series?

'Touchy' Big Ten
While basketball coaches and officials are never going to agree on too much, the amount of grumbling from Big Ten coaches has reached a fairly staggering level. There is a growing segment of league coaches who think games are being called too tight, especially in the post.

After Illinois' loss at Indiana last week, Illini coach Bill Self went as far as to say the Big Ten is no longer a rough league.

"There has been an emphasis, in my opinion, since Christmas to tighten the game up," Self said. "The Big Ten of late is making more calls that I would consider 'touch' fouls than what it was even earlier this year.

"I'm not saying it's right or wrong. But in order to be a physical league, you've got to be able to think you can play."

Big Ten supervisor of officials Rich Falk said the crackdown on moving screens, the bumping of cutters and hand-checking is a national directive, not something the league has instituted.

The tighter officiating has led to games with upwards of 50 fouls being called. Last weekend, Minnesota and Michigan State combined for 70 free throw attempts in a game that lasted 2½ hours.

"We were a couple of minutes into the game (and) there were so many fouls it was ridiculous," Izzo said. "The hand-checking that was called -- both ways -- made it no fun to play in that game.

"In the Big Ten, what always made it so impressive over the years was the officials were so good in that they talked guys through some things away from the ball. Now they're being threatened to call every single thing."

In last week's Michigan-Ohio State game, both the Wolverines' LaVell Blanchard and Ohio State's Zach Williams had two fouls before a single point had been scored.

Was it a coincidence that Falk was in attendance at each game?

"It's crew to crew," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "All you have to look at is our game against Michigan, where everything was called. And I don't think there was any small coincidence, quite frankly, that Rich Falk was in the building. The problem is that a lot of officials interpret what the conference wants. So we have our game against Michigan, and everything gets called--every touch, every little bump. And then we play against Wisconsin, and nothing gets called."

They'll Get State
As the final minute of Wednesday's victory over Minnesota counted down, Michigan students started chanting "We want State."

For most of the past decade, the folks in Maize and Blue haven't wanted anything to do with their in-state rivals. After all, Michigan State has owned the Wolverines of late, winning every matchup since '94.

But entering Sunday's game at Crisler Arena, the Michigan faithful think the Spartans streak is in jeopardy. And for good reason. The victory over Minnesota means Michigan has won a dozen games in a row.

Despite not being eligible for postseason play, the Wolverines are sitting atop the Big Ten standings and are the league's only undefeated team (5-0).

While Tom Izzo's Spartans played better in Wednesday night's victory over Penn State, holding the Nittany Lions to only 36 points, Michigan State has been vulnerable. The Spartans have lost five of their last six games overall and each of their last four games away from the Breslin Center.

"When you lose three in a row or five of the last six, a win is important," Izzo said after the Penn State victory. "But an effort-related win is really important."

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