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Monday, January 6
Updated: January 8, 12:54 PM ET

By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

Wednesday
Georgetown at Duke (ESPN, 7 p.m.): The Hoyas lost their first marquee road game against Virginia. Beating Duke on the road would certainly qualify as a big-time win. But the Blue Devils looked too strong in a road win at Clemson Sunday night.
Thursday
Ohio State at Michigan State (ESPN2, 7 p.m.): The Spartans are smarting after losing to Toledo and Oklahoma last week. Ohio State gets the unfortunate draw of facing MSU when it desperately needs a win.
Saturday
North Carolina at Virginia (ESPN, noon ET): Virginia has to make up for the road loss at N.C. State with a home win over Carolina. A Tar Heels' victory would be a surprise.
Sunday
Pepperdine at Gonzaga: The first of two WCC rivalry games. The Waves are hoping point guard Devin Montgomery is healthy enough to play. If not, then the Waves could struggle to run against Gonzaga. Pepperdine didn't handle Utah's bigs in a home loss and Gonzaga's big men are better than Utah's.

More games to watch

Player of the Week
Jameer Nelson G, Saint Joseph's
The junior point guard was sensational in a win at Gonzaga and then was dominant again in a win Sunday over Duquesne. Nelson scored 34 points in an overtime victory over the Bulldogs in Spokane. He lit up Duquesne for 22 points at Hawk Hill Sunday. Nelson is as important to the Hawks as any one player is to his team this season. He is the reason the Hawks are 9-1, 1-0 in the Atlantic 10. If Nelson stays on the court then the Hawks have a chance to win the game. Saint Joseph's is looking more and more like an NCAA team after a disappointing NIT appearance last season.

Past players of the week

Supporting Cast
IVAN MCFARLIN, Oklahoma State: He scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 78-65 win over BYU Saturday. The Cowboys are quietly mounting an NCAA campaign and could be a threat for a top-three finish in the Big 12 if McFarlin can continue to produce.
RICKY CLEMONS, Missouri: The junior college transfer scored 27 points and had seven assists in an 88-82 win over Iowa. Clemons' production gives the Tigers the balance they need to compete for the title in the Big 12. If he can put up major numbers, the Tigers could make another deep March run.

CHRIS MASSIE, Memphis: He's back and better than ever. Massie scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Memphis' win over Villanova Sunday. Massie was 9 of 12 from the field in the 72-68 victory. Memphis is off to a 9-2 start and improving each game.

JASON KAPONO, UCLA: The senior forward led the Bruins with 44 points, making 10 3-pointers in a win over Washington State in Pullman Saturday. He was also 7 for 7 from the free-throw line. Kapono's appearance proves he's not done having an impact in the Pac-10 just yet.

Team of Week
Georgia
The Bulldogs are finally at home playing big-time games and are cleaning up on the competition. Georgia beat Pittsburgh at home on New Year's Eve and then defeated LSU Sunday to open the SEC. The Bulldogs have won eight straight games and should have been ranked going into the Pittsburgh game. Georgia should make a huge leap back into the polls late Monday. Georgia has re-emerged as one of the Final Four contenders out of the SEC East.

Past teams of the week

Freshmen Watch

J.J. REDICK
Duke
He was probably the third-best freshman on this team in the preseason behind Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams. No more. He may be the best player on the team. He scored 22 points in a convincing win at Clemson Sunday night.

KELLY
GOLOB
N. Arizona
He scored 21 points against Marist and 25 against Southern Utah to lead the Lumberjacks to two wins last week. NAU has emerged as a threat to win the Big Sky title and Golob is one of the reasons.

CHRISTIAN
MARAKER
Pacific
The Tigers moved to 2-0 in the Big West, 7-4 overall after Maraker led the Tigers with 15 points in a huge win over conference favorite Utah State.

DONNIE
MCGRATH
Providence
The Friars picked up a huge win at Boston College during the week behind McGrath's 23 points and five assists. He could end up being one of the best freshmen in the Big East by season's end.

On Our Radar
Marques Green, Saint Bonaventure: The Bonnies lost to Ohio and Connecticut last week before beating Rhode Island. But Green was sensational in every game. He scored 35 points in the loss to the Bobcats, 18 in the loss to Connecticut, and put up 25 points, dished out 10 assists, and had four steals in the win over the Rams.

Sylbrin Robinson, Northeastern: He scored 22 points and grabbed eight boards to lead the Huskies to a stunning victory over Boston College Sunday in Chestnut Hill.

Keith Triplett, Toledo: He scored 17 points, making 9 of 10 shots to lead the Rockets to the most surprising score yet -- a victory over Michigan State in East Lansing.

Izik Ohanon, Saint Louis: The Israeli forward was suspended for the first eight games under the amateurism rules. But he made the most of his third game since becoming eligible. He scored 18 points and grabbed five boards in a win over West Virginia.

Kent Williams, Southern Illinois: The Salukis get no love because they play in the same conference as Creighton. But Williams' 19 points in a win over Illinois State pushed SIU to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the Missouri Valley.

Good Wins
Toledo 81, Michigan State 76: The Rockets could get a lot of mileage out of this victory if they can win a division in the MAC and have an impressive overall record. They're 7-4 overall, 1-0 in the MAC and can't be counted out as an at-large team.
Arizona 81, Oregon 72: The victory at MAC court - the first for Jason Gardner - means the Wildcats might run the table in the Pac-10. This was by far the toughest road game for Arizona. Beating Stanford, Cal and ASU won't be easy on the road but they shouldn't be as tough as winning in Eugene.
Utah 51, Alabama 49: The Utes now own one of the best non-conference wins of the season and will have a strong at-large resume because of this win. The Utes' defense was sensational in shutting down Alabama's inside game.

Bad Loss
Boston College 67, Northeastern 72: This is ugly for the Eagles. They have now lost to both Holy Cross and Northeastern in the same season. BC will need a monster run through the Big East to get consideration for an at-large berth.
Massachusetts 67, Fordham 80: This one is hard to explain. The Minutemen looked dominant in beating N.C. State Thursday and appeared to be a contender in the A-10. But then they go and lose to the Rams and lose badly. Fordham moved up to 2-10 with this win.
W. Kentucky 65, M. Tenn. State 69: The Hilltoppers can forget about an at-large berth. They dropped to 7-6, 0-1 in the Sun Belt after losing to a team that is now just 5-8 overall. Center Chris Marcus made his season debut after foot surgery and was largely ineffective. He played nine minutes, scored two points and grabbed two boards.

Caught Our Eye
Inside the Top 25: Oklahoma needed a win over a marquee team after losing to Alabama to open the season in New York and to Mississippi State in New Orleans last week. Both are good losses but the Sooners still hadn't beaten anyone of note -- until Saturday. Beating Michigan State in Oklahoma City was a significant win and a confidence boost for a potential Final Four team. (Yes, we're sticking by our preseason pick.) The Sooners got the kind of scoring from Ebi Ere (21 points) and Hollis Price (19) that they need to win elite games. Getting seven boards and five blocks from Jabahri Brown was also critical.
Outside the Top 25: Freshman Ike Diogu scored 27 points in the loss at Oregon, which proves Arizona State has the best big man in the Pac-10. ASU was one half away from sweeping the Oregon trip. The Sun Devils soundly beat Oregon State and had a six-point lead over the Ducks in Eugene before Oregon shot an amazing 81 percent to beat them. But ASU (9-4, 1-1) looks like they have a shot to finish as high as second behind Arizona. The Sun Devils should make their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Rob Evans, assuming they don't collapse at home.

CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Titans won at UC Santa Barbara despite suspending their best player Pape Sow.

PENNSYLVANIA: The Quakers had a tough road swing, losing to Providence in overtime and then at Colorado, following nearly three weeks off for exams and the holidays.

CALIFORNIA: The Bears humbled Stanford with an impressive 72-59 victory at home behind Joe Shipp's 18 points and 10 boards.

GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets fell to 5-5 after losing to Tulane. Georgia Tech is looking more like an NIT sqaud than a NCAA team heading into the heart of the ACC.

RON SLAY: The Tennessee forward continued his scoring tear. He lit up New Mexico for 38 points and 11 boards.

WAKE FOREST: The Demon Deacons picked up another quality road win by beating Richmond to move to 9-0.

FRESNO STATE: First-year coach Ray Lopes led the Bulldogs to a home sweep of Tulsa and Rice. He's 10-2, second to Kent State's Jim Christian (9-1) for best start by a first-year coach this season. Senior guard Damon Jackson has drained three game-winning shots, including a 14-footer with 5.2 seconds left to beat Rice 71-70.

KANSAS: The Jayhawks will miss Wayne Simien (out indefinitely with a separated shoulder) unless Jeff Graves can duplicate his double-double against UMKC.

MIAMI, FLA.: The Hurricanes opened up their new on-campus Convocation Center with a victory over North Carolina. Miami now becomes one of the best jobs in the Big East because they'll finally have fans at their games.

INDIANA: The Hoosiers weathered the Mike Davis suspension well by beating Ball State in Muncie and then welcoming their coach back to the bench by defeating Charlotte at home.

RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights have lost their homecourt edge after losing to LaSalle in overtime. Virginia has already won at Rutgers, too.

PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions might struggle in the Big Ten, but they've at least got some confidence by moving to 5-6 on the season.

N.C. STATE: The Wolfpack looked awful in losing at UMass but then rebounded with a convincing win over Virginia to open the ACC.

DAYTON: The Flyers continue to be one of the toughest teams to beat at home with a thrilling overtime win over Marquette.

MARQUETTE: The Eagles can't win on the road, losing in Dayton after also falling at East Carolina.

LOUISVILLE: The comeback over Ohio State was one of the more impressive wins of the season. Bryant Northern scored 18 points to lead the Cardinals to the victory.

MICHIGAN STATE: Tough week for the Spartans. They lost at home to Toledo and then fell to Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

OREGON: The Ducks nearly got swept by the Arizona schools at home, but Luke Ridnour scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half to beat ASU on Saturday.

HOUSTON: The Cougars are one of the worst programs in a major conference. Houston fell to 2-8 after losing to Louisiana-Lafayette.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Watch, a look back at the week and a preview of the week ahead, runs every Monday.

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