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Monday, December 23
Updated: December 27, 8:16 PM ET

No time for LSU to let up

By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

LSU bench
LSU enjoyed its upset of No. 1 Arizona on Saturday, but can't let it be its last highlight of the season.
Go ahead, celebrate LSU. Just don't rest on beating No. 1 Arizona. There's still plenty of challenges ahead in the SEC. LSU coach John Brady is concerned about his players being too complacent, which is why he'll mess with the Tigers' minds after Christmas. Story

Saturday
Kentucky at Louisville (ESPN, noon ET): Kentucky concludes four straight Super Saturdays after winning at Carolina, losing to Michigan State and beating Indiana in Louisville. Marvin Stone and Rick Pitino would like nothing more than to beat their former team.
Texas Tech at Minnesota (ESPN, 2 ET): The Red Raiders lost their first real road test at Wyoming. The Gophers nearly pulled off the shocker in Eugene Sunday but are a different team at home.
Indiana at Temple (ESPN, 4 ET): The Hoosiers need to get healthy after the Kentucky loss and the ailing Owls could provide the right dose of open looks.
Illinois at Memphis (ESPN2, 6 ET): The Tigers will be a complete team for the first time this season. The Illini are as hot as any team in the country.
Sugar Bowl Classic, New Orleans
Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State
Tulane vs. LSU
This is looking like one of the best non-conference doubleheaders. This is Oklahoma's first real test after losing to Alabama. Mississippi State passed its first gauge game against Xavier.
Pete Newell Challenge, Oakland, Calif.
Kansas vs. California
Gonzaga vs. Stanford
Cal and Stanford are both 4-0 in the six-year event. Kansas is clicking again and Cal needs a marquee win. The Gonzaga-Stanford game is suddenly once again a headline event after the Zags beat N.C. State and Eastern Washington and the Cardinal won at UNLV.
Fiesta Bowl Classic, Tucson, Ariz
Boston University vs. Florida State
Davidson vs. Arizona
Expect Luke Walton (ankle) to play in this tournament. Arizona will get tested by Davidson (see: Duke) and whoever gets out of the other bracket. Boston College vs. Kent State in Cleveland: This is a danger game for the Eagles. Kent State is hurtin' after losing at St. Bonaventure. The Eagles are playing their best basketball of the season.
Sunday
Georgia Tech at Maryland: The Terps need to get healthy in a hurry while the Yellow Jackets have slipped the past week.
Dayton at Duke: The Flyers beat Villanova at the buzzer and could sneak up on a well-rested Duke team.
Iowa State at Northern Iowa: Iowa State can't be complacent in this game. Just ask Iowa, which lost here last season.

Player of the Week
Marvin Stone C, Louisville
Rick Pitino pumped up Stone and for good reason. The former Kentucky center lived up to his billing with 19 points and 11 rebounds in his debut against Manhattan and then poured in 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Furman on Sunday. Stone could be the difference between an NIT and NCAA berth for the Cardinals. Stone's presence in the middle is taking even more pressure off of guard Reece Gaines.

Past players of the week

Supporting Cast
KIRK HINRICH, Kansas: Hinrich looks like he's back, or that his back is back. He made four 3s and finished with 27 points in the rout of UCLA in Lawrence.
ANDRE EMMETT,, Texas Tech: He scored 33 in a crushing win over New Mexico. He followed that up with a 34-point outing in a one-point win over New Mexico State. The Aggies had a chance to tie the game, but missed a free throw in the final seconds.
JAIME LLOREDA, LSU: The junior college transfer scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the upset of Arizona. The Tigers needed a monster performance out of Lloreda to win this game.
KYLE KORVER, Creighton: Korver keeps on racking up points. He scored 21 in the Bluejays win at Nebraska. The Bluejays can add this one to their row of impressive Ws, right next to those over BYU and Notre Dame.

Team of Week
LSU
If you beat the No. 1 team in the country, you should be the team of the week. Case closed. The Tigers held off a furious late rally by Arizona to preserve one of the best wins since the days of Shaq and Stanley Roberts. Sure, the Tigers were in the Sweet 16 with Stromile Swift under John Brady, but this win solidifies that the Tigers will be a team to watch throughout the season. They have NCAA potential and proved it with the win Saturday.

Past teams of the week

Freshmen Watch

DEE BROWN
Illinois
Brown was sensational in the win over Missouri with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

IKE
DIOGU
Arizona State
Diogu dominated Purdue with 18 points and nine boards in Las Vegas. The Sun Devils are starting to mesh and should be 8-3 after likely beating Bucknell before the Pac-10 starts in Oregon.

GERRY
MCNAMARA
Syracuse
McNamara scored 25, including five 3s, and dished out 10 assists in Syracuse's convincing win over Georgia Tech.

MATT
WALSH
Florida
The Gators' freshmen keep taking turns turning heads. Walsh scored 33 points in the Gators' overtime win at Miami.

On Our Radar
Reggie Borges, Oral Roberts: Borges scored 29 in a losing effort to Tulsa. But he came back to score 23 and grab 10 boards in a win over Mississippi Valley State.

Patrick Harvey, Harvard: Harvey scored 20 in a losing effort to Boston College on Sunday, but he scored 29 in a win earlier in the week over Mercer. The Crimson was 7-2 prior to the loss to the Eagles -- their best start since 1984-85.

Emanuel Mathis, VCU: Mathis scored a career-high 20 in a win over TCU. VCU is 5-3 under the first-year coach Jeff Capel.

Dylan Page, Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Page scored 32 points, 27 in the second half, to open the Horizon League with a win over Loyola. The Panthers have won eight straight games.

Good Wins
Western Michigan 72, Auburn 54: A MAC win over an SEC team is worth noting any time of the year. Western Michigan could emerge as the MAC's best chance to advance in March.
Virginia 61, Rutgers 57: Credit Todd Billet for going into a hostile gym in front of his former fans and teammates. Billet led the Cavs with 22 points in an upset victory. Yes, this qualifies as an upset. Rutgers is very tough at the RAC and Virginia was playing without Travis Watson (ankle).
Butler 68, Saint Louis 46: The Bulldogs played up and beat a Conference USA team. Once again, they will be lining up for a bid in March.

Bad Loss
UCLA 63, Northern Arizona 67: This one will haunt the Bruins all season, more so than the loss to San Diego.
Northwestern 53, Illinois-Chicago 70: Losing to the Flames isn't that bad, but by this margin? Northwestern should stay in Evanston and not drift into Chicago after this one.
New Mexico 57, Southern Utah 69: The Lobos aren't going to the postseason, but this loss stings more than most for the locals.

Caught Our Eye
Inside the Top 25: The Panthers finally got tested (twice) last week. Pittsburgh beat Ohio State convincingly. The Panthers then went to Rhode Island on Saturday and beat a Rams team that had defeated Providence and USC. Pitt's next true test comes at Georgia on New Year's Eve. Guard Julius Page was sensation in the win over Ohio State with 20 points, making 7 of 10 from the field. The Panthers 'D' locked up Ohio State's Brent Darby, forcing him to 1 for 10 from the field.
Outside the Top 25: The Demon Deacons deserve to get more national recognition. They won at Wisconsin. They beat SMU and St. John's at home. This is a contending ACC team. Josh Howard (16 ppg, 8.7 rpg) is a potential ACC player of the year candidate, let alone national contender. Freshman Eric Williams isn't getting the same kind of pop nationally but should after averaging a dozen points in the first six games. Wake Forest will find out where it stands in the league Jan. 12 when it travels to Duke.

CINCINNATI: Beating Oregon put the Bearcats back in the top 25 discussion. Losing at Clemson on Sunday all but ended the talk five days later.

MARIO AUSTIN: Austin continues to make an impact at Mississippi State, scoring 24 points against Georgia State, including 17 in the second half. Don't count him out for player of the year.

MIKE DAVIS: The ranting and raving on a no-call was uncalled for and Davis knows it.

STANFORD: The Cardinal loses its own tournament earlier in the week, but then win at UNLV

RICHARD FOX: Fox is turning out to be one of the best transfers in the nation for Gonzaga. The former Colorado center was 7-for-7 while scoring 14 points in a win over Long Beach State.

UMASS: How low can it get? Losing to Lafayette? Can it be that it was only six years ago that this program was in the Final Four?

ST. BONAVENTURE: The Bonnies handed Kent State its first loss of the season after finally getting to play at home.

UTAH STATE: The Aggies once again prove to be one of the best mid-majors in the country by beating rival Utah at home.

PEPPERDINE: The Waves won the Stanford tourney without playing the host team, but then lost at home to Utah

STEPHEN THOMAS: He scored 15 in his first game of the season against South Alabama and then 18 against Appalachian State on Sunday. No wonder Georgia coach Jim Harrick was raving about his return.

MEMPHIS: Look out for the Tigers. They beat Ole Miss and could have their entire team ready for Illinois on Dec. 28.

WYOMING: The Cowboys won two games this week, including South Carolina at home, but lost their star guard in Marcus Bailey to a torn ACL.

SAINT JOSEPH'S: In case you haven't noticed, the Hawks remain undefeated after beating back DePaul.

UTAH: The Utes lose at Utah State, but then rebound quickly to win at Pepperdine.

CLIFF HAWKINS: Hawkins proved to be invaluable in his first game with Kentucky after eligibility issues. He had four points and five assists for the Wildcats in the win over Indiana.

SMU: The Mustangs were embarrassed at Appalachian State, but then popped up and upset Baylor at home Saturday.

RICE: Willis Wilson is doing his best coaching job with the Owls. Rice beat Colorado to improve to 5-2.

OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys got a difficult win at Wichita State and deserve credit for going to play at a mid-major.

OREGON: The Ducks were downright awful against Cincinnati, but saved a little face with a win Sunday over Minnesota.

BYU: The Cougars keep on cruising and have only one blemish on their record.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks learned what everyone else in the MWC knows: sweeping the Wyoming-Colorado State trip rarely happens. The Gamecocks got swept and that's more the pattern out West.

DAYTON: The Flyers are taking care of business at home, moving to 7-2 with a win over Villanova after already beating Cincinnati.

VILLANOVA: The Wildcats are 5-4. No way is that the record they imagined at the outset of the season, even with a young team.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Tar Heels open the ACC with a convincing win at Florida State. Enough said.

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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