Even though they didn't do it in the NCAAs, Steve Blake and the Terps know what it takes to beat Duke.

Maryland isn't scared, not one bit. The Terps have beaten Duke in Durham and they have no reason to believe they can't do it on Thursday.

"We're comfortable playing there, we're not intimidated by the fans," Maryland senior guard Juan Dixon said. "It's a great place to play for a college basketball player and we love to play in those atmospheres. ... Me and Steve (Blake) were just saying how those fans pump us up, too."

Beat Duke Thursday and Maryland can actually open up a two-game lead on the Blue Devils in the ACC.

"I want that ACC regular-season and tournament championship before I finish and to get that you have to go through Duke," Dixon said.

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Notre Dame at Syracuse, Monday (ESPN, 7 ET): The Irish picked up a key victory in the Big East West Division race by winning at Pittsburgh Saturday. An upset at Syracuse would thrust the Irish back into the role of favorite in the divisional race. Texas at Texas Tech, Monday (ESPN, 9 ET): This is a true test for the Red Raiders after getting pounded at Oklahoma. If they can turn around in two days and upset Texas then the Red Raiders will definitely look like a tournament team. Texas is on an offensive tear, even without Chris Owens, making 14 3-pointers against Baylor. Wake Forest at Virginia, Tuesday: The Demon Deacons are the hottest team in the ACC, and that includes Duke and Maryland. Wake Forest hasn't had to struggle to win but the Demon Deacons haven't gone to a place like Virginia yet. The Cavs desperately need this one to stay in the race. Iowa at Illinois, Tuesday (ESPN, 9 ET): The loser will have three losses and be three games behind Indiana and Ohio State in the Big Ten race. The mediocrity in the league means that the regular-season champ will likely have more than three losses. But it's still a deep hole for the loser of this game. Maryland at Duke, Thursday (ESPN, 9 ET): Anticipating one of possibly four matchups again this season in what has become the best home-and-home in-season series in the country. Gonzaga at Pepperdine, Friday: The first of two classic games in the WCC. The Pepperdine fans love to harass the Zags as they exit the team bus. Gonzaga could have trouble with Pepperdine's helter-skelter style. But no one is quite sure which Waves' team will show -- the one that was capable of sweeping USC and UCLA, or the one that was a flop in the weeks that followed those wins. Oklahoma at Kansas, Saturday: Kansas concludes its toughest seven days of the regular season after games at UCLA and at Oklahoma State. The Sooners have the mental toughness to go in and win in Lawrence, but can they finish on their first shot. They might not get as many second and third shots against the Jayhawks. Louisville at Cincinnati, Saturday: This is the first of two Bob Huggins-Rick Pitino coaching matchups. But the Cardinals simply don't have the offense to score against one of the best team defenses in the country. UCLA at Arizona, Saturday: This can be a return-to-the-top weekend for Arizona if the Wildcats get a sweep. Jason Gardner's numbers have to continue to get better for the Wildcats to return to their November level of play. More games to watch

Player of the Week Indiana's Jared Jeffries has declared for the draft. Jared Jeffries, F, Indiana Jeffries led Indiana to its 4-0 Big Ten start with 21 points in the win over Michigan State and 26 at Iowa Sunday. Jeffries is playing the best basketball of his career. He's rebounding, taking players inside and/or shooting over them. His passing skills have improved to where he's just as good dishing the ball out at times as Tom Coverdale or Donald Perry at the point. Jeffries had seven assists in the Michigan State game, helping Coverdale to his barrage of 3s. Jeffries was feeling the pressure of having to do too much last season. That's not the case this season. He's relaxed and playing without the burden of trying to save Mike Davis' job like he felt last season as a freshman. Indiana has a legit chance to win the Big Ten title because they have a star player like Jeffries. Past players of the week Top Five Keith McLeod, Bowling Green: The senior guard scored 42 points in the win at Buffalo Saturday. He's averaging 23.1 points overall, and 27.9 points in eight games away from home. The 42 points were the most for a Bowling Green player since 1964. Ebi Ere, Oklahoma: Ere scored 24 in the win over Connecticut and then 25 in the rout of Texas Tech. Ere continues to get his points from all over the court and is the most impressive junior college transfer in the country. Jerry Green, UC Irvine: Green went coast-to-coast with a shot to beat Utah State last week. He scored 31 points in 35 minutes in the win. Green, who declared for the draft but wasn't drafted and made his way back to UC Irvine, is scoring a team-high 22.6 points per game for the Anteaters, who are atop the Big West again with a 5-0, 12-4 overall record. Luke Jackson, Oregon: Jackson scored 27 points in the win over Stanford Saturday. He's one of the top sophomores in the country that few people discuss. Jackson can score inside and out and is as composed as any player on the court for the Ducks. He's averaging 15.9 points and 5.4 rebounds a game. Matt Barnes, UCLA: The Bruins split the weekend with the loss to USC and a win over Kansas, but Barnes was the winner in both games. He scored 34 in the loss to the Trojans and then poured in 27 in the win over Kansas. He has become the Bruins' go-to scorer inside and on the wing for 3s. Team of the Week Georgia The Bulldogs had a monster week with a road win at Kentucky and then a tough, grind-it-out home win over Tennessee. Georgia is suddenly two games up on Kentucky in the SEC East, and breathing down Florida's neck with their matchup on tap for this weekend. The Bulldogs (14-2, 3-0 SEC East) are one of the biggest surprises of the season. Last season, they were the poster team for the NCAA Tournament selection committee. They played a tough schedule, got above .500 in the SEC and were a pick for the tournament at 16-14. But there are no reasons to hedge on this team this season. The Bulldogs would need a major flop to avoid making the tournament. Jim Harrick said he knew the Hayes' twins, Jarvis and Jonas, would be special when he saw them in practice. But he still has taken a team without a lot of size and molded it into an SEC title contender. The Bulldogs get major production out of Ezra Williams (22 against Tennessee) and Chris Daniels (13 boards against the Volunteers). Past teams of the week

Rising	Falling
Georgetown: The Hoyas had one game to prepare for last week and boy did they do their homework. Georgetown pounded Boston College at Conte Forum for the single most impressive win of the week. The margin of victory (70-43) and the defensive job on the Eagles (eight points for Troy Bell) might have been the Hoyas' best effort of the season. But can they keep it up?	Michigan State: The Spartans fell to 9-7, 0-3 in the Big Ten with the loss to Wisconsin. Not having a healthy Marcus Taylor for a stretch and then Adam Ballinger out hurts an already thin Spartan team. Scoring hasn't come as easily for this squad as it looked like it could during the Preseason NIT. Tom Izzo can still make this team a factor in the Big Ten but the hole is getting deeper.
Wisconsin: Hard to figure the Badgers. They beat Illinois at home and then lose to Iowa. They lost at Penn State and then won at Michigan State. Regardless, Bo Ryan has the Badgers listening to what he wants done. The Badgers are looking like this season's Georgia (without the impressive non-conference wins) and could have a 16-14 type record and squeeze into the tournament.	Boston College: The Eagles can't afford to lose Ryan Sidney for any game and Troy Bell simply can't score eight points if they're going to win. Having Uka Agbai whiff and not score from the field is also a major concern. The Eagles are a fragile team and their psyche has to be bruised after dropping two straight home games (Pittsburgh and Georgetown) and squeaking out a road victory in overtime at Villanova.
USC: The Trojans pounded UCLA on the glass and ran them ragged on the perimeter in an impressive win Thursday night at the Forum. The Trojans finally got back into the poll and should have been ranked all along. If USC can come out of the weekend road swing to Arizona with a sweep or a split, the Trojans still have to be taken seriously as the team to beat in the Pac-10.	Colorado: The Buffaloes blew a chance when they had Kansas at home and then got beat at Nebraska to fall to 0-2 in the Big 12. Colorado still has the talent to mount a campaign for sixth but they've still underachieved this season. Colorado's offensive production has been too inconsistent.
Oklahoma: The Sooners answered every challenge with wins last week at Connecticut and over Texas Tech. Oklahoma gets another major test Saturday at Kansas but regardless what occurs the Sooners have established themselves as a Final Four contender, let alone one of the Big 12 title favorites.	Louisville: The poor start against Marquette, the injuries to Carlos Hurt, the Marvin Stone is he coming or not, the on-again, off-again suspension of Brandon Bender made for a rollercoaster week for the Cardinals. The Cardinals are still standing at 1-1 in the league, 11-3 overall but a game at Cincinnati looms.
Florida: The Gators continue to win, regardless of how tight the games are on the road. Florida hasn't lost since falling to Arizona in the IKON Classic in New York. The Gators have three of the toughest players to defend in Matt Bonner inside and out, Udonis Haslam in the post and Brett Nelson from wherever he wants to shoot. The Gators could make a case for being No. 1, too.	Butler: The Bulldogs are still one of the best lower profile teams in the country and could be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament. But they still need to win the Horizon League first and that's becoming more difficult. Butler's two league losses puts them two games behind first-place Loyola of Chicago.
Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors have emerged as the class of the WAC with a 6-0 start (15-2 overall). Hawaii's best non-league wins were over Georgia at home and Wisconsin (in Hilo at the Big Island Invitational) and that could carry some weight come NCAA selection time. The Rainbow Warriors still have to play Tulsa twice and at Fresno State but they've got wins over Fresno State and SMU at home in the race for the title.	UNLV: The Runnin' Rebels have two league losses already with the latest one a 23-point drubbing at Utah. UNLV is allowing a league 72.1 points a game. That has to change if the Runnin' Rebels are going to be a factor in the race.
Detroit: The Titans knocked Butler down a peg with the win at Calihan Hall Thursday and have now won an NCAA-best 37-straight home games. The Titans are still in the Horizon League race at 2-2 and if they can do a better job on the road then they've got a chance to be a pest in the Horizon League tournament in March.	Penn: The Quakers could have made a serious case for an at-large berth but it's starting to look less likely with a league loss at Harvard. Penn still is the best team in terms of talent in the Ivy League but now the race for first and the automatic berth got a little more difficult.
Nevada: Trent Johnson needed something good to happen for his program and beating Fresno State can do the trick. The Wolf Pack got inspired play out of Terrance Green (25 points) in the upset. Nevada is surprisingly 3-2 in the conference, a respectable 10-5 overall.	Fresno State: The Bulldogs' loss at Nevada was their second in the league and pushed them two games behind league-leading Hawaii. The race is far from over, especially with Tulsa and Hawaii needing to play twice. But the loss to Nevada puts the Bulldogs in a hole and puts even more pressure on them to maybe lose only one more game (possibly at Tulsa) and expect to still win the league.
Jacksonville: Hugh Durham's club is suddenly atop the Atlantic Sun Conference with Samford at 6-2 as the former Georgia coach is enjoying a revitalization of his career. The production from Travis Robinson (13.2 ppg) has helped the Dolphins move to the top of the standings. The Dolphins are coming off an impressive win at Georgia State.	Central Michigan: The darlings of the MAC last season with David Webber have fallen on hard times to start the season. Central Michigan is 0-4 in the league, 3-9 overall, even with Webber averaging 20.4 points a game. In a competitive MAC, making up four games in the loss column could be extremely difficult.
Saint Joseph's: The Hawks had been on the other side after a disappointing start but seemed to have to righted themselves in the Atlantic 10. Beating St. Bonaventure will turn out to be a good win in the conference. But having Marvin O'Connor go off for 24 points, his best game since suffering the turf toe injury last month, means just as much to this team as the win.	DePaul: This team keeps switching sides and at one point was deservedly the team of the week after beating Missouri. Now the Blue Demons are back to being down after starting Conference USA 0-3 and are 7-7 overall. Getting into the NIT will be a chore at this stage unless DePaul gets on a serious roll.

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.