Borchardt is one of the few highly-coveted seniors in the draft.

We have been here before with the Pac-10, waiting for a team to go on the road to see how good it really is, whether or not it should be taken seriously as a Pac-10 title contender.

The team was Oregon two weeks ago. And the Ducks split their road trip to Arizona, getting the better of the two wins by beating the Wildcats before losing to Arizona State. Now it's Stanford's and California's turn to prove what each can do on the road with games at USC and UCLA this week.

Sweep both and suddenly the L.A. schools could be out of the picture for the title. Earn splits and the Bay Area schools are still in the race. Get swept and they're not out, but they're back in the pack.

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Missouri at Oklahoma, Monday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN): This is the Tigers' first game against one of the Big 12 elite teams. The Sooners are still smarting after losing to Kansas and didn't have much time to mope with Missouri coming into town two days later. Pittsburgh at Syracuse, Tuesday: The Panthers aren't intimidated in any of the stops, thus far, and nearly won at Miami. Brandin Knight will have to shoot well from the perimeter or drive to create shots against Syracuse's zone for the Panthers to have a chance at the upset. Michigan State at Iowa, Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Spartans are rising in the Big Ten while Iowa is sliding back. The Hawkeyes desperately need something positive to happen after losing to Northwestern. Kelvin Torbert is playing his best basketball of the season for the Spartans. Maryland at Wake Forest, Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2): The Demon Deacons got pummeled in the second half against Duke Saturday. Maryland struggled to beat Clemson. This is a golden opportunity for Wake Forest to move a game ahead of the Terps in the race to hang with Duke. Duke at Boston College, Thursday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN): This looked like the game between the two best backcourts in the country in December. But Troy Bell's slump and Ryan Sidney's inconsistent play (largely due to his fractured jaw in late December and early January) have lowered the expectations. Stanford at UCLA, Thursday: The Bruins could have been in command of the Pac-10 race had they held on to beat Arizona Saturday. Now they've got to put distance between themselves and Stanford with a win at Pauley. Alabama at Kentucky, Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN): Georgia went into Kentucky and won and then Alabama won at Georgia. Does that mean the Tide can wash up in Lexington and beat the Wildcats? Not quite. But a win would certainly do wonders for the Tide's road confidence and SEC West title hopes. Oklahoma at Texas Tech, Saturday (1 p.m. ET, ABC): Bob Knight will likely have the Red Raiders ready for some payback after they were trounced by the Sooners last week in Norman. A win here would certainly say a lot about the Sooners' mental toughness. Virginia at Duke, Sunday: Virginia has to shoot 3s like it did against Florida State to hang with the Blue Devils. And their defense has to be better than it was in the first few minutes against the Seminoles. They can't afford to get in a double-digit hole to Duke. Illinois at Indiana, Sunday: Now this game, not the Iowa-Illinois game, looks like one of the games to decide the Big Ten title race. Indiana can create some distance between the neighboring state schools by putting potentially three league losses on the Illini. More games to watch

Player of the Week Jason Williams Jason Williams, G, Duke Why can't the best player receive this award, especially when the performances were clearly two of the best of the week? Williams changed his game yet again, this time looking to penetrate more than shoot in the win over Maryland. He scored 34 points, making only one 3-pointer. He was 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, as well, giving him higher marks than his normally subpar performance at the line. Williams created shots for his teammates and never backed down to a Maryland run, always answering and then pushing the Blue Devils ahead. He followed that up with 23 points and seven rebounds in the win over Wake Forest. He made three 3s in that game, but still played a balanced game. His defense continues to improve, as well. Past players of the week Top Five Frank Williams, Illinois: Illinois played one game last week but Williams was sensational in the win over Iowa. His three best passes were all highlight material and he led Illinois on a 6-0 run, scoring only one basket, that turned the game. He had two steals during the run that crushed the Hawkeyes. Williams finished with 16 points, four steals, nine assists, seven rebounds, 8 of 8 from the free-throw line, 4 of 9 overall in 29 minutes. It was a solid, productive night for one of the best point guards in the country. Jarvis Hayes, Georgia: The Western Carolina transfer kept the Bulldogs in the game against Alabama with his 16 points on an emotionally-draining night for Georgia. The Bulldogs lost to the Tide but then Hayes' 23 points, seven boards and highly-productive 10 of 16 shooting led Georgia to a shocking upset at Florida Saturday. Rarely has a transfer who went this high up in Division I been so effective in his first season. Caron Butler, Connecticut: Butler was benched within the first few minutes of the win over North Carolina for not playing with as much purpose or passion defensively and offensively. So how did he respond to Jim Calhoun's scolding? He put up 29 points in 28 minutes, making 12 of 18 shots, grabbing four of six rebounds on the offensive glass and picking up four steals. That followed a 21-point, nine-rebound game in the win at Providence. Butler continues to elevate his game to all-American status.. David West, Xavier: West continues to put up monster numbers under the national radar screen because the Musketeers aren't ranked (they could be getting close). He scored 31 and grabbed 14 boards in the win over LaSalle. He had a modest, for him rather, 12 and seven in a road win over George Washington. But his leadership is carrying Xavier to an impressive 13-3 record, 5-0 in the league. Luke Walton, Arizona: Walton put up his first career triple-double in the Wildcats' win over USC. He scored 27 points, had 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He had four steals and four blocks and was atop the zone that caused havoc for USC. Walton followed that career game with a team-high seven assists, 18 points and seven rebounds in the comeback win over UCLA. Walton has had two double-doubles and three double-figure scoring games in the four since he returned from a strained Achilles injury that forced him to miss three games (including the loss to Oregon). Team of the Week Arizona The Wildcats got the honor over Duke for how they won both home games last week. Arizona crushed USC a week after the Trojans looked like the team to beat in defeating UCLA. Arizona mixed up its defenses and had USC looking for offensive answers. Then, Arizona gave up 17 3s and was down 20-plus to UCLA before storming back in a matter of minutes to take the game away from UCLA. The two home wins over the L.A. schools moved Arizona within a game of USC and Oregon for first place and tied with UCLA, Stanford and Cal for second place in the Pac-10. The Wildcats have won seven of eight games after losing two of three. Past teams of the week

Rising	Falling
Georgia: The Bulldogs find out two players are suspended for allegations of a possible rape, then dismiss one of the two players -- reserve Tony Cole -- and then still follow a home loss to Alabama with a road win at Florida. The Bulldogs, with only seven scholarship players, have won at Kentucky and Florida, and are in great shape to win the SEC East.	Boston College: The Eagles lost three straight home games before beating Virginia Tech on Sunday. The Eagles are struggling as Troy Bell misfires on his 3-point shot. The three home losses also essentially silences BC's chances to defend the Big East East Division title with Connecticut undefeated.
Herb Sendek, N.C. State: Sendek still might need to get the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament to feel totally secure, but no coach in the country is doing a better job of making a case for progress with a young team under fire in the preseason than Sendek. N.C. State, despite the blowout home loss to Duke, is 14-4 overall (win at Syracuse and at Virginia) and 4-2 in the ACC, only a game behind Duke and Maryland.	Butler: The Bulldogs were the darlings earlier in the season and they still might end up being a second-round team -- if they make the NCAA Tournament. Three losses in the Horizon League didn't bode well for the resume. The league is ranked No. 21 in the RPI and doesn't figure to get much better over the next six weeks.
Connecticut: There is no reason why the Huskies aren't in the top 25 coaches' poll. It makes no sense. Their only loss in their last seven games was to a top 10 team at home to Oklahoma. Connecticut has emerged as the top challenger to Syracuse in the Big East. Connecticut has brushed back East challengers Miami, Villanova and Providence before taking on St. John's this week.	Temple: The Owls had to go nearly perfect in the Atlantic 10 to overturn a poor non-conference start (again). They've got two A-10 losses, already, and 10 losses overall, and haven't even played Saint Joseph's, which they'll do twice. Temple is looking more and more like it will have to win the A-10 tournament to get a NCAA bid.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats continue to cruise through Conference USA on warp speed. They still have to go to South Florida this week and Charlotte (always a tough place for them) and Marquette, but it's not unrealistic to think the Bearcats could be the one high-major team to run the table in their conference if their defense continues to be stifling.	Iowa: The Hawkeyes were arguing during the loss to Illinois (specifically freshman Pierre Pierce and Reggie Evans). They have lost four league games, the last one really hurting at Northwestern. Iowa was in a similar funk last season -- but that was when Luke Recker was hurt -- and still made the tournament. They need to get their ills fixed fast.
Ohio: The Bobcats had to start the MAC with six of their first eight games on the road and are 5-1 so far in the league with the only loss at Kent State. Ohio looked like it was going to stumble into the league after losing to Vermont at FIU's tournament prior to the new year. But Brandon Hunter has been the leader Tim O'Shea desperately needed in the MAC.	Oklahoma State: The Cowboys entered the Big 12 undefeated, but have gone 2-3 in the league with two rare home losses to Texas and Kansas. Maurice Baker's sore groin hasn't helped. He was a mortal 2 for 11 for six points in the loss to Kansas last week. He hasn't scored over 20 points in the five games since he suffered the injury.
New Mexico: The Lobos weathered the suspension of Marlon Parmer, despite almost losing to Air Force. The constant injury to Moustapha Diagne is a pain, but they still blew out BYU at home. New Mexico is proving it does have the stamina to compete for the league title, although the Lobos haven't been tested on the road in the league yet.	Auburn: The Tigers were one of our sleepers in the preseason, but they haven't been able to get consistent. They beat rival Alabama but are still at 1-4 at the bottom of the SEC West. The 9-7 overall record is looking like this team is destined for the NIT instead of a return to the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas: The Jayhawks pulled off one of the better turnarounds within a week after losing at UCLA and then winning at Oklahoma State and at home over Oklahoma. That was tougher than any other potential Final Four team had to do after suffering a loss. Kansas continues to show its maturity, poise and balance in big-time games this season.	Arizona State: The Sun Devils entered last week's home games against UCLA and USC with a stretch of five of seven at home. They lost both and are now looking at a tough series of games to make one last run for the NCAA Tournament. Of course, they can still win the Pac-10 tournament, but that would be unlikely.
Pepperdine: We raised the issue earlier in the season and now it looks like it's legitimate again. The Waves could have some of the best wins of any bubble team come March with victories over UCLA, USC, BYU and now Gonzaga -- yet don't have a stellar record. Pepperdine is 4-0 in the WCC and 11-6 overall. If the Waves only lose one more regular-season game (at Gonzaga) then it will be hard to keep them out of the NCAAs.	Louisville: The Cardinals won't have point guard Carlos Hurt with them for the rest of the season because of a bulging disc. That will make it extremely difficult for Rick Pitino to get this team to the NCAA Tournament. Louisville dropped to 2-3 in the league, 11-5 overall and more losses could be coming this week.
Loyola of Chicago: The Horizon League was supposed to be Butler and eight others, but Loyola has made itself the team to beat. Loyola is 6-0 in the league, 11-5 overall heading into the Butler showdown. This is Loyola's best record since 1984-85. The Ramblers were picked to finish last in the league.	Purdue: The Boilermakers were supposed to be a sleeper in the Big Ten. But they've been pretty dormant, outside of the upset win over Illinois. Purdue is 1-5 in the Big Ten, 9-11 overall and struggling to score. Purdue can move up in an average Big Ten, but the Boilermakers have to maintain their confidence on the road.
Ohio State: Terence Dials put up 10 points and eight rebounds in back-to-back games against Penn State and Indiana. If he can do that consistently then the Buckeyes might have found the inside presence they've been sorely lacking after Ken Johnson departed. Ohio State continues to be one of the surprise teams in the nation.	TCU: Billy Tubbs is adding excitement offensively and on the scoreboard in his first and only season in Conference USA. But it hasn't resulted in wins. TCU is 0-3 in the league, thus far, 10-9 overall and fading fast. Remember, Tubbs is resigning at the end of the season.

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.