Records don't matter when UNC and Duke clash on the court.

This is what we here at ESPN call Rivalry Week. A host of games that are scheduled in the same week, putting together rivalries, some as old as dirt, the others based more on coaching matchups than necessarily the rich basketball histories between the two institutions.

The definition of a rival seems to have been lost in translation in the last few weeks.

But playing great games in the past certainly lends itself to a tremendous rivalry as well. Being competitive with each other is a must to have a true rivalry. You can't have a rivalry if one team dominates the series.

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Illinois at Ohio State, Tuesday (ESPN, 7 ET): Bill Self was going to run the Illini into the ground after giving up 17 3s to Indiana Saturday. The Buckeyes need this one before hosting Northwestern and going on a four-game road swing. Kentucky at Florida, Tuesday (ESPN, 9 ET): If Kentucky loses, then four losses would mean the Wildcats might have to run the table the rest of the way to win the SEC East. The Gators are on the verge of losing three straight SEC games. Wake Forest at N.C. State, Wednesday (ESPN2, 7:30 ET): The Demon Deacons seemed to get back on track over the weekend but are suddenly playing one of the toughest teams in the ACC. The Wolfpack confidence has to be at an all-time high under Herb Sendek. Oklahoma State at Oklahoma, Wednesday: The Cowboys finally played better Saturday against Colorado, largely because Maurice Baker's groin is feeling healthier. The Sooners got smoked by Texas Tech and the chances of them coming out flat against their rival is nil. Maryland at Virginia, Thursday (ESPN2, 7 ET): The Cavs looked very dangerous for a half against Duke on Sunday night, and could still wreak havoc on the Terps if they get on a roll. But this isn't Duke, and Virginia lacks the ability to put a team away in bunches. Maryland is too good to get blown out at Virginia. If the Terps win this one on the road then this could clearly signal a different Maryland team than a season ago. Duke at North Carolina, Thursday (ESPN, 9 ET): The best news for the Tar Heels was getting a win Sunday at Clemson and doing it with Jason Capel in the lineup. Having Adam Boone and Melvin Scott have terrific games means this team could be regaining confidence. But this is still Duke and if the Tar Heels don't defend the 3-pointer and rebound then it could be a long, long, long night. UCLA at Oregon, Thursday: The Ducks don't lose at Mac Court, at least not yet this season. UCLA will have to pull a major upset (yes, it would be) to win this game. The Bruins need to keep an eye on Luke Jackson, possibly the hottest wing that no one talks about in the nation. Cincinnati at Marquette, Saturday: Marquette plays defense well enough to keep Cincinnati in check and the Golden Eagles have the athletic wing in Dwyane Wade to match the Bearcats. This could be the Bearcats' toughest game since opening the season with the loss at Oklahoma State. USC at Oregon, Saturday: The Trojans don't fear going into hostile environments, in fact they relish it considering they don't normally get great crowds at home (save the UCLA crowd at the Forum). Oregon could have trouble with USC's Sam Clancy, a beast on the boards and the Trojans' guards can match Oregon's quickness on the wing. N.C. State at Maryland, Sunday: The Wolfpack won't be scared going into Cole Field House but the Terps could use this game to create some distance with themselves and N.C. State, regardless of what happens against Virginia earlier in the week. More games to watch

Player of the Week Emeka Okafor Emeka Okafor, C, Connecticut The steal of the summer recruiting scene continues to amaze the Huskies, the Big East and anyone else who comes in contact with him. The 6-foot-9 freshman big man out of the Houston area was one block shy of a triple-double in Connecticut's impressive road win at Arizona. Okafor blocked nine shots (the Huskies thought he had at least 12), grabbed 15 boards and scored 19 points. He also had 11 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-70 win over St. John's earlier in the week. He scored the clinching bucket off a dump pass from Taliek Brown against the Red Storm. Okafor leads the Big East with a 3.7 blocks a game average and tops the Huskies in boards with 9.4 rebounds a game. If Okafor continues to be an inside presence then the Huskies could be a second-weekend team in the NCAA Tournament. Past players of the week Top Five Mike Skrocki, Richmond: He made seven 3s for 25 points in a comeback win for the Spiders over Temple last Wednesday. Skrocki averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in two wins for Richmond. The Spiders also beat Duquesne over the weekend, as Skrocki was 10 of 21 on 3s. The 6-6 forward has been a pleasant surprise for the Spiders in their first season of A-10 play as they moved to 4-2 in the conference. Chad Prewitt, Arizona State: The big red keeps draining 3s and totally dismantled Arizona last week. He scored 22 in the upset over the Wildcats in Tempe, Ariz. He's averaging 17.7 points a game and is one of the least appreciated shooting forwards in the country. What's up with red hair this season? From Matt Bonner to Prewitt, they're two of the hottest shooting forwards in the country. Steve Logan, Cincinnati: Logan, who should already book a trip to Springfield to accept his Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best senior shorter than six-feet, was sensational in the win over South Florida. Logan scored 27 points, made 12 of 13 free throws, and hit three 3s. He also dished out seven assists. He's a lock to win player of the year in Conference USA and should receive a Wooden invite to at least go to L.A. and see Jason Williams pick up his trophy. Dane Fife, Indiana: Dane Fife had the scoring in him when he arrived on campus, but he could never get it going until this season. Fife is still averaging only 9.7 points a game, but his 20 points and six 3-pointers could go along way toward pushing Indiana further than the first round of the NCAA Tournament this season. The Hoosiers have been looking for another perimeter threat to go with Jared Jeffries (inside and out) and Tom Coverdale. Fife could be that player if they continue to leave him as open as Illinois did Saturday. Carlos Boozer, Duke: Boozer has been simply dominant the past week with 28 points against Boston College on Thursday and then 25 in the win over Virginia on Sunday. His productivity has been amazing by making 9 of 13 shots against BC and 8 of 13 against the Cavaliers. He's getting fouled and not missing much with a 19 of 24 clip in two games. The more Boozer becomes a force in the middle the harder the Blue Devils are to defend. Pick your poison, and usually teams still come up scratching their heads as to who to choose to double if anyone. Team of the Week Texas Tech The Red Raiders had one game to prepare for last week -- Oklahoma. Give Bob Knight a week to dissect a team and the result is likely going to be a win. The Red Raiders ran their motion offense to near perfection in picking apart Oklahoma's usually tough man-to-man defense. The Red Raiders pulled away from then-No. 6 Oklahoma 92-79 after getting crushed by Oklahoma a week earlier by 26 points. The Red Raiders are scoring at a higher percentage clip than anyone thought imaginable. This team continues to be amazing, considering that Knight didn't get the best newcomer he coveted in Ermal Kuqo. The junior college transfer center, who Illinois coach Bill Self wanted, had eligibility issues due to the amateurism rules and went back to Europe. This happened after the Red Raiders cut loose three players from last season's 9-19 team, including starting point Jamal Brown. But who cares now? The Red Raiders have meshed four JC transfers and a recruited walk-on with two returning vets in Andy Ellis and Andre Emmett to form a tight and productive nucleus of seven players. The Red Raiders still have a few tough road games remaining in the Big 12, but an NCAA Tournament selection seems almost a lock. Past teams of the week

Rising	Falling
Creighton: The Bluejays continue to cruise in the Missouri Valley. Creighton is 8-1 in the league, 13-5 overall and looking like it will make a return trip to the NCAAs. Creighton has won seven in a row and nine of its last 10 games.	Clemson: This isn't the year to lose to North Carolina at home. Clemson has a chance to finally win in Chapel Hill, too. But the losses continue to mount for the Tigers. The win over Virginia is nice, but losing five straight in the ACC could start to pound on Larry Shyatt and his staff.
Utah: The Utes crushed New Mexico by 30 to start last week. Rick Majerus is coaching more of a 3-point shooting team and it's working without a hitch. The Utes have re-emerged with Wyoming as the teams to beat in the Mountain West. The Utes should get their due nationally, but aren't despite a 14-3 record and unblemished MWC mark.	Arizona: The Wildcats blew a chance to remain tied atop the Pac-10 when it lost at ASU. Three losses is still only a game behind the leaders, but Arizona now has to go to the Bay Area where getting swept is a possibility. Arizona lost to a much-better-than-advertised Connecticut team but it was still at home, the same place Kansas beat the Wildcats earlier in the season.
Hawaii: Mike McIntyre averaged 21 points off the bench for the Warriors in wins at Rice and Tulsa. Hawaii deserves more love than it is getting nationally. Hawaii is 17-3 overall and 8-1 in the WAC. Hawaii has four road wins on the Mainland. That's more impressive than its overall record. The Warriors still have to four more to go -- at Fresno State, Nevada, SMU and Louisiana Tech -- with no soft ones left. But they're still a legit tournament team at this juncture.	MAC: This is exactly what the league didn't need to happen. Bowling Green lost to Akron and then got beat again later in the week by Kent State. Ohio lost to Western Michigan. Toledo beat Marshall. Miami of Ohio beat Ball State. Get the picture? They're beating each other up, which proves how tough this league is but will the selection committee believe that? Or will they penalize the league for not having one or two dominant teams (the best chance now is for Kent State to run away with the title and someone else win the conference tournament to ensure what should already be the case -- two bids).
Memphis: The Tigers have somewhat flown under the radar screen for a while now, but they should be given another look for the top 25. Memphis is 7-0 in Conference USA and 17-4 overall. Don't forget about Memphis come NCAA Tournament because the Tigers will be a tough out in the first round. Yes, we do think they're going to make it.	Washington State/Oregon State/Washington: These three teams are destined to be fighting for the last spot in the Pac-10 tournament. Not making the tournament will certainly put pressure, perhaps unfair heat, on the coaching staffs. But that's the result of an eight-team conference tournament. Washington State has the hardest road ahead without a conference win, three games behind Oregon State.
Cal/Stanford: At least there is no jinx when it comes to Pac-10 teams in the Weekly Watch. If we can point out, we looked at Oregon and the Ducks went down and won at Arizona. Last week, we check out Cal and Stanford and they both got a split at the L.A. schools. A few possessions separated them from a sweep. Very impressive for both to do that, and it clearly keeps them in the race for the Pac-10 title.	Boston College: The Eagles are in a desperate situation with road games at Miami and Providence this week. Losing to Duke wasn't a surprise, but getting absolutely pounded in the first half was rather stunning. This team can't afford any road lulls earlier in the first half or they should start looking at NIT dates.
Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers continue to cruise through the Sun Belt with an 8-1 record, 18-3 overall. Chris Marcus is still nursing the sore foot and they're not exactly demanding he return. The game will change a bit when he does come back to the lineup, but Western Kentucky's chances for wins shouldn't decrease. The Hilltoppers will still be one of the toughest first-round matchups.	New Mexico: The Lobos' staff is under intense heat for its handling of the Marlon Parmer dismissal. While the staff is adamant the team didn't like or want to play with Parmer, the trashing of the player never works in the court of public opinion. The public always seems to side with the player in these cases and the only way they'll be quiet is if the Lobos win. They lost at Wyoming on Saturday.
Hampton: Hampton wasn't supposed to challenge for the MEAC title, even with its first-round upset win over Iowa State last season. But Hampton proved with the win over North Carolina this season that it wasn't a fluke. Hampton has dominated the MEAC, going 9-0 thus far, 14-5 overall and will once again be a very dangerous team to face in the first round for whichever high-major team draws them in the Dance.	Brigham Young: BYU was one of our early-season surprises, but then the Cougars went on the road and lost to Air Force and New Mexico -- badly. BYU is still only two games out of first place in the title chase, but the Cougars are 12-5 and can't afford more than two losses the rest of the season if they want to get a look for an at-large berth.
Southern Illinois: The Salukis are getting ready for a showdown with Creighton in the Valley this weekend. Southern Illinois is 7-2 in the league, 17-4 overall and on a tear of late. Southern Illinois has the big men and the guards to hang with the Bluejays in what could be one of the better title matchups in a conference this season.	Illinois: The Illini weren't expected to beat Indiana in Bloomington on Sunday, but how about a better showing defensively? Giving up 17 3s was either a fluke or a bad sign for the Illini's perimeter defense. Illinois is now in a tenuous position in its race to win the Big Ten with three losses. It's not impossible, but Illinois probably can't lose more than one game to feel secure about winning the title.
Wyoming: Check out how fast Jason Straight goes end-to-end in the highlights from the San Diego State win last weekend? He is a flat-out jet with the ball. The Cowboys are no longer the non-conference disappointment with their tear through the MWC so far. The overtime win at San Diego State was huge for this team and this program in its quest to get to the NCAA Tournament. A 13-4 overall record, 4-0 in the league is looking decent right now.	South Florida: The Bulls beat Cal at home but lost to Florida, Florida State and now Cincinnati. The latter wasn't a surprise, but South Florida has to grab one of these chances. The Bulls don't have many left if they want to finally get this senior-laden team into the NCAA Tournament. A run in Conference USA's tournament might be needed.
Xavier: The Musketeers trounced Dayton over the weekend to improve to 15-3 overall, 7-0 in the Atlantic 10 (that's the game the A-10 chose to show on ESPN2 instead of Gonzaga-Saint Joseph's New Year's Eve -- ugh!). Xavier and Saint Joseph's appear to be the only untouchables, and the Musketeers have recovered nicely since the loss to Cincinnati. That loss by the way is proving to be a very, very good loss, considering how well Cincinnati is playing.	Fresno State: The Bulldogs blew a chance to hang with Hawaii and Tulsa by losing at home to Louisiana Tech. Fresno State now has three WAC losses -- at Nevada and at Hawaii -- and can't afford to drop another one if they want to catch the Warriors. That means winning at Tulsa, SMU and Louisiana Tech, as well as Hawaii at home.

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.