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| Monday, December 2 Updated: March 3, 2:25 PM ET Teams of Week ESPN.com |
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Here are ESPN.com's past teams of the week in 2002-03:
Week 16: Feb. 24-March 2
Week 15: Feb. 17-23
Week 14: Feb. 10-16
Week 13: Feb. 3-9
Week 12: Jan. 27-Feb. 2
Week 11: Jan. 20-26
Week 10: Jan. 13-19
Week 9: Jan. 6-12
Week 8: Dec. 30-Jan. 5
Week 7: Dec. 23-29
Week 6: Dec. 16-22
Week 5: Dec. 9-15
Week 4: Dec. 2-8
Week 3: Nov. 25-Dec. 1
Week 2: Nov. 18-24
Week 1: Nov. 13-18
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Start serving up the crow. We here never could have imagined the Wildcats winning all three road games -- at Arizona State two weeks ago, at Cal and Stanford last week. Arizona and Kentucky are playing the best basketball of any teams in the country. But Arizona goes into the NCAAs as the favorite. Arizona's wins on the road were its most impressive this season. The Kansas comeback was a highlight, but stringing together three straight on the road against the top teams in the league was monumental for this team's confidence. <
The Sooners faced two must-win games last week against Oklahoma State and Kansas. They won both. While each was at home, the two wins signified that the Sooners aren't going to go away in the Big 12 or national title chase. Rather, Oklahoma is a fixture in both. Oklahoma's win over Kansas on Sunday was one of the most convincing wins in the Big 12 this season. Kansas looked like it could come back from 32 down, but the Sooners held on to send a message to the rest of the league that the conference title might go through Norman this season. It's still way too early, but we here at ESPN.com did get ridiculed for picking Oklahoma No. 1 in the preseason. We'll see if we're OK in six weeks.
The Pirates beat Pittsburgh last Saturday for their fifth straight win. Seton Hall also has a win over Notre Dame. But the Hall still has a long way to go to get into the NCAAs. Seton Hall didn't have a marquee, non-conference win and its RPI is climbing. But at 48 entering the week, it needs to get higher. Still, Louis Orr has saved this season and energized the players and the faithful. The Pirates have given meaning to February and maybe March.
The Wildcats continue to roll through the SEC. Kentucky absolutely blitzed Florida and then calmly dispatched of Ole Miss in Oxford. The Wildcats are undefeated in the deepest conference in the country and no one in Lexington would be surprised at this point if UK ran the table in the SEC. Kentucky's defense is that good right now. The Wildcats are playing selfless basketball and it's paying off with a team that has no apparent chemistry issues. Kentucky is looking like Final Four material in early-February.
There wasn't even a question on this one. The Cardinal pulled off an unbelievable sweep of the Arizona schools last week -- on the road. Stanford has won four straight and Mike Montgomery continues to make a strong case for Pac-10 coach of the year. The Cardinal has two more road games this week at the Oregon schools, but to get a sweep in the desert -- when Cal got swept -- was quite an accomplishment. 
The Utes swept a road trip to UNLV on Big Monday and then snapped BYU's 44-game homecourt winning streak. The Utes were coming off a Mountain West Conference-opening loss at San Diego State. For the Utes to turn around and sweep UNLV and BYU on the road made a statement to the rest of the league that the MWC title might go through Salt Lake City. The win over BYU was even more impressive because it came without coach Rick Majerus. Majerus made one of the classiest moves this season. He honored a request to be at the funeral of former player Andre Miller's stepfather, Albert Robinson. Majerus has put family and friends first for years and this is another example of his genuineness.
The Cowboys began the week by beating Oklahoma at home on a late bucket by Victor Williams. The Cowboys closed it by crushing Missouri. Both games were in Stillwater, but they made a clear statement that they are one of the contenders in the Big 12, and that Eddie Sutton is the early favorite for coach of the year honors in the conference. Oklahoma State (14-1, 3-0 in the Big 12) has one league road win at Texas A&M, so it's not like the Cowboys haven't left home. 
The Gators are probably the most impressive 2-0 team within a conference so far because of who they have beaten and where. The Gators took out Mississippi State in Starkville in a stunning win earlier in the week. Then they dispatched Georgia on a buzzer-beating, 3-pointer on Saturday. Florida will get 
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.
The Cardinals (7-1) picked up the best win of the week with an 81-63 victory over archrival Kentucky at Freedom Hall. The win proved to fans in the state, to teams in Conference USA, and to everyone in the nation that the Cardinals are a legit NCAA team. Louisville did a tremendous job of adjusting within the flow of the game. Louisville got to the boards after getting beat up in the first 10 minutes. The Cardinals played tenacious defense and shut down Kentucky. If the Cardinals can continue to get the kind of balance they had from 
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.
The Spartans picked up the best win of the week. Beating Kentucky on the road was a significant win. Michigan State played sound, defensive basketball in the victory after looking so-so in a victory over Virginia. Kentucky was on a roll, beating North Carolina the previous week. Michigan State still has to go to Oklahoma for a tough game in Oklahoma City. But this win reasserted the Spartans as a potential Big Ten title team and Final Four contender. The Spartans were balanced. They were poised. And they now have confidence that they can beat anybody, anywhere.
Was there any doubt? The Irish crushed Marquette to start the week and then won the BB&T Classic with convincing wins over Maryland - the unofficial hosts in D.C. - and Texas Sunday. Notre Dame held Marquette to 29.4 percent shooting on 3s, while lighting up the Eagles at 40 percent with 12 3s. 
The Hoosiers were underrated throughout the preseason. Even going into the Maui Invitational, they were a second-tier team, expected to lose to Gonzaga in the semifinals. But wins over UMass, the Zags and Virginia proved the Hoosiers' run to the national title game wasn't all about Jared Jeffries' scoring and Dane Fife's defense. The core of the Hoosiers is back and better than last season with the guard play -- 
The Tide got no pub and was given very little chance in the opener against Oklahoma. Alabama came in depleted with Kennedy Winston and Lucky Williams ineligible, but were tougher than the Sooners in every facet of the game. The 68-62 win over Oklahoma in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic will give this group even more confidence heading into its non-conference schedule, let alone the SEC.
