Editor's note: Every Monday, ESPN.com's Andy Katz will break down the week that was and the week ahead in college basketball in the Weekly Watch.
Last week's storyline
Xavier had one chance to make its season by beating Cincinnati. The Musketeers did. Ball State got its one look at pulling off an improbable in-state upset over Purdue. The Cardinals won.
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What's up this week
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Wake Forest at Arkansas, Monday: This is the type of game Wake Forest should win if it's a top 15 team. Oklahoma went in and beat a depleted Arkansas team a few weeks ago. But Wake is missing forward Darius Songaila with a sprained knee. The Razorbacks added Larry Satchel to their thin frontcourt.
San Juan Shootout, Puerto Rico, Monday-Wednesday: The best first-round matchup is Detroit-Pepperdine. Either team could cause problems for the favorite Auburn (which opens vs. Puerto Rico-Mayaguez). Miami (vs. Louisiana Lafayette) must come out of the tournament with two wins after losing to North Carolina on Saturday. Virginia Tech and Illinois State could play spoiler roles in the second round. Auburn is finally at full strength, but anything short of a tournament title could test the Tigers' credibility for a top 10 ranking.
Indiana vs. North Carolina, Tuesday, East Rutherford, N.J.: The Tar Heels continue their crazed non-conference schedule (they still have two home games before New Year's). This is another barometer game for the Tar Heels and the Hoosiers. Indiana passed its test against Kentucky; adding a win over UNC could show that the Hoosiers are for real. The Tar Heels could do wonders for their image with a win over Indiana after the impressive disposal of Miami.
Illinois vs. Missouri, St. Louis, Tuesday: Cory Bradford finally looked solid for the Illini in a convincing win over Kansas on Saturday. Frank Williams seemed to be at ease at the point. Missouri found a way to beat Iowa despite two player suspensions last week. Beating the Illini would give Quin Snyder's Tigers an unexpected lift amid the chaos.
Pearl Harbor Classic, Laie, Hawaii, Tuesday-Thursday: UCLA faces a must-win situation in this three-day tournament. The only team that could block a title is South Florida (although the Bruins face potential sleeper Maine in the first round).. The Bulls could get needed national pub with a tournament title. USF drew The Citadel in round one while San Jose State takes on host BYU-Hawaii and Colorado State meets Florida A&M in one of the weakest eight-team exempted tournaments during the non-conference season.
Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, San Juan, Tuesday-Thursday: A month ago, this tournament wouldn't draw any interest. But Tennessee (which plays American University-P.R. in round one) is still undefeated. Tulsa has only one loss. The Golden Hurricane's first-round opponent is Boston College, which just beat Michigan behind freshman Troy Bell. Bruiser Flint has won four of his last five at UMass (vs. Southern Illinois in round one) since suspending himself for swearing on a postgame radio show. And UNC Charlotte (vs. Illinois-Chicago in the first round) can't be taken lightly after beating Miami on the road a few weeks ago.
Mississippi State vs. Stanford, Pete Newell Classic, Oakland, Tuesday: The Cardinal get to test their No. 1 ranking against an erratic Bulldog team. Stanford should get Mark Madsen back for at least a few token minutes. The Cardinal fans didn't travel to the East Bay for last year's game with Temple, but a top ranking could make for a less-sterile environment for the Cardinal.
Cincinnati at Oklahoma, Wednesday: The undefeated Sooners can climb in the polls and in national stature with a win over the former No. 1 Bearcats. Cincinnati could be walking into an ambush after blowing out the Sooners last year. Playing at Oklahoma after losing to Xavier will test the Bearcats' toughness.
Texas at Utah, Wednesday: The Utes got forward Hanno Mottola back Saturday after missing a month with a torn meniscus. He scored 16 points in a win over Chicago State. The Utes need his presence against Texas to reassert themselves in the top 25. Texas needs to beat Utah to show the Michigan State win in Puerto Rico wasn't a fluke.
Michigan State at Kentucky, Thursday: The Spartans are probably one or two more games away from working Mateen Cleaves back into the lineup. Winning in Rupp Arena would give this squad even more confidence in Cleaves' absence. Kentucky will have to play a more physical game than it did against Louisville to beat the Spartans.
New Mexico State at New Mexico, Thursday: The Aggies are going for a rare sweep of the Lobos, a few days after UTEP completed a similar feat. The Aggies' only loss this season was at Arizona. Sweeping the Lobos will give New Mexico State even more credibility toward a potential at-large berth out of the Big West (if it doesn't earn the automatic bid).
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Cleveland State wasn't even on the radar screen in Ohio until it got a chance to play undefeated Dayton. The Vikings won. Clemson had a last shot against South Carolina to salvage its image in the state after losing to Wofford and South Carolina State. The Tigers won. UCLA faced a must-win game against DePaul with JaRon Rush and Matt Barnes in street clothes and the sting of a blowout loss to Gonzaga still fresh. The Bruins won.
Kentucky had to beat Louisville or else face the prospect of an apocalyptic blue hell. The Wildcats won. Illinois had a final chance to answer doubts about whether it could hang at the elite level after losing to Duke and Maryland. The Illini beat Kansas to re-establish local and national credibility.
Seizing the day? How about re-starting a season.
Team of the week
Xavier: The Musketeers earned the honor after proving everyone (yes, the media too) wrong with a shocking win over the Bearcats on Saturday. The Musketeers not only beat the Bearcats, but they dominated play for most of the game. They were more aggressive, instead of being intimidated by Cincinnati's imposing frontcourt. Xavier's starting five finally seems to be in a groove. Darnell Williams is back at full strength from the knee injury which kept him off the floor all last season. Lloyd Price is at ease sharing the ball. Kevin Frey and Alvin Brown are contributing and point guard Maurice McAfee is having a team MVP season: 15.8 points, 4 assists, 40.7 percent on 3-pointers and 81.5 percent at the line (a 32-27 assist-to-turnover ratio is his only negative). The X men have to make this win mean something. Next up? A dangerous game against Brad "Big Continent" Millard and Saint Mary's on Tuesday.
Player of the week
Eddie House, Arizona State: House's propensity to produce points in bunches made him a natural choice for ESPN The Magazine's scary preview theme. But House had yet to strike any fear into opposing teams, especially after a 0-for-16 game at Brigham Young on Dec. 7. Instead of sulking, House went home -- to the gym -- and took tons of jumpers. The result was a 46-point game in a win over San Diego State on Saturday. House had 37 at the half, making 14 of 17 shots. The senior wing is still only averaging 16.6 points and shooting 30.3 percent on 3s. If House can score even half as well for the Sun Devils, they have a chance to make a run for fourth in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils (5-3) can't rest with Santa Clara in the house Tuesday.
Climbing up
Oklahoma State: Who knew how good the Cowboys were with seven of their first eight games at home? Oklahoma State answered any doubts with a convincing win at UNLV on Saturday. The Cowboys busted open a tight game in the first half and ran away from the Runnin' Rebels. Doug Gottlieb (10.6 assists per game) had his way with UNLV's Mark Dickel and the Rebels had no answers for Desmond Mason's slashing moves to the basket or Joe Adkins' drive-and-dish displays. If the Cowboys can get past Washington on Tuesday in Seattle and LSU on Dec. 30 in New Orleans, they'll deserve to be top 10.
Falling down
Louisville: The Cardinals may be 5-3, but their lack of rebounding and poor defense are bad signs for the upcoming Conference USA slate. The undersized Cardinals were soundly beaten by Kentucky 76-46 Saturday and failed to control the backboards at either end. Opponents are making a league-high 43.8 percent of their shots against Louisville's defense. The Cardinals were expecting a Nigerian holiday gift in the form of Ben Eze and Muhammed Lesage, but that hasn't arrived yet. With or without inside help, Louisville may find out if it's a contender after five straight home games (Tennessee State, North Carolina, Tulane, Utah and Southern Mississippi).
Five worth tracking
1. Vanderbilt: Is it first-year coach Kevin Stallings or senior forward Dan Langhi or good scheduling? Whatever the reason, the Commodores are 7-0 heading into a game against Stetson. Vanderbilt catches a break with a SEC opener against Florida at home on Jan. 5. The Commodores will know if they're for real with games at Kentucky and Tennessee after the Gators.
2. Brigham Young: Steve Cleveland has turned the corner with the Cougars. BYU is 7-1, and now that Silester Rivers is healthy, the Cougars have a realistic chance to challenge for the top three in the Mountain West. If BYU can get through winnable road games at South Alabama, Florida International and UC Santa Barbara, the Cougars should be taken very seriously.
3. Siena: Track the Saints and Notre Dame since the Irish beat them in the second round of the Preseason NIT. Siena hasn't lost while the Irish have floundered to below .500. The Saints should get their due in New York with a post-Christmas title in the ECAC Holiday Festival if they can get by Fordham, Hofstra or Rutgers. Past that tourney, there aren't too many potential losses.
4. St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies have won five straight since losing to UNC-Charlotte. During the streak, St. Bonaventure has outrebounded its opponents, held teams to under 40 percent shooting, shot nearly 50 percent and scored in the mid-70s. Tim Winn is putting up nearly 23 points a game, too. Kent could be the next victim Tuesday for this potential Atlantic 10 contender.
5. South Florida: The Bulls opened with two straight losses at George Washington and Tennessee. But they've won four straight, including a win over Wisconsin. The Bulls, a preseason C-USA contender, can gain needed momentum with a win over UCLA in the Pearl Harbor Classic in Honolulu this week.
Question these five
1. Bradley: The Braves are 4-4 after losing their Missouri Valley opener at Drake. Poor scheduling had them playing at Auburn three days earlier. But the Braves are losing ground in the season-long chase for a potential at-large berth out of the Valley, if they can't get the automatic.
2. Purdue: OK, so Brian Cardinal is out with a broken thumb. But losing by 20 to Ball State? No excuse. To Gene Keady's credit, he didn't use Cardinal as a reason for the loss. The Boilermakers should beat Central Michigan on Wednesday but a post-Christmas road swing to Santa Clara and UCLA could prove treacherous.
3. Penn: The preseason Ivy league favorites are 1-4 with Michael Jordan shooting 21.7 percent on 3s. Penn has played a tough schedule (at Kentucky and at Auburn). They face a must-win situation in a post-Christmas trip to Berkeley for a two-day, four-game tournament (Portland State, Boston University and Cal). If the Quakers come out 0-2 from that trip, that's bad news.
4. USC: The Trojans were drilled by Long Beach State, which won't do well for their L.A. recruiting. USC coach Henry Bibby was peeved with the Trojans following the game. The Trojans were a preseason pick for a potential NCAA berth. USC already has five losses, putting pressure on a it to have a Pac-10 record with no more than four losses if it wants to earn that at-large bid.
5. Memphis: Johnnie Jones' chances for the full-time job will always be a longshot but first he has to get the Tigers on the right track before the Conference USA season. The Tigers have lost four straight since beating Miami. They can get healthy with games against Louisiana-Monroe and Grambling this week but DePaul comes in after Christmas for a potential wake-up call again.
What worked last week
Lloyd Price calling timeout in mid-air against Cincinnati: Price made a dandy move on Kenyon Martin by denying an entry pass, coming up with a steal and calling timeout in the air in the final minute of Xavier's upset over the Bearcats. The rule has come under fire recently but Price took advantage by allowing the Musketeers to ice the game.
Tayshaun Prince's shooting: Kentucky has been desperately searching for someone to be a shooter. Prince came through against Louisville, making 8 of 13 shots. Kentucky had its best shooting game of the season, converting 31 of 52 from the field in the 76-46 rout.
UCLA's Dan Gadzuric and Jerome Moiso together again: Nagging injuries to Gadzuric prevented him from staying on the court early this season. But Steve Lavin finally put the pair of forwards out on the court against DePaul. They helped shut down Lance Williams' return to the lineup in a much-needed win Saturday. If Gadzuric and Moiso can stay healthy, UCLA has a chance to be a factor in the Pac-10.
Southern Methodist's perimeter: Mike Dement doesn't need any forwards. He has guards -- four, five, six of them -- to rotate in the game. The Mustangs' perimeter, led by Jeryl Sasser, Stephen Woods and Willie Davis, accounted for 68 of the team's 78 points in a win over Richmond and all but 12 points in a win over Southeastern Louisiana for the Mustangs (9-1).
Michigan State's lineup change: Tom Izzo moved Mike Chapell to the starting lineup and Charlie Bell to the bench. The result? Plenty of pop from both as Chappell scored 19 and Bell added 20 in a win over Oakland (Mich.). Izzo needed a scorer off the bench this season after relying on Morris Peterson to do it a year ago.
What didn't go well last week
Suspensions for players who were on Myron Piggie's AAU team in Kansas City: UCLA's JaRon Rush was the first to be suspended. Missouri followed by suspending his younger brother Kareem. Friday, Oklahoma State freshman Andre Williams was suspended. All three schools were reacting to their players being talked to by the FBI in connection with an investigation into the former AAU coach's taxes. The normal procedure is to be declared ineligible and then reinstated when a potential violation is suspected. Williams is expected to be the first to return for the Cowboys, which could come as soon as this week. But other schools could easily freak, too, including Connecticut and Florida where former Piggie players are still eligible.
Villanova's defense on Quincy Wadley: The Wildcats had every reason to leave Temple's lead guard alone last week after he entered the game shooting .152 from the floor (7 of 46). He scored 17 in the first half to lead the Owls to a win.
Dayton's top 25 ranking: The Flyers deserved to be ranked last week, but a loss to Cleveland State dampened those hopes. Dayton had beaten New Mexico, Samford, Kentucky and Marquette away from home. But the Flyers apparently have to prove more to the voters than any other team.
Fighting Tigers and Vols: Memphis' James Harris, Kelly Wise and Paris London were tossed for a fight in a loss to Tennessee, which saw C.J. Black get ejected, too. All four players are out for the next game and could be gone for the season if they get in another scrape.
Fightin' coaches: Clemson's Larry Shyatt and South Carolina's Eddie Fogler had words, enough to bring in security following their game last Thursday. Both coaches said they acted poorly. They were right.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | 
