College basketball upset alert: Why Florida and UConn need to be careful in Week 7

After two chaotic weeks, the college basketball landscape has stabilized a bit entering Week 7. There was relatively little upheaval in Week 6 as the favorites mostly handled business, with a few notable exceptions in the form of Marquette losing at Dayton and Michigan getting tripped up by Arkansas in the Jimmy V Classic, a result that we foreshadowed in this space last week.

The action is a bit light in college hoops this week with final exams underway for the fall semester and the holidays approaching, but the weekend offers a ton of intrigue as the Saturday before Christmas is loaded with top-notch games. Which ranked teams need to be on upset alert if they hope to avoid having a lump of coal in their stocking in the form of a disappointing defeat?

Which college basketball teams should be on upset alert in Week 7?

No. 7 Florida

Five SEC teams are ranked inside the top seven of this week's AP Top 25 poll, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the bunch has been how dominant Florida has been. Behind star senior guard Walter Clayton Jr's 19.1 points per game, the Gators have ripped off a perfect 10-0 start that includes a tournament victory at the ESPN Events Invitational and a neutral-site victory over Arizona State on Saturday.

The biggest test for Florida comes in this week's Jumpman Invitational, where they head to Charlotte on Tuesday night to take on North Carolina. While the Tar Heels are unranked, their four losses have come to teams ranked inside this week's poll (Alabama, Michigan State, Auburn, Kansas) and there is plenty of talent on the roster.

The experience playing marquee teams should help UNC, which will also benefit from a strong crowd of Tar Heel fans in Charlotte. Florida hasn't dealt with a true road environment since playing at Florida State in early November so this spot could be ripe for the Gators to suffer their first loss of the year.

No. 9 Marquette

The Big East has not been a beast so far this season as teams like St. John's, Seton Hall, and Creighton have gotten off to disappointing starts. One notable exception has been Marquette, which surged into the Top 5 of the AP poll last week only to squander their momentum with a road loss at Dayton on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles have a star in guard Kam Jones, who paces the team with 20.1 points per game, but they will need him to be on his game before their first Big East matchup on Saturday at Xavier. While the Musketeers don't have a signature win on their resume yet, they do have a potential game wrecker in forward Zach Freemantle, who can be a matchup problem for a guard-dominant Marquette side.

Road games in conference play are never easy and having one right before a holiday break is a tough spot where minds can wander. With 10 days off after this game, it wouldn't be shocking if Marquette isn't completely locked in and gets tripped up by the Musketeers.

No. 11 UConn

It certainly appears that the Maui disaster is firmly behind the Huskies. Dan Hurley's reigning two-time champs have bounced back from an 0-fer at the Maui Invitational with four consecutive wins, including three against Baylor, Texas (on the road) and Gonzaga (at Madison Square Garden) to climb back to No. 11 in the poll.

UCONN and Marquette are playing the same Big East foes this week, except UCONN hosts Xavier on Wednesday before heading to Butler on Saturday, with the Golden Eagles doing the opposite. While the Bulldogs are skidding a bit, entering the week on a three-game losing streak, they did get off to a 7-1 start that included a tournament victory at the Arizona Tip-Off capped with a 10-point victory over a ranked Mississippi State side.

This game will be UCONN's final contest of the calendar year as they will be off until New Year's Day after taking on Butler. The same wandering eyes syndrome that Marquette could experience is also a factor to watch with UCONN, which has shown it can be vulnerable in Maui, and the Bulldogs can certainly spring an upset if the Huskies let their focus drift.