College basketball upset alert: Why Kansas and Marquette need to be careful in Week 15

The end of the college basketball regular season is rapidly approaching and every game takes on more meaning with the calendar rapidly approaching March. With the bubble as tight as ever, finding a way to make your mark with an upset can be all the difference between hearing your name called on Selection Sunday or being left with an empty-feeling invitation to the NIT.

Games on the road against teams on the bubble can often lead to trap spots for ranked teams, which St. John's learned the hard way last week with a loss at Villanova (which we called in this space last week) that caused them to dip one spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Which ranked teams find themselves in the most danger as Week 16 begins in earnest?

Which ranked college basketball teams should be on upset alert in Week 16?

No. 23 Kansas

There have been a lot of unique storylines in college basketball this season but one that has gone underreported is the slow decline of Kansas, which began the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll. Things were going smoothly for the Jayhawks until New Year's Eve, when they kicked off Big 12 play with a home loss to West Virginia that marked a turning point in their season.

Conference play has seen the Jayhawks go just 8-6 over their first 14 Big 12 games, with notable issues coming on the road as they are just 3-6 away from Allen Fieldhouse. The best opponent that Kansas has beaten away from home is bubbly Cincinnati back in January, setting themselves up for potential disappointment as they hit the road Tuesday night to take on BYU.

The Cougars are firmly on the bubble, sitting among Joe Lunardi's last four teams with a bye on ESPN's latest bracketology report, and they are a prolific 12-2 at home this season. Knowing a marquee win against the Jayhawks could further elevate their profile, this spot screams danger zone for a Kansas team that has been in a funk for a while now.

No. 16 Marquette

Another team that has struggled with consistency of late is Marquette, which peaked inside the Top 10 in early January but dropped three in a row against the Big East's other likely tournament teams (UCONN, St. John's and Creighton) before snapping the skid against DePaul on Saturday. While Kam Jones has done everything he can to lift the Golden Eagles to a potential 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, there are enough warning signs that this team is vulnerable to upsets against desperate teams on the road.

The schedule lightens up for Marquette a bit before their final week rematches against the Huskies and Red Storm, so it could be natural for the Golden Eagles to take their eye off the ball a bit. That could prove to be problematic with Friday night's trip to Villanova, a fringe bubble team that needs to stack big wins to move themselves into the conversation.

The Wildcats are a dangerous opponent at home, having already scored upsets against UCONN and St. John's at Finneran Pavilion while falling by just two against the Bluejays. Consistency is an issue for Villanova, but they tend to elevate their game in front of their home fans and could make life difficult for Marquette if the Golden Eagles can't match their energy level.

No. 21 Mississippi State

While everyone is focused on the amount of teams the SEC could send to the NCAA Tournament, which could reach as high as 13, there are a few distinct tiers in the league's hierarchy. The top of the league (featuring Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky and Texas A&M) are contenders for Top-2 seeds on Selection Sunday while another group (Oklahoma, Texas, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Arkansas) is fighting to stay off the bubble, leaving a mushy middle featuring Missouri and both Mississippi schools, who are safely above the bubble but not perceived as true title threats.

The case of Mississippi State is a fascinating one since the Bulldogs have a relatively clean team sheet that has seen them lose to the league's top teams and beat who they should beat, putting them at an even 6-6 in SEC play entering the week. While a non-conference loss at Butler is a bad one, nothing the Bulldogs have done in league play has left them in danger of missing the field, making them a ripe target for teams from the bubble group to look at as a potential notch on their belt by securing an upset over them.

Saturday's trip to Norman is a very dangerous spot since Oklahoma's NCAA Tournament stock is slipping following a 3-9 start to SEC play that includes a very bad loss to LSU, one of two teams in the league that aren't close to the field. The Sooners have struggled against the league's top teams but have to show they can compete against tournament-worthy competition to justify their inclusion in the field, making a home date with the Bulldogs a prime upset spot if Mississippi State isn't on their game.