With the CFP title game behind us, college football steps aside from the national landscape and allows college basketball to take up more of the spotlight. The season thus far has had a fair share of dominant teams, with the likes of Arizona and Michigan looking like the top title contenders to date, and the ACC as a whole has been on the rise after a rough few years.
Two of its top teams, however, are stumbling a bit of late. North Carolina got swept on a West Coast swing to Cal and Stanford (yes, it still makes no sense for the ACC to have a West Coast wing, but that's a problem caused by football) while Louisville has been up and down of late, causing both to slip into the lower reaches of the AP Top 25 poll released on Martin Luther King Day.
What's gone wrong for two of the ACC's top dogs? We'll dive further into their issues later in this week's Bubble Watch column, but first we'll begin with who is trending in the right direction, including two programs who were on the downswing at this time last week.
College Basketball Stock Watch: Rising
Kansas Jayhawks
Two emphatic home wins, including a 19-point beating of the previously unbeaten Iowa State Cyclones, is a major swing in the right direction for Bill Self's team. Kansas is back inside the poll at No. 19 and used those two victories to re-establish their dominance at Allen Fieldhouse, which has become less of a sure thing as the Big 12 has increased in strength.
There are still injury management concerns with Darryn Peterson, who has yet to be available until the final whistle of a game this season, but the Jayhawks didn't need him at the end of either contest last week. If Peterson can move past his nagging leg issues the Jayhawks have all the firepower they need to be a sleeper Final Four contender.
Kentucky Wildcats
The results may not have been as decisive as the ones Kansas got but Kentucky took a big step in the right direction last week. Mark Pope scored a much-needed two-win week in the SEC, picking up road victories over LSU and No. 24 Tennessee by a combined three-points to help stop the bleeding for a wounded Wildcats' team.
Jaland Lowe isn't walking through the door again this year but Kentucky needs to find ways to win without him to avoid falling into bubble territory. A homestand against Texas and Ole Miss isn't a sure thing but if Kentucky can defend Rupp Arena they will be in a much better position entering the finalw week of January.
The Big East
The league looked poised for a down season based on pre-season projections, which saw only UCONN, St. John's and Creighton ranked with the latter two falling out of the polls before league play kicked into full swing. The Huskies have held up their end of the bargain, but the league appears headed for a quality race as the rebounding Red Storm and Bluejays have competition for the middle of the pack with Villanova and Seton Hall, who are both overachieving compared to preseason expectations.
The Pirates were in the poll last week and played UCONN very tough while the Wildcats have ripped off a 14-4 record in their first year under Kevin Willard. As long as the conference can avoid having some of its more bubbly teams trip up too often, the Big East should land at least four NCAA Tournament bids with a shot at five depending on how things play out over the next six weeks or so.
San Diego State Aztecs
Utah State was the Mountain West team ranked last week but the hottest team in the conference is San Diego State, which has ripped off seven wins in a row to begin league play. Saturday's four-point over New Mexico was pivotal for the Aztecs, who are hovering near the bubble thanks to a lack of good non-conference wins and a brutal home loss to Troy, to improve their NCAA Tournament resume.
Balance is the name of the game for San Diego State, which sees 11 players average at least 10 minutes a game and six more recording at least 8.2 points per game. That kind of depth is a challenge for opposing teams to manage, making the Aztecs a sleeper team to win the Mountain West and get at least one March Madness win if they can stay healthy.
College Basketball Stock Watch: Falling
North Carolina Tar Heels
A 13-1 start means the Tar Heels don't have to worry about the bubble yet but they have definitely hit a pot hole since the calendar flipped to January, dropping three of their past four games. All three defeats have been on the road against the ACC's most western schools, so travel could have played a factor here, but the North Carolina defense has fallen off a cliff since their slump started.
The Tar Heels have surrendered an average of 90 points per game during this slump, with the one win coming in an 87-84 shootout against Wake Forest. Hubert Davis is experimenting with his rotation right now to figure out the right mix of guys to get the necessary defensive stops to survive league play, with Saturday's trip to No. 14 Virginia looming as a key measuring stick to see how the repair job is coming.
Louisville Cardinals
The loss of star freshman Mikel Brown Jr to a back injury in mid-December has been a key dividing line for the Cardinals' season. Louisville was 9-1 and ranked No. 11 in the polls before Brown hurt his back against Memphis and has gone just 4-4 since with their offensive efficiency taking a nose dive as a result of his absence.
The good news for Pat Kelsey is that Brown is starting to practice again and could be back on the court within the coming weeks, giving him a chance to round into form as the ACC season heads down the stretch. If Brown's return sparks a renewed surge for No. 23 Louisville, the selection committee may discount some of their play in this recent run as a result of the time Brown missed, which could be a help for them in terms of March Madness seeding.
Unbeaten Teams
Two more undefeated teams bit the dust last week as both Iowa State and Vanderbilt suffered their first losses of the season against Kansas and Texas respectively. The defeats didn't stop there though as both sides lost their next games as well, meaning a combined 0-4 week that saw Iowa State drop seven spots to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 while Vanderbilt slid five spots to No. 15.
Only three unbeaten teams remain: No. 1 Arizona, No. 7 Nebraska and No. 25 Miami of Ohio, which just entered the rankings for the first time this week. The Redhawks have needed some photo finishes to survive the early portions of MAC play while the strength of the Big 12 and Big Ten should ensure none of these three make it through February without a loss on their resume, showcasing how hard it is to run the table in today's college basketball landscape.
The Big Ten's Depth
Hopes were high in the non-conference portion of the season that the Big Ten would not only have the horses to end the league's championship drought but also land at least 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament. While the Big Ten's five teams inside the top 11 of the poll suggest the former is still in play, the latter is in some jeopardy as the league's depth has been caved in of late.
Seven teams of the remaining 13 teams figure to be in auto-bid or bust mode while some of the conference's second-tier contenders, like Iowa, USC and Indiana, are under .500 in league play without many quality wins to their names. There is still time for the Big Ten's middle class to pull their weight and fulfill the prophecy of a double-digit bid season, but the odds are more likely that we are looking at an 8 or 9-bid Big Ten based on how the conference's profile is trending.