WHO'S HOT

Kent State

It didn't take long for Antonio Gates and Co. to make Trevor Huffman and Stan Heath a memory. The Flashes started the season a school-best-ever 6-0 and hold the longest regular-season winning streak in the nation at 21.

St. Joseph's

Sure, Boston College is the only quality win, but at least the Hawks are better than last year at this time. Their 6-0 start is tops in the conference, and Jameer Nelson is emerging as a challenger to David West's Player of the Year throne in the A-10. Still to come this month: DePaul and Gonzaga.

Keith Bogans

Kentucky's go-to guy stayed in school, weathered a less-than-spectacular junior season and averages more than 19 points a game this season. Now he looks like a real NBA prospect.

WHO'S NOT

Stanford

What a letdown for the Cardinal. Back-to-back losses to Montana and Richmond on top of guard Chris Hernandez breaking his foot. The Cardinal have to solve their problems on the road against UNLV and Gonzaga.

Ohio State's schedule maker

Where's Arizona? The Buckeyes have played No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Pittsburgh. The schedule seemed to catch up with Ohio State this week when Pitt blasted OSU by 20 and coach Jim O'Brien got into a shouting match with a Panthers fan.

Morris Brown

It's a university, not a name. The Wolverines are 1-9, and eight of their losses have come to teams outside the RPI top 200. No surprise, Morris Brown's RPI is hovering near the bottom of the list.

MUST-SEE TV

Indiana at Kentucky, 5 p.m. today (Ch. 12, 7): A classic rivalry you won't want to miss this year.

Minnesota at Oregon, 3 p.m. Sunday (FSN): See if Oregon can bounce back against Minnesota and Rick Rickert, one of the nation's best big men.

Missouri at Illinois, 5:30 p.m. today (ESPN): Illinois is 7-0. Missouri is 6-0. Something has to give.

Cincinnati at Clemson, 5:30 p.m. Sunday (FSN): The Bearcats opened some eyes with the Oregon win. A win at Clemson would keep the momentum going.

Colorado vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 1:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN2): If you need a break from the holidays, checking out the Ragin' Cajuns could do the trick.

TOP FIVE

This week's topic: Top 5 UC wins during the Bob Huggins era:

UC 88, Memphis 57, March 29, 1992 - UC's fourth win of the season over Memphis catapulted the Bearcats into the Final Four.

UC 66, Minnesota 64, Nov. 25, 1989 - Steve Sanders' shot at the buzzer gave UC a win over the No. 20 Gophers in the first game played at Shoemaker Center, setting the tone for the program.

UC 77, Duke 75, Nov. 28, 1998 - Melvin Levett's dunk beat No. 1 Duke in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout.

UC 77, Oregon 52, Dec. 17, 2002 - Tony Bobbitt scored a career-high 29 points and UC shut down the fifth-ranked Ducks in the Jimmy V Classic.

UC 63, Marquette 62, Feb. 22, 2002 - Donald Little's jump shot with three seconds left helped UC avenge a loss to Marquette three weeks earlier that ended the Bearcats' 20-game winning streak.

THE SWEET 16

1. Arizona	LSU next to get shot at Wildcats.
2. Alabama	Should be unbeaten for Jan. 4 XU game.
3. Duke	Coach K reloads again.
4. Pitt	Panthers winning with strong rebounding.
5. Indiana	Mike (The General) Davis keeps rolling.
6. Notre Dame	No real challengers until January.
7. Connecticut	Needs a legitimate win over a good team.
8. Oklahoma	Plays Miss. State, Mich. State and UConn in coming weeks.
9. Oregon	UC defense made Ducks look feeble.
10. Texas	Two losses aren't bad with this schedule.
11. Missouri	Test at Illinois will show strength.
12. Illinois	Surprise of Big Ten.
13. Marquette	Carrying the mantel for C-USA.
14. Mississippi St.	Gets lift from win over XU.
15. Michigan St.	Beating Kentucky big hurdle for Spartans.
16. Creighton	Bluejays on the rise.