WHO'S HOT
Alabama. The No. 11 Crimson Tide has won its last six games to pull within one game of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama (17-3, 6-1) has two prolific scorers in forward Kennedy Winston (17.8 points) and guard Earnest Shelton (17.4), the SEC's top three-point shooter. The Crimson Tide has two tall, athletic big men in forwards Chuck Davis and Jermareo Davidson. But whether Alabama can match last year's success in the NCAA tournament -- when the Crimson Tide advanced to its first region final -- could depend on the play of freshman point guard Ronald Steele, who has been remarkably steady. Steele, from Birmingham, is averaging 5.15 assists, third-best in the SEC, and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 2 1/2-to-1. Alabama also plays stout defense, holding each of its last six opponents to 61 points or fewer. "They're clearly one of the most established teams in our conference," Georgia Coach Dennis Felton said. "They are extremely experienced coming off of last year's great season. Really, they've got all the parts."
WHO'S NOT
Savannah State. The Tigers are three losses from becoming only the second Division I team since 1955 to have a winless season. If Savannah State loses at Mercer on Feb. 8, at Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 11 and against Florida A&M on Feb. 14, the Tigers would tie the 1991-92 Prairie View team for the worst record in NCAA history at 0-28. Only 13 teams have finished with winless seasons in Division I. And it's not like the Tigers have been unlucky, either. Only two of their losses -- 73-67 to Jacksonville on Nov. 27 and 73-64 to Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 3 -- were decided by less than 10 points. Savannah State opened the season with a 62-point loss at Memphis, lost at Georgia by 31 points and lost at Baylor by 36 points. The Tigers are shooting only 35.3 percent from the field, 27.5 percent on three-point attempts and 57 percent on foul shots, and they've committed more than twice as many turnovers as assists. Savannah State is an independent and could be on its last legs in Division I.
Things are going well for No. 11 Alabama, which is one game behind Kentucky in the SEC.
(Jason Getz -- AP)
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_____GAME OF THE WEEK_____
No. 2 North Carolina at No. 4 Duke, 9 p.m. Wednesday
Seventh-ranked Wake Forest has the upper hand on Tobacco Road, beating the Tar Heels and Blue Devils in Winston-Salem, N.C. But the 218th meeting between North Carolina and Duke still figures to have plenty of postseason consequences, despite the Blue Devils' recent losses to Maryland and the Demon Deacons. If Duke (16-2, 6-2 ACC) beats Georgia Tech in Durham, N.C., today, and North Carolina (18-2, 7-1) wins at Florida State tomorrow, the Tar Heels would carry a one-game lead in the ACC into Wednesday night's game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has beaten North Carolina in 14 of the past 16 meetings, including seven of the past eight in Durham. The Tar Heels' last win in the series was an 82-79 victory in the 2002-03 regular season finale.
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_____TOP FIVE MID-MAJORS_____
1. Gonzaga (16-4): Zags are tied for first place in the West Coast Conference after beating St. Mary's (Calif.) on Thursday night.
2. Southern Illinois (17-5): Salukis have nearly pulled even with Wichita State in Missouri Valley Conference.
3. Wichita State (16-3): Shockers lost a tough game at Creighton, and their lead in the MVC is down to a half-game.
4. George Washington (13-5): Colonials should be well-rested for stretch run after avoiding midweek games this week and next.
5. Old Dominion (20-3): Monarchs will play four of next five games on the road, including Feb. 16 at George Mason.
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_____RPI WATCH_____
Are RPI rankings, which the NCAA selection committee use to determine seeds and at-large bids for its tournament, built on reputation? How else to explain Kentucky's whopping No. 10 ranking entering today's game at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats (16-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) have beaten only one team of consequence -- they won at Louisville, 60-58, on Dec. 18 -- and they spent much of the early season defeating teams such as Coppin State, Ball State, Georgia State, Tennessee Tech and Morehead State. Even in a depleted SEC, Kentucky isn't exactly blowing out teams. The Wildcats beat South Carolina by four points, Mississippi by three and Arkansas by one. The Wildcats are really young, starting Western Kentucky transfer Patrick Sparks and two freshmen. But as long as the selection committee is willing to bow to the Wildcats' storied tradition, they'll be a high seed come March.
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____ NCAA Hoops Forecast ____
Note: This is an unscientific survey of washingtonpost.com readers.
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UNDER THE RADAR
Minnesota is starting two junior college transfers, and its top three reserves are freshmen, but the Golden Gophers (15-6, 5-3) are tied with Indiana for fourth place in the Big Ten. If Minnesota can win two of its next four games -- at home against Wisconsin and Northwestern, followed by games at Indiana and Michigan State -- it would go a long way in securing at-large consideration for the NCAA tournament. Junior Vincent Grier, a transfer from Dixie State Junior College in Utah, leads the Gophers in scoring with 16.3 points. Senior Jeff Hagen, a 7-foot center, is averaging 12 points and 5.3 rebounds, and his 52 blocked shots were second-most in the Big Ten entering this week. "We're just looking at it as a big opportunity for us to build our résumé," Gophers senior forward Brent Lawson told the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press this week. "Our goal is to make the NCAA tournament. It's a big week for us."
DOUBLE TAKE OF THE WEEK
Florida International 118, Arkansas-Little Rock 114 (5OT)
A crowd of only 640 in Miami on Sunday saw the Panthers beat the Trojans on guard Antonio Jones's two foul shots with seven seconds left in the fifth overtime. The game was two overtimes shy of breaking the NCAA Division I record for the longest game; Cincinnati beat Bradley, 75-73, in seven overtimes on Dec. 21, 1981. With 42 seconds left in the third overtime, Florida International's Junior Matias made one of two foul shots to tie the score at 97 and send it into another extra period. In the fourth overtime, the Trojans tied the score at 103 on guard Brandon Freeman's jumper with two seconds remaining. Forward Ismael N'Diaye led the Panthers with 34 points; Freeman scored 38 for the Trojans. The teams combined to take 153 shots, including 47 three-point attempts, and they attempted 97 free throws.
