Monday Look Back: Through wreckage, UCLA surely on top

• UCLA is 6-1 against the Top 25 at CollegeRPI.com.

• UCLA is 10-2 against the Top 50 at CollegeRPI.com.

• UCLA is 17-3 against the Top 100 at CollegeRPI.com.

• UCLA has six wins against opponents also listed in my Top 25 (and one).

You can compare those numbers to other teams if you want. But trust me, nobody else is close.

So the Bruins are No. 1.

Ohio State can be No. 2.

Now let's get on with the Monday Look Back.

Best game of the weekend: Maryland came from behind late to beat North Carolina 89-87 Sunday night. The game was so great it featured the Tar Heels blowing a 12-point lead with a little more than seven minutes remaining, Brandan Wright blowing a chance to force overtime by missing a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, D.J. Strawberry blowing away his previous career high with 27 points and Gary Williams blowing his composure as he wiped away tears in the postgame interview. Like I said, great game.

Worst game of the weekend: If North Carolina is going to fold late, the Tar Heels would be wise to build bigger leads. Like Kansas leads. The Jayhawks cruised to their sixth consecutive win Saturday, an 89-52 slaughtering of Iowa State. They were up 41-15 at the half and have now won their past six games by an average of 28.8 points, or slightly more than Strawberry hung on North Carolina.

Win to brag about: The place didn't matter. The opponent didn't matter. Tennessee just needed a road win -- any road win -- considering the Vols entered Saturday's game at Arkansas with a 0-6 road record in SEC games, worth noting given that no school has ever earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament without winning a road game in league play, according to CollegeRPI.com. Had Tennessee kept losing in other teams' gyms, Bruce Pearl would've needed the selection committee to do something no selection committee has ever done. But that's now a moot point thanks to the Vols' 83-72 win at Arkansas that enhanced UT's NCAA Tournament chances while making the Hogs' hopes nearly non-existent.

Loss to hide from: The easiest way to demonstrate how terrible Air Force's 71-66 loss at TCU was Saturday is to point out how the same starting lineup that won at Stanford (No. 40 in the RPI) by 34 points just lost at TCU (No. 200 in the RPI) by five points. If the Falcons -- who have dropped two consecutive games -- have a strong point anymore, consistency clearly isn't it.

Player who deserves improper benefits: Mike Conley Jr. proved long ago he is way more than just Greg Oden's sidekick, but he reminded the nation Sunday with a floater in the closing seconds to give Ohio State a 49-48 win over Wisconsin. All those weapons, and Thad Matta gave the ball to Conley with things in the balance, reminding me of something Mike Conley Sr., one-time Olympic gold medalist and proud father, mentioned in a phone call a few months ago. "I told Coach Matta that I can't tell him why, but he's going to feel better when Mike's on the court," said Conley, who coached his son and Oden in AAU ball. Credit Matta for recognizing the validity of that theory sooner rather than later. It won a Big Ten title and likely earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Player(s) who should lose his scholarship: It's crucial for Providence to win home games if only because the Friars can't win on the road, evidence being a 1-6 road record that has placed them on the wrong side of the bubble. So Saturday's tilt at Dunkin' Donuts Center was huge, particularly with another bubble team (Syracuse) playing the role of visitors. And Providence's guards -- namely Sharaud Curry, Weyinmi Efejuku, Geoff McDermott and Brian McKenzie -- responded with a 10-of-47 effort from the field that included a 4-of-22 performance from 3-point range. They also committed 12 turnovers while attempting just seven free throws, and if you want to go to the NIT that's certainly the way to do it.

Why I'm smarter than you think: In the spirit of full disclosure, I was only being a smart aleck when I picked LSU to upset Florida last week. But because it actually happened, I'm taking credit. That really might be the greatest upset pick in history. The last-place team in the SEC's Western Division beating the reigning national champions while Glen Davis was on the bench in street clothes? Seriously, I picked it. Yes, I'm unreal.

Why I'm dumber than I think: Tornados and storms canceled my flight to the Wisconsin-Ohio State game, making it impossible for me to attend. While explaining this in my blog Sunday I mentioned Gregg Doyel would be sitting in my spot and joked that meant "somebody would probably be getting their ass ripped" when Doyel filed his column on the game. How dumb of me. I should've joked that meant everybody would be getting their asses ripped because everybody got their asses ripped, even the guy with the hurt elbow and multiple teams that didn't even play. The lesson? Never underestimate Doyel.

Three things you should know before you go:

1. I'm just going to keep writing how awesome Kevin Durant is until the nation ends the debate about National Player of the year and concedes the award to him. His latest batch of awesomeness (is that even a word?) came Saturday when Texas won at Oklahoma behind Durant's 32 points and 10 rebounds, meaning Durant is now averaging 28.4 points and 13.1 rebounds in road games. He has scored at least 20 points in every Big 12 road venue and has had double-digit rebounds in all but two road games overall. Again, Awe.Some.Ness.

2. It's becoming more and more likely no SEC Western Division team will earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The four teams with a chance -- Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama and Arkansas -- each lost Saturday, making their loss columns in overall games range from nine (Alabama) to 12 (Arkansas). Ole Miss and Mississippi State lead the Western Division with 7-7 league records, and neither projects to finish above .500 in the SEC considering both have tough road games remaining (Ole Miss at Alabama, Mississippi State at Arkansas). Bottom line, four Eastern Division teams will clearly be taken before the first Western Division team, and unless somebody gets hot over these next two weeks, every Western Division team could be omitted for the first time in history.

3. Another weekend, another group of reporters asking an underclassmen whether he'll return to school or enter the NBA Draft. This time it was Arron Afflalo, the UCLA star who -- you're not going to believe this -- said no decision will be made until after the season, making his answer following a victory over Stanford exactly like 99.9 percent of all other answers from legitimate NBA prospects. When reporters do this, it reminds me of a pitcher faking a pickoff move to third and throwing the ball to first with runners on first and third. It never accomplishes a thing, or at least hardly ever. But man do pitchers love to try it, just like reporters love to ask questions for which there are no reasonable answers.

On tap: Monday night, Syracuse tries to pad its NCAA Tournament resume when Georgetown visits the Carrier Dome. Tuesday night, Florida, which lost to Tennessee twice last season, attempts to beat the Vols for the second time this season when the Gators enter Thompson-Boiling Arena. Wednesday night, Texas gets a chance to avenge an earlier loss when it hosts Texas A&M. Thursday night, two in-state rivals get together when Virginia Tech plays at Virginia.