4. UConn Huskies (5-3)
Was there anything more shocking that happened this week than UConn getting swept in Maui?
Each loss brought something more concerning than the other and given the opponents the Huskies lost to (Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton) it makes its upcoming schedule -- Baylor, Texas, and Gonzaga -- look even more daunting.
Could Dan Hurley's team really lose five or six games before starting Big East play?
The program might be back-to-back champions but this team is not and they have a very long way to go to prove they should be spoken in the same breath as the last two UConn squads.
5. Creighton Bluejays (5-3)
Has there been a team in the Big East more difficult to figure out than the Creighton Bluejays?
Are they good? Are they bad? Are they injured?
After getting dominated on its home floor against in-state rival Nebraska, Creighton went to Las Vegas and was run off the floor in the second half by San Diego State despite not having Steven Ashworth available because of an injury suffered in the loss to the Cornhuskers.
Then, Ashworth returned to the lineup the next night against Texas A&M and the 'Jays blew a halftime lead and allowed the Aggies to score 50 points in the second half before leaving Vegas with a victory over a Markus Burton-less Notre Dame team, although Ryan Kalkbrenner did not play.
Much like Dan Hurley and UConn, it feels like Greg McDermott will figure things out with his team but No. 1 Kansas and No. 10 Alabama loom in the next two weeks and we will definitely see if Creighton has what it takes to be a really good squad.
6. Xavier Musketeers (7-1)
Xavier had its chance to make a statement early in the season. If the Musketeers defeated Michigan in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Championship, it would have been No. 2 in the weekly power rankings.
Instead, it suffered a 25-point loss and showed no signs of a comeback.
Things were ugly for a while for Sean Miller's team in the semifinals against South Carolina before putting things together and escaping with a victory and could not parlay that into a strong performance against the Wolverines, even with a day off.
Xavier didn't make things any easier on itself when it returned to the Cintas Center, needing to hold on late against South Carolina State in a three point victory.
Two big road games will test the Musketeers before conference play against TCU on Thursday and No. 14 Cincinnati next Saturday.