Wednesday Ohio State at Pittsburgh: Finally. The Panthers play a team from a Big Six conference. The Buckeyes are still banged up but should at least give Pitt a game. The Panthers haven't had a legit one yet. Thursday Oral Roberts at Tulsa: This is one of the better city games that few notice. Tulsa is ranked. Oral Roberts isn't. But that won't matter. Friday Utah at Pepperdine: The Waves missed out on a chance to beat Oregon. They'll get another shot with a big-time home game for them when Utah comes calling. Saturday St. John's at Wake Forest (ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET): The Red Storm keeps beating on everybody but big-time teams. Here is their chance. But it won't happen if Josh Howard continues his stellar play. Sunday North Carolina at Florida State: The ACC season begins in December with a suddenly-marquee matchup. The Tar Heels got cooled off the past week while the Seminoles are a one-point loss to Florida away from being undefeated. More games to watch

Player of the Week Mario Austin, F, Mississippi State Austin was sensational Saturday. He scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 32-minute season debut. He was held out of the first six games during an NCAA/Mississippi State investigation into his 9th and 10th grade transcripts. The junior forward dominated Xavier at the Garden and immediately made himself a candidate for SEC player of the year, let alone the Wooden Award. Austin can lead the Bulldogs toward an SEC title and deep in the NCAAs. The most impressive part of Austin's game was his effort. He dove on the court for loose balls late in the game, even though it was essentially decided. Austin's body was in tremendous shape. His touch around the basket was smooth. He rebounded. He blocked a shot. And he even made a 3-pointer. We can't wait for the Mississippi State-Alabama, Austin-Erwin Dudley matchups. Past players of the week Team of Week Michigan State The Spartans picked up the best win of the week. Beating Kentucky on the road was a significant win. Michigan State played sound, defensive basketball in the victory after looking so-so in a victory over Virginia. Kentucky was on a roll, beating North Carolina the previous week. Michigan State still has to go to Oklahoma for a tough game in Oklahoma City. But this win reasserted the Spartans as a potential Big Ten title team and Final Four contender. The Spartans were balanced. They were poised. And they now have confidence that they can beat anybody, anywhere. Past teams of the week

Supporting Cast MATT CARROLL, Notre Dame: Carroll scored 33 points in the win over DePaul Saturday. Carroll gets the least recognition on the Irish, but he might end up being the most valuable. He's the one shooter who gets left alone and might be the team's most productive player. Carroll is leading the Irish with 19.2 points a game and he's also drawing fouls. He was 12 of 13 from the line against DePaul. The 33 points comes on the heels of scoring 20 in a win over Texas. JASON GARDNER, Arizona: Arizona beat Texas. That's all that matters in the Jason Gardner vs. T.J. Ford debate for the day. Gardner had to lead the Wildcats to the win without Luke Walton. Texas wasn't missing anyone. Sure, the game was in Tucson, but Gardner still gets the nod for Sunday. He scored six of his 13 points in the final two minutes. He made two mid-range jumpers to put the Wildcats ahead for good. That's good enough to make our supporting cast. LUKE JACKSON, Oregon: The junior gets a solo award this week after sharing Player of Week honors with fellow Luke. The guard scored 27 points and dished out six assists in the Ducks' road win at Pepperdine. Jackson is second on the team in scoring (19.8), rebounding (7.3) and assists (4 apg). He has lived up to being the perfect partner for Luke Ridnour in leading the Ducks into the top 10 where they should stay for most of the season. KENNY WALKER, Alabama: Erwin Dudley and Maurice Williams get most of the recognition on this team, but Walker is emerging as a legitimate scoring option. He scored 25 points in the win over Bowling Green Saturday. He's averaging 14.4 points and will make teams pay if they help off of him to concentrate on Dudley.

DEE BROWN Illinois Brown scored 25 against Eastern Illinois, and an impact 15 against Temple this week. He still had too many turnovers (six) but got to the line four times and converted all four free throws. Brown continues to fly under the radar but he's one of the better guards in his class.	CARMELO ANTHONY Syracuse He keeps putting up big numbers, albeit against weak competition. Anthony scored 24 and grabbed 11 boards in the win over Binghamton. He scored 22 in a win over UNC Greensboro. Anthony will get a shot for some tougher matchups against Georgia Tech and Missouri over the next few weeks.	ANTHONY ROBERSON Florida Roberson was the difference in a huge win at Maryland. He scored 20 points to raise his average to 14.1 a game. Roberson hit four 3s and made 9 of 15 in two games. The Gators weren't expecting as much from Roberson prior to the season with Brett Nelson and Justin Hamilton at guard. But Roberson has forced his way onto the court and he's not leaving.	CRAIG SMITH Boston College Smith is making the Eagles forget about losing Uka Agbai's presence inside. Smith scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win over Stony Brook. He scored a crucial 14 in the win at Iowa State, with his points coming during a critical second-half run. Smith is a load inside and he's making the Eagles a multi-dimensional team. .

On Our Radar
Ike Akotaobi, Texas-San Antonio: He scored 29 points and grabbed nine boards in an upset win at Texas A&M Sunday. Akotaobi did all of that in 34 minutes before fouling out. He scored 24 earlier in the season in a loss at Marquette.

Alvin Snow, Eastern Washington: He scored 24 in the win over Washington. Coach Ray Giacoletti billed Snow as a breakthrough player over the summer. He's living up to his hype with a team-high 16 points a game.

J.J. Sola, Drake: The senior forward scored 36 points in a wild win over Division III Grinnell. He also grabbed 10 boards. He scored 17 in a win over Western Illinois. Drake could be trouble in the Missouri Valley if Sola can continue to score.

Jeremy Bishop, Quinnipiac: A 23-point, 11-rebound effort was good enough to lead Quinnipiac to an upset of Drexel Sunday. He scored 29 points in an earlier win at Hofstra.

Caught Our Eye Inside the Top 25: The Tigers were on a similar streak a year ago. But this crew looks like it's even better at this time of the season. Why? Arthur Johnson. The main man in the middle is averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. He scored 23 points and grabbed 11 boards in the win over Memphis. Missouri didn't have as consistent an inside presence from Johnson last season. But he's giving it to them, so far. If he continues then the Tigers could be a sleeper to win the Big 12.

Outside the Top 25: Canisius is the only team to score over 60 points on the Hawks. And that was 63. Saint Joseph's is 6-0, holding two teams under 50 points, two under 60 and one under 40. Phil Martelli is doing one of his best coaching jobs, so far. Look for the Hawks to be the winner in the A-10 East and challenge Xavier for the conference title.

HARVARD: The Crimson is off to a 5-2 start and is a legit pest in the Ivy. Harvard should be a contending team with its name recognition and Frank Sullivan's patience is paying off.

YALE: James Jones' squad is another 5-2 Ivy club after winning the Phoenix Classic in Hartford with wins over Holy Cross and Central Connecticut. Yale already has a win over Penn State.

PENN: The Quakers have plenty of company, but no one is playing as well as they are in the Ivy League. Penn beat Villanova this week after defeating Temple -- not a bad way to leave for a long break.

OHIO: The Bobcats played five straight road games to open the season. They only won one of them. Not good. They better beat Navy at home this week to regain confidence.

INDIANA: The Hoosiers are 8-0 and looking better with each game. Beating Purdue was just the latest example. Up next? Kentucky.

MARQUETTE: The Eagles got their much-needed win against Wisconsin in the in-state battle. Dwyane Wade has been sensational so far, averaging 25 a game. He was average the win over Wisconsin (25 points), which means he was sensational.

XAVIER: The Musketeers missed out on a chance for another quality win Saturday. But the effort wasn't there. That should concern Thad Matta.

MICHIGAN: The Wolverines do need to get credit for winning. Michigan beat Bowling Green and Charleston Southern.

PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions won a game, beating Northeastern. That, too, deserves some sort of cheer.

MARYLAND: The Terps are losing to good teams so there shouldn't be cause for too much concern. But the Terps are still going through a transition period.

RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights held an 11-point lead over North Carolina before blowing it at Chapel Hill. If they hold on then maybe we're talking more about them. Beating Princeton this weekend gets them back on track after losing to Auburn.

AUBURN: Marquis Daniels scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds for the Tigers in their win over Murray State to go to 7-1.

BYU: The Cougars beat Utah State and continue to look like the potential champs of the Mountain West. The only loss was to Creighton.

UCLA: The Bruins got Andre Patterson and Ryan Walcott back in the same week as winning two in a row to even their record.

SAN FRANCISCO: The Dons got drilled at Pacific to fall to 1-6. San Francisco needs to get better quickly or else the Dons will be in for a long season in the WCC.

SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs held Hawaii to 49 points for their best win, so far.

UNLV: The Runnin' Rebels had to go to overtime to beat Bradley. but getting a road win, regardless where, is significant.

BUTLER: The Bulldogs are undefeated and will make another strong case for inclusion in the NCAA come March.

KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes are undefeated and Antonio Gates is on a tear. He was one rebound shy of a triple-double against Cleveland State with 20 points, 10 assists and nine boards.

MASSACHUSETTS: 30-9 at the half. The score was 34-9 into the second half. 59-48 final. Connecticut wins. UMass loses.

OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys are quietly putting together another impressive non-conference record. Oklahoma State beat Fresno State on Sunday to move to 6-1. The only loss was to the College of Charleston in Alaska.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Watch, a look back at the week and a preview of the week ahead, runs every Monday.