Stock up, stock down entering championship week in college basketball

Selection Sunday for the 2024 NCAA Tournament is next week, and some teams are in good shape for March Madness, peaking at the right time. Others aren't so fortunate, either playing themselves out of a spot in the tournament or hitting a rut, threatening their odds of a deep run.

Stock up: Kentucky

The Wildcats impressed in their regular-season finale against Associated Press No. 4 Tennessee (24-7, 14-4 in SEC), a potential 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. No. 15 Kentucky (23-8, 13-5 in SEC) led by as many as 14 in the second half and showed toughness by withstanding a valiant late charge by the Vols. Head coach John Calipari is once again relying on several freshmen, and the young Wildcats grew up in a big way on Saturday.

Stock down: Duke

The Tar Heels polished off a season sweep of the Blue Devils with their 84-79 road win on Saturday night, Duke's second loss in its last five games. Most concerning for the Blue Devils (24-7, 15-5 in ACC), was their defense, which entered Saturday allowing 66.7 points per game. A common theme this season, when Duke lost, was its defensive lapses, and with plenty of high-scoring teams in this year's tournament, its defense might not be championship-worthy.

Stock up: Houston

Despite entering Saturday's game against Kansas on an eight-game winning streak, the Cougars needed a strong performance against the Jayhawks. No. 1 Houston (28-3, 15-3 in Big Ten) lost to No. 14 Kansas (22-9, 10-8 in Big Ten) in the teams' previous meeting on Feb. 3 but put on a clinic defensively on Saturday in a 76-46 wire-to-wire win, holding Kansas to a season-low in points. The win gave the Cougars the Big 12 regular season title in their first year in the conference.

Stock down: Alabama

The top-scoring team in the country is reeling heading into the SEC Tournament, which kicks off Mar. 13. No. 16 Alabama (21-10, 13-5 in SEC) is 2-3 in its last five games, allowing 95.8 points per game. Saturday's regular-season finale was another troubling sign, with the Tide needing a second-half comeback and overtime to beat lowly Arkansas (15-16, 6-12 in SEC), 92-88.

Stock up: Creighton

After reaching the Elite Eight in last year's NCAA Tournament, recent Bluejays performances suggest they could go even further this year. No. 10 Creighton (23-8, 14-6 in Big East) is 6-1 over its last seven games, including wins against No. 2 UConn (27-3, 17-2 in Big East) and No. 8 Marquette (23-8, 14-6 in Big East), making up for losses against the pair earlier this year. On Saturday, Creighton raced out to a 40-29 halftime lead over Villanova (17-14, 10-10 in Big East) before hanging on for a 69-67 win.

Stock down: Oklahoma

Here's a (not) fun fact about the Sooners: with Saturday's loss to Texas, they haven't won a game in regulation in a month, last doing so on Feb. 10 against Oklahoma State. Since then, Oklahoma (20-11, 8-10 in Big 12) is 2-5, with its two wins coming in overtime. The Sooners entered Saturday 40th in NET rankings and a projected nine-seed according to Joe Lunardi, seemingly safe for a tournament berth. However, after floundering to end the regular season, it's difficult to envision Oklahoma going any further than that.

Stock up: St. John's (NY)

On the other end of the spectrum, St. John's (19-12, 11-9 in Big East) has turned a corner over its last five games after an ugly 2-8 stretch from mid-January to mid-February. The Red Storm, in Rick Pitino's first year as head coach, are averaging 88.4 points per game during their five-game win streak entering the Big East Tournament and are one of the last four in according to Lunardi's Bracketology update on Mar. 8.

Stock down: High Point

High Point hit its low point on Saturday during an 80-79 overtime loss to Longwood (20-13, 6-10 in Big South) in the conference tournament semifinals. With the loss, High Point's dream of making the NCAA Tournament went kaput. Per NET rankings, the Panthers (25-8, 13-3 in Big South) entered Saturday 105th in the country with no Quad 1 or Quad 2 wins. They won't get a chance to earn one later this month.

Stock up: Indiana State

Sycamores sophomore center Robbie Avila, who jokingly earned the nickname "Cream Abdul-Jabbar" on social media, has emerged as a folk hero this college basketball season. With his thick-framed goggles and being—in his own words—"not the most athletic guy," Avila is the star for an Indiana State team that's reached heights unseen in Terre Haute since Larry Bird led the program to a national title game appearance in 1979, the last year the Sycamores were ranked in the AP poll. 

On Saturday, Avila began Indiana State's 94-72 win in the conference tournament semifinals over Northern Iowa (19-14, 12-8 in MVC) 4-of-4 from three-point range and finished with 21 points, his 12th game with at least 20 points this season.