Who's Hot, Who's Not in College Basketball in Week 15

If you haven't looked at your calendar lately, here's some good news: March is fast approaching.

If you're a college basketball fan, you know that means things are heating up. Across the nation, teams are making the last push for a conference title, a tournament bid or, in Kentucky's case, an undefeated season.

As we gear up for the most wonderful time of the year, here's a look at who's hot and who's not in Week 15 of the college basketball season.

Hot: Darrun Hilliard II

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The Villanova Wildcats are taking control of the Big East, and Darrun Hilliard II is a big reason for that.

In just the past four days, the 6'6" senior guard has led Villanova to wins over No. 18 Butler and Seton Hall. In the game against Butler, Hilliard scored 31 points and had eight boards. Against Seton Hall, he had 18 points.

On the season, Hilliard is averaging 14.3 points per game and has led the Wildcats to the No. 6 spot in the nation at 24-2 on the season, 11-2 in the conference.

Watch out for Villanova and Hilliard come March.

Not: Sterling Gibbs

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On the other hand, Sterling Gibbs is in the middle of a stretch that he'd rather forget.

The Seton Hall junior guard has been suspended for two games following his ejection during the team's loss to Villanova on Monday night. With under five minutes left in the game, Gibbs hit Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono in the face while scrambling for a ball.

Gibbs—who is the leading scorer for Seton Hall at 16.7 points per game—was incredibly apologetic and took full responsibility for the incident.

"Man that's not who I am. I'm sorry to my family, friends, fans, and team for being an embarrassment," he wrote on Twitter (via ESPN.com), specifically apologizing to Arcidiacono for letting his emotions get the best of him. "I hope you're alright and I will face any consequences coming."

Hot: UNC vs. Duke Rivalry

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It's rivalry week in college basketball, and there's no rivalry quite like Duke vs. North Carolina. On Wednesday night in Durham, these two neighboring teams proved once again why this matchup is the best in the game, with Duke winning an overtime thriller 92-90.

This year, the Blue Devils came into the game riding high on a five-game winning streak and sitting at No. 4 in the country. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, had dropped three of their last four—including an embarrassing loss to Pitt on Saturday—and were ranked No. 15.

But, as we should all know by now, numbers can be thrown out the window when it comes to Duke vs. UNC. Duke started the game on a roll, getting up by 13 late in the first half. But then the Heels took over in the second half and were leading by as many as 10 with under four minutes to play.

However, then Duke freshman Tyus Jones took over the game and almost single-handedly forced OT. Carolina was left with a chance to tie the game contest on the final possession of the nail-biting extra period but couldn't get the shot off.

"It's tough for this game to always live up to the hype," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, as reported by The Associated Press (via ESPN). "But I think tonight's game exceeded it."

Not: Louisville

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Elsewhere in the ACC, Louisville is trending downward.

Once a team that was potentially in the conversation for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, the Cardinals have now lost three of their last four games and are currently ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25.

While one of those losses was to Virginia, another was a pretty inexplicable loss to N.C. State at home, 74-65. 

Additionally, the Cardinals have suspended their starting point guard, Chris Jones, indefinitely. Jones' attitude has been a problem all year long, but he was still averaging 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this year.

With a tough ACC slate to finish the season, Louisville needs to get it together sooner rather than later.

Hot: Pac-12

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With the Utah Utes and Arizona Wildcats both sitting in the Top 10 of the AP Top 25 and riding winning streaks, the battle for supremacy in the Pac-12 is really heating up. 

The Utes are particularly on a roll—they're riding a four-game winning streak and haven't lost since last month. Each win in February has been by 15 or more points against conference opponents. Currently, they sit at No. 9 in the rankings.

Arizona, meanwhile, is looking great too. The Wildcats are ranked No. 7 and have bounced back nicely after an early-February loss to Arizona State.

Arizona beat Utah when the pair faced off earlier in the year, but with the two teams currently tied atop the Pac-12 with 10-2 conference records, the rematch at the end of this month looms large.

Not: Kansas

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Kansas suffered a big blow in its quest to take full control of the Big 12 when West Virginia stunned the Jayhawks on Monday night, 62-61.

The Jayhawks are currently ranked No. 8 and are leading the conference, but with five other Big 12 teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and now only a game-and-a-half lead in the Big 12, there is no breathing room. 

Kansas has a rematch with West Virginia in early March, and it finishes the regular season with a game against No. 17 Oklahoma. The rest of the Jayhawks' schedule is tough too, with games against TCU, Kansas State and Texas.

In order to win the Big 12 and secure a good seed in the NCAA tournament, Kansas needs to figure out a way to finish the season on a high note.

Hot: Frank Kaminsky

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Frank Kaminsky just keeps getting better as the season goes on, as his 23-point, 11-rebound game against Illinois on Sunday showcases.

In the eyes of many, including Rob Dauster of NBC Sports, Kaminsky has overtaken Jahlil Okafor as the college basketball player of the year.

Prior to Wednesday's win over Penn State, Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal wrote about how much Kaminsky has improved in his senior year: 

"

Kaminsky’s offensive skills get talked about a lot for good reason. The 7-foot senior center is averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting 54.0 percent overall and 40.0 percent from 3-point range.

But it’s possible his biggest improvement since last season has come on the other end of the court.

Not only has Kaminsky increased his rebounding average from 6.3 to 8.3, he’s become a much more effective defender.

"

Kaminsky's all-around greatness has led Wisconsin to a superb season. The Badgers are currently 24-2, ranked No. 5 and in full command of the Big Ten. It certainly pays to have Frank the Tank on your team.

Not: Patrick Chambers

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A bad basketball season for Penn State got worse on Tuesday when the Big Ten fined coach Patrick Chambers $10,000 for comments he made after a loss to Maryland on Saturday.

Mark Brennan of Fight on State reported the comments:

"

After the game, a reporter did not even get a full question out before Chambers went off.

"The call that got…," was all the scribe said.

"That was the worst call I've ever seen in my entire life," Chambers interrupted. "They're pulling Jordan Dickerson down.

"First of all, time and score. He's too young. He doesn't have a feel for the game. He shouldn't call that foul. That's one.

"Two is, (Thorpe) back cut it, he went down the middle. He didn't even use the screen. And (Dickerson) got pulled down, and they call a foul on him?"

"

Chambers also criticized the fact that Maryland's star, Melo Trimble, got to the foul line 12 times, while his star, D.J. Newbill, only did so nine times. 

“It's a joke. It's a joke the way we're officiated. It's disappointing.”

This was the second fine of the season for Chambers, who also criticized officials after a loss to Michigan State last month.

Hot: Arkansas

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They might not be a threat to take the regular-season SEC crown from Kentucky, but Arkansas is heating up at just the right time to at least make the conference worth paying attention to heading into March.

The Razorbacks have won five games in a row and are currently sitting at 21-5 on the season, 10-3 in the SEC. They are No. 18 in the AP Top 25, making them the only team in the conference other than No. 1 Kentucky to be ranked. 

In anticipation of Arkansas' meeting with the Wildcats at the end of the month, everyone is salivating. ESPN's Andy Katz even talked to Arkansas coach Mike Anderson about how well the team matches up against Kentucky, with Anderson saying, "it's gonna be depth versus depth." 

Not: Georgia

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We haven't talked a lot about bubble teams on this list, but Georgia is one such squad that will potentially be sweating it out on Selection Sunday.

Over the last few days, UGA's bid has taken a big hit with back-to-back home conference losses to Auburn and South Carolina. The Bulldogs are currently 16-9 on the year and only 7-6 in the weak SEC.

Georgia needs to win out, or close to it, to get off of the bubble. That would seem doable if it wasn't for a March 3 game against Kentucky on the schedule. 

"We've got no one to blame but the person in the mirror," Georgia coach Mark Fox said after the loss to South Carolina, as reported by The Associated Press (via ESPN). "We've got to grow up."

If Georgia doesn't grow up soon, its hopes of dancing in March will be dashed.