UCLA climbs in polls

After dishing out four straight beat-downs, UCLA is on the rise in the college basketball rankings. The Bruins are No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and No. 11 in the Associated Press poll, jumps of six and four spots, respectively.

On the heels of a victory over Notre Dame on Saturday, Coach Ben Howland said his team is finally playing like it was ranked to start the season:

The Fighting Irish may have lost seven straight, but they've all come at the hands of tournament-bound teams. Their conference, the Big East, is easily the toughest in America. Their only loss to an unranked team was against Cincinnati, which is tied for sixth in a conference with six top-25 programs.

The Irish losing streak with current rankings (AP/ESPN) and margin of defeat:

• No. 5/7 Louisville — 10 points (overtime)
• No. 23/22 Syracuse — 19 points
• No. 1/1 Connecticut — 8 points
• No. 10/12 Marquette — 7 points
• No. 4/4 Pittsburgh — 13 points
• Unranked Cincinnati — 10 points
• No. 11/6 UCLA — 26 points

It can be dangerous to put too much stock into the common opponent debate, but it's tempting to say that UCLA should be able to hold its own against any of these top teams. Keep in mind that Notre Dame had to travel across the country for the early game at Pauley Pavilion (though the time difference only helped the Irish).

—Adam Rose