If there's been one common trend in the past month of college basketball, it's been the near-constant shuffling of teams in the Top-25 rankings. Many of the teams predicted to contend for league and national championships this season-read, North Carolina and Gonzaga-have been largely disappointing. Meanwhile, small schools such as Oakland and San Diego State have made waves in recent days with some big wins over traditional powerhouses, and the college basketball landscape is rife with sleeper teams ready to crash the Top-25 party. One team that has looked especially impressive early in the season and finds it high up in the college basketball standings is Washington State, a talented and well-coached squad with all the ingredients for Tournament success in March.

On Sunday, the Cougars will face their first true road test of the season when they travel down the coast to face the Santa Clara Broncos, a team whose 5-5 record does not do justice to their potential.

Washington State managed to garner a handful of votes in the latest Top-25 rankings, largely due to the Cougars' beat down of state rival Gonzaga last week. The Cougars annihilated a team many predicted to be in the Final Four by a score of 81-59, drawing some of the national spotlight back to Pullman after sustaining a tough 5-point loss to fifth-ranked Kansas State only five days earlier.

Junior shooting guard Klay Thompson had perhaps his most complete game in a Cougar uniform against the Zags, finishing with 24 points, six assists, seven steals, and six rebounds. Thompson has been the best player in the Pac-10 early on in the season and is making a strong case for a first-round selection in next year's NBA draft. The lanky shooter has become a threat from all spots on the floor, and stopping him will be key to a Broncos upset.

Santa Clara is led by junior guard Kevin Foster-the team's best scoring and passing threat-and six-foot-nine Vancouver-native Marc Trasolini, the Bronco's only true post presence. Foster and Trasolini struggled in Santa Clara's recent loss to Pacific, but will be looking to start off strong against the third Pac-10 opponent they've played this year.

Washington State coach Ken Bone has done an admirable job preparing his team for games against big-time opponents, but the Cougars have lacked energy and focus against inferior competition. It would be easy to look at the Bronco's record and label them a member of the latter group, but beating Santa Clara is every bit as important as beating Gonzaga: Washington State can ill afford to take any opponent on its NCAA basketball schedule for granted as the team vies for national recognition.

Look for Cougar big-men DeAngelo Casto and Brock Motum to dominate the paint against a soft Santa Clara frontline, and for recently recovered point guard Reggie Moore to put up big numbers. If Thompson starts off hot and lets his teammates feed off his energy, Wazzu should win by a comfortable margin.