For a team that was seemingly under water before the season even began, the Washington men's basketball team sure is, ahem, Dawg-paddling toward legitimacy now.

You're not quite sure what to think of this team, but the Huskies are winning, either because they're in a wobbly conference or they're growing into their talent. Or both. But even though the Huskies have won 11 of their last 13 games to improve to 16-7 (and a Pac-12-leading 9-2 in conference), they enter tonight's game at Oregon still needing to make a stronger impression.

According to RealTimeRPI.com, Washington has an RPI of 71. The Huskies are No. 62 in hoops guru Ken Pomeroy's ratings. They're also No. 62 in the Sagarin ratings. These are all things the NCAA tournament selection committee will be considering, and if you look at the Huskies' resume today, the mediocre ratings and lack of a true signature victory (best win is at Arizona, other decent wins for the resume include UCLA, Stanford and Oregon) mean the Huskies are the epitome of an NCAA tournament bubble team.

BUT ...

This is all so fluid. If the season ended today, I think the Huskies would be in, which bracketologist Joe Lunardi believes, too. Get swept this week by Oregon and Oregon State, and the Huskies would be temporarily out of the conversation again.

As I've written before, I think the magic number for the Huskies is 14 conference wins to be assured of an at-large bid. That would likely mean they won the Pac-12 regular season title, and there's no way the Pac-12 regular season champion is missing the tournament. That would mean the Huskies would have a 21-9 record, which would look impressive on paper, too.

That said, five of Washington's final seven games are on the road, and this team is 3-5 away from Edmundson Pavilion this season. That breaks down to a 3-3 mark in true road games and 0-2 at a neutral site (losses to Duke and Marquette at Madison Square Garden). But the Huskies started 0-5 away from Hec Ed, and they've since won three straight road games over Utah, Arizona State and Arizona -- by far their most impressive showing of the season, even if they nearly blew it at the end.

So, what to make of all this? Are the Huskies over their road woes? Or were they just fortunate to grind out road wins over two bad teams (Utah, Arizona State) and catch Arizona on the right night?

This Oregon trip will help provide clarity. The Huskies need at least a split. But if they want to prove that they're fully recovered and ready to make a serious postseason run, they'll sweep both games and continue to prosper.

Yes, the Huskies are 11-2 since starting the season 5-5. It's impressive, but somehow it feels like they're enjoying a mild streak, not a hot streak. They're winning, sometimes even while playing so-so, but they're winning. They're not cold. They're not sizzling, either. They're just pleasantly mild. Win these games, though, and there should be no denying that they're hot and that they've figured out something significant.

Whether it's sustainable, well, who knows with this team? They always flirt with danger. That's just who they are. With a freshman (Tony Wroten Jr.) and a sophomore (Terrence Ross) leading them, with youth all around a small core of upperclassmen, the Huskies are going to be erratic. But their strengths are becoming more defined. Can they overcome themselves? Interesting question.

This road trip will provide clarity.

Potential key to tonight's game with Oregon: Can C.J. Wilcox get going while battling this femur injury? Wilcox, the Huskies' best shooter, was 3 for 11 and missed all four of his three-pointers last week against UCLA and USC.