1. UCONN - Surprisingly, Michigan gave the Huskies more of a scare than Louisville did; UConn breaks the #1 curse and remains atop the poll with Syracuse and Seton Hall up next.
2. UNC - The Heels scored uncontested wins over Maryland and Virginia last week... this week? You guessed it... Duke at Cameron Indoor on Wednesday; a road contest at Miami on Sunday is no consolation prize either!
3. OKLAHOMA - Boomer Sooner will go as far as POY candidate, Blake Griffin, will take it; OU wasn't convincing in wins over TAMU and Colorado, but a win's a win, especially in the conference.
4. PITT - The Panthers jump back into the top five after crushing Robert Morris and DePaul this week, by 20 and 23 points respectively... and that was being kind!
5. LOUISVILLE - Louisville overcame a three-point halftime deficit at St. John's over the weekend to calm the Red Storm, 60-47; the Cards looked hung-over in the first half, which I'm sure, can be attributed to an early week loss to Connecticut at Freedom Hall.
6. MEMPHIS - Since Conference USA doesn't pose a challenge, coach Cal brought his team up to Spokane, Washington on Saturday; fans, along with the ESPN College Gameday crew, witnessed a Tyreke Evans take over in leading the Tigers to an 18-point victory over ranked-host, Gonzaga.
7. VILLANOVA - Behind 31-points from senior forward, Dante Cunningham, Villanova posted its highest point total in history against Syracuse, beating the Orange on Saturday, 102-85.
8. WAKE FOREST - Don't mention the name, Jack McClinton, to a Wake Forest fan for a while; the Miami senior posted a career best 32-points in the Canes' 27-point victory over the former #1 Demon Deacons; Wake rebounded nicely by clipping the wings of the BC Eagles on Sunday.
9. DUKE - Speaking of 27-point road losses on Wednesday of last week, Duke was owned by Clemson, warranting a Tigers floor-rush at the game's final whistle; Duke then needed overtime to beat Miami back in Durham despite McClinton setting a new career high in points with 34.
10. MARQUETTE - After starting off the Big East Conference schedule with nine straight wins, MU was tripped up at South Florida last week in a rare Friday night match-up.
11. UCLA - Since losing at Washington, UCLA has put together a four-game Pauley Pavilion win streak, which includes back to back victories over arch-rival USC as national-rival Notre Dame.
12. XAVIER - Too bad for Xavier, not only was their 11-game winning streak snapped at Duquesne, XU was also the first ranked opponent that the Dukes beat in their last 24 tries.
13. UTAH STATE - The Aggies added to the nation's longest active winning streak, now up to 18-games, thanks to a 60-52 escape from Louisiana Lafayette on Saturday.
14. CLEMSON - The worst thing Clemson could have done after dominating Duke by 27-points, was to lay an egg against Florida State over the weekend... sure enough, the Tigers choked and split the week's activities.
15. MICHIGAN STATE - With home losses already to Northwestern and Penn State, it's easy to look back and say that you had given Indiana a shot... and you were wrong; Izzo got after his team and watched Indiana continue to struggle from everywhere.
16. BUTLER - To continue the trend of streaks ending, Butler's 21-game Horizon League run came to an end, thanks to a 75-66 loss at Wisconsin Green Bay last Monday.
17. GONZAGA - Sure, the Zags have control of the WCC, but how will that prepare them for the tournament? If Saturday's loss to Memphis is any indication, it could be let-down city for the Bulldogs.
18. KANSAS - Slowly but surely, the defending champs are forcing themselves into the national picture again; the Jayhawks have won nine in a row and remain undefeated in the Big 12.
19. ILLINOIS - Mike Davis' double-double against Purdue was only one of the reasons that the Orange Crush went crazy on Sunday; however, Illini fans were less than pleased with their mid-week loss at Wisconsin.
20. MISSOURI - With consecutive wins over Baylor, Texas and Iowa State, Mizzou has CoMo rockin' as if it were football season; Kansas pays a visit on Monday... bring ear plugs, even if you're just watching on TV, because these schools downright hate each other.
21. PURDUE - Purdue's formula for success is very simple: No Hummel, no victory; the Sophomore guard is dealing with back problems and does not expect to be healthy for the remainder of the season.
22. TEXAS - Hook'em sure got hooked this week... twice! The Horns have now lost their last three, and fell victim to Nebraska students rushing the court after the Huskers' 58-55 win on Saturday.
23. OHIO STATE - The Buckeyes have pieced together a four-game winning-streak without the likes of David Lighty; once he returns, and B.J. Mullins wakes up, the Buckeyes could be a big time bubble buster come March.
24. ARIZONA STATE - After dropping a pair to the Washington schools last week in Tempe, the Sun Devils went up north to Oregon and stole a pair of "W's;" first on Thursday from the Ducks, then over the Beavers on Saturday.
25. DAYTON - Despite Dayton and Xavier both having lost this past week, nothing will take away the excitement and bitterness between the Flyers and Musketeers when they meet on Wednesday at UD Arena.
e #1 curse and remains atop the poll with Syracuse and Seton Hall up next.
