January 4 Top 25 Thoughts

1. UCLA: as we have said, they need to get some big road wins before they can be considered #1.

2. UNC: also needs some road wins under their belt. Start this weekend with ACC play. Have 9 really talented players. Getting them to know their roles, with limited minutes for most everyone, is going to be key. If they all buy into "team play" then this team can make a strong run for the Final Four and the Championship, as did the 2005 team.

3. Florida: dangerous. Can defintely repeat as NCAA Champions.

4. Wisconsin: NOT a number 4 but should be in top ten.

5. Duke: not many stars on this team. Will struggle in the ACC, especially on the road, if Paulas cannot compete hard each game. Look for them to fall hard at the end of the regular season as teams figure out their weaknesses on offense and shut them down. OVERRATED.

6. Ohio State: there is no real defense for Greg Oden. They will lose some games in conference, and he needs to be able to pass out of the triple teaming he will see.

7. Arizona: for real. Mark your calendars for the January 27 match up with North Carolina. Maybe the best game of the regular season.

8. Alabama: will be hard to beat in the SEC. Two big men giving some big points and rebounds. Will fall against Florida, but should slide through the regular season relatively easily.

9. Kansas: hard to call. The loss to Oral Roberts, granted, was early in the season, but they have some difficult games against OK State and Texas A&M ahead in conference play. At this point they should not be struggling against teams like Rhode Island, but they are.

10. Pitt: proved tonight they can win big games on the road. Should be ranked higher.

11. Texas A&M: Should they be #11? Uh, no.

12. OK State: Final Four material.

13. Butler: sleeper team. Sweet Sixteen or bust!

14. LSU: losses to Wichita State and Washington should not be counted against them. They will show themselves in the next 5 days as they face UConn at home and Alabama away.

15. Marquette: OVERRATED. Loss to Providence tonight should bump them out of the top 20. They will continue to falter down the stretch.

16. Oregon: loss to unranked USC does not bode well for the Ducks, especially with them facing UCLA in two days. If they can get out of the PAC-10 with a .500 record they will be lucky. They need to work on finishing strong.

17. Notre Dame: don't let the 2 point loss to Butler hamper your opinion of them. They can rule the Big East and get a high seed in the NCAA Tourney.

18. UConn: have two rough games coming up against LSU and Marquette. Make or break time for the Huskies.

19. UT: NOT a top 25 team.

20. Air Force: will slide easily through the Mountain West on the way to the NCAA Tourney. We like this team. UNDERRATED.

21. Nevada: Wait and see. Playing in relatively weak conference.

22. Memphis: Should be ranked in the teens. Lots of talent here, but can they gel?

23. Clemson: will struggle on the road. Bye-bye top 25.

24. Washington: three straight losses? Bye-bye. USC should move into the rankings while Washington moves out.

25. WVU: games with Marquette and Notre Dame will show us what they are made of.