Keith Langford is averaging 14.5 points per game for Kansas. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

We don't know which is more astonishing: that the only team to beat rampant North Carolina (Santa Clara) got swept in its own tourney by Central Connecticut State and Yale, or that the 'Bag was stopped on the floor of Rupp Arena on Sunday by someone wondering if our sixth annual Magic Eight© was coming out this week. (Hint to SI.com ad sales: Time to get a corporate sponsor for this sucker!)

So here we are again, fearlessly gazing into the Eight Ball (in early January, no less) and guaranteeing that one of the following octet will raise the championship trophy in St. Louis on April 4. (And to make that guarantee mean something, if any non-Magic Eight team wins it all, we'll start off the first 'Bag of 2005-06 wearing this T-shirt: HEY SETH, THE 'BAG PAYS OFF ITS BETS.)

Just so you know, the Magic Eight is four-for-five over the years (Syracuse in 2003 being the lone exception), and we'll soon make that five-for-six. Here are your 2005 nominees (in alphabetical order):

Boston College
What was that we said way back on Nov. 24 when asked which unranked teams (at the time) had a chance to be top 10 outfits by season's end? The 'Bag named Charlotte (now 10-2) and B.C.: "The Craig Smith-led Eagles have the toughness and the experience (four returning starters) to be a potential top-10 team." Well, we knew that Smith and Jared Dudley would stand out, but if freshman Sean Williams keeps going off (he had a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds against Providence on Saturday) then expectations for this bunch have to be revised even higher.

Duke
When Coach K called the 'Bag after the Blue Devils' win against Temple on Saturday, he sounded less like his twin Fredo and more like the Don himself. "We've only got seven guys right now, and every game is a challenge," he mumbled, his voice hoarse and tired. Not to worry. Duke has been underestimated all season, but not in this space. When Shavlik Randolph returns from mono, expect the Blue Devils to keep climbing until they peak in March.

Gonzaga
So impressed was Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson with the Zags' de facto road win against Oklahoma State that he called Mark Few just to say, "Don't set your sights too low in March." Not many teams could have done that to the Cowboys, so we won't let losses to Missouri and St. Mary's dump us off the Gonzaga bandwagon. Fact is, we've already seen on the court (against Georgia Tech, OSU and Washington) that the Zags are capable of things few teams in the nation can do. Their challenge is to keep that up for six straight games without a letdown.

Illinois
Yes, it's possible the Illini will finally pick up an L at some point (with upcoming road games at Wisconsin on Jan. 25 and Michigan State on Feb. 1). But that wouldn't diminish our enthusiasm about a team that just keeps on proving its class. Had you told me in November that Luther Head would be on my midseason All-America team, I'd have said you were as ridiculous as Bruce Weber's lucky orange sportscoat. The way the Illini move the ball as a team, it's as if they got together with LeBron James and said, Let's start a trend of showing kids how to play the right way.

Kansas
Admit it: You thought the Jayhawks would do no better than 1-1 against Georgia Tech and Kentucky without Wayne Simien. I thought so, too, but we overlooked the Gladiator-quality heart of veterans like Aaron Miles, Keith Langford and Michael Lee. The Jayhawks can make a decent case for No. 1, by the way: Illinois and UNC may be the nation's most dominant teams, but neither has beaten a Top 10 team on the road as Kansas did in Lexington on Sunday.

North Carolina
Wow. SI's preseason No. 1 opened a major can of whup-ass on Maryland Saturday, and two wins this week against Georgia Tech (at home) and Wake Forest (on the road) would vault the Heels past Illinois into "scariest team in the land" territory. Not to look past the Tech game, but how fired up are you for UNC-Wake on Saturday in their only regular-season meeting? The Deacs are feeling it these days, and if they can give us a game like the double-OT classic from last season, we'd be much obliged.

Oklahoma State
For some reason the Cowboys got a major downgrade from pundits after losing a close one in Oklahoma City to Gonzaga. We know better, and now that Joey Graham is really starting to pour it on we're as committed as ever to the team the 'Bag tabbed as our personal choice to win it all back in November.

Syracuse
You might think I'm just doing this to avoid the wrath of Orange fans, who (along with Maryland partisans) have the most pronounced insecurities in the nation. But I really do like the chances of this group. Jim Boeheim's guys play a style that's unique among top teams, they have players who've gone all the way, and they just look different: Nobody else has a player quite like Hakim Warrick. It wasn't just Carmelo who won that title, you know.

Who got left off?

Keep in mind, this year's Magic Eight was easily the most excruciating one we've had to assemble, the result of a glorious college hoops season in which more teams than ever have a chance to win it all. (Call this a blatant plug for the 'Bag's story in this week's SI mag.) But let's not be shy: We're saying here that several top teams will NOT win the national title:

Wake Forest
The Deacs may well beat North Carolina on Saturday, and they may even make it to the Final Four. But we think they're a lot like the movie Sideways: excellent in nearly every respect, but in the end not the No. 1 team that so many observers were/are saying. (New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott, in a rare moment of clarity, made the Sideways argument recently, and we're inclined to agree - -see our Top 10 movies of 2004 below.) Wake's a terrific attacking team, but the defensive problems that plagued it last season haven't disappeared entirely, nor have some of the questions inside.

Georgia Tech
After his team's surprising title-game run last year, Paul Hewitt would be the first person to say January predictions don't matter, and he's got a point. But something just seems a hair off about this year's Jackets. Maybe it's because Marvin Lewis was a bigger loss than expected. Or that Luke Schenscher hasn't become the dominant center that he was against Oklahoma State in the Final Four. Or that Will Bynum still seems like he's flying solo sometimes. That said, Jarrett Jack is busy staking a claim as the best point guard in the ACC, which is why we're terrified that this team will prove us wrong in St. Louis.

Texas
We love the Longhorns, a scarily complete team that has become a trendy Final Four sleeper pick (in the Georgia Tech '04 mode) from its third-banana standing in the Big 12. The near-win at Wake sold me on UT, but I'm rolling the dice here and saying I just don't see another freshman-heavy team winning it all so soon after the aberration season that Syracuse had in 2003.

Kentucky
'Cats fans may think the sky is falling after Sunday's home loss to a Simien-less Kansas, but there's still so much potential on this team to go with a proven winner in Chuck Hayes. Tubby Smith has shown he won't just go with players on reputation -- hence the word that freshman Joe Crawford will transfer -- and in the end Kentucky will be better for Smith's approach. We just aren't positive the 'Cats will have it all figured out by March. (And yes, we apologize for mis-ID'ing Randolph Morris last week.)

Connecticut
Maybe Jim Calhoun cast a spell over me with his two titles in six years, but I thought the Huskies would hardly miss a beat without Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon. Yet several players have underachieved on this team, from Charlie Villanueva (who's showing signs of waking up) to Rashad Anderson to Denham Brown. A point guard is what's missing, and I don't think it's possible to get it all together in time for the tournament.

OPENING THE 'BAG ...

	MAILBAG Grant Wahl will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

How many times do I have to tell you guys? You've gotta start sending in some good, smart questions. This week was your worst performance yet. I feel like a disappointed coach here.

With all of the recent changes in college hoops (shot clock, 3-point line, etc.) isn't it time for the charging call to go? It's the most inconsistently called rule in the book (I won't mention palming or traveling) and seems to have no purpose in today's game. Why should a team on defense get the ball when all they have to do is jump under someone and flop to the ground?
-- Dino Evans, Atlanta

Nothing causes me to yell at the TV screen more than when a defender gets rewarded for taking a "charge" right under the basket. I'm not going to go all the way and say charging should be completely stricken from the rule book, but the NCAA needs to add the NBA's charge ring below the basket ASAP and stop rewarding lazy flops. Another change that needs to be made: no more calling timeouts while falling out of bounds. I'm actually OK with the tie-up rule as it is, despite all the bizarre squawking from some commentators.

Will Wisconsin be able to give the Illini a run for their money when they come to the Kohl Center?
-- Aaron, Madison, Wis.

I fully expect the Badgers to give Illinois a tight game. There's a reason why Wisconsin has the nation's longest home-court winning streak, and the Kohl Center (despite being a character-free mausoleum) comes to life when UW-Madison fans are inside. Bo Ryan's players seem to respond. One word of caution, though: Wisconsin may not be quite as good as I thought it was heading into the season, and the Badgers certainly turn into Clark Kent on the road (witness losses at Pepperdine and Indiana). I think Illinois is going to take this one in a close contest.

How come Northern Iowa hasn't received any recognition nationally? The Panthers have two of the most underrated guards in America in Ben Jacobson and Erik Crawford and one of the nation's top freshmen in big man Eric Coleman. This is a team that gave Georgia Tech fits in last year's tourney and every starter returns for next year. Not to mention they blew a 20-point lead at Cincinnati and played Iowa down to last seconds. The Missouri Valley as a whole does not get the recognition it deserves. This is a team that I see as a potential Cinderella this year.
-- Marc Wilson II, Kent, Ohio

I like Northern and I've given plenty of love to the Missouri Valley, which deserves as many as three NCAA Tournament bids. You make a good case for these guys above, but in the end Northern Iowa lost all those games. It's one thing to play a good team well; it's another to seal the deal.

As for our nomination of Stetson's Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims Jr. as the best name in college hoops history, we got several responses from readers. They included arguments for Nebraska's Cookie Belcher (from Matt Armstrong of Rochester, Minn.) and Providence's God Shammgod ("Two Gods beat a kicking stallion any day," writes Jason Kisling of Rockford, Ill.). Send in any other nominees and we'll get 'em in the 'Bag.

OUR TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2004

Now that our pal Jon Wertheim is writing a food column (!) on SI.com, the 'Bag hereby starts the drumbeat for an SI.com movie column. Until then, you're stuck with my cinematic ramblings in this space.

Before we get into our Top 10 movie list of 2004, we'll issue the caveat that I haven't yet seen Vera Drake (waiting for the DVD now) or Million Dollar Baby, which has only just opened here in Boston. (Speaking of which, does anyone know if there's a Web site anywhere that lists when movies open in particular cities around the country? There are few things more annoying than reading about a movie opening in the New York Times and having to wait a month to see it in your town.)

Anyway, our Top 10 of 2004:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Michel Gondry's film is a classic, from the memorable preview trailers to the time-bending storyline (this is how you do it, Charlie Kaufman) to the spot-on acting by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey. How many movies provide a dozen remarkable images that remain in your mind eight months later?

2. Before Sunset. Great dialogue lives. Richard Linklater's sequel to Before Sunrise is 80 minutes of pure pleasure. (And we're not just saying this because the 'Bag Lady has the same name as Julie Delpy's marvelously French character.)

3. Bad Education. Pedro Almodóvar does it again, producing movies with Woody Allen frequency (and the old Woody Allen's quality).

4. Hotel Rwanda. Don Cheadle had better get a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina, a Kigali hotel manager who saved more than 1,000 lives during the Rwandan genocide. So good that it made me reread the remarkable Rwanda book by Philip Gourevitch, We Wish To Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families.

5. María Full of Grace. A harrowing tale of young Colombian women who serve as cocaine "mules" for the cartels. Catalina Sandino Moreno puts the everyday fright of landing at Newark Airport into a new perspective.

6. Ray. Not much more to say than this: Jamie Foxx nailed Ray Charles.

7. The Motorcycle Diaries. Walter Salles' visually stunning account of Ché Guevara's early years will make you want to take your next vacation in South America. Gael García Bernal is fast becoming one of my all-time favorite actors.

8. We Don't Live Here Anymore. Why this film on infidelity starring Naomi Watts and Mark Ruffalo didn't get more pub is beyond me.

9. Sideways. Paul Giamatti's meltdown, in which he pours a wine-tasting spit bucket over his head, may have been the year's single funniest scene.

10. Garden State. Zach Braff's debut directorial effort (he acts, too) owes much to The Graduate, but it has its own sensibility that's both hilarious and not a little poignant.

Honorable Mention: Friday Night Lights, Touching the Void, Fahrenheit 9/11, Control Room, Kinsey, Closer, The Life Aquatic, Collateral, I Heart Huckabees.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH (PUGILISTS EDITION)

Illinois' Roger Powell Jr. and Evander Holyfield.
-- Pat Atkins, St. Louis

Gonzaga's Ronny Turiaf and Lennox Lewis.
-- Lowell Winston-Salem, N.C.

See you next week.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl covers college basketball for the magazine and SI.com.