CLICK ABOVE FOR 6-10

NCAA Basketball Power Rankings Rank LW Team 11 12 Oregon Ducks (10-0) I'm watching the Arizona-Memphis game Wednesday night, and the talk is about how Oregon is the "surprise" of the Pac-10 (a valid statement) and up flashes a graphic of Ducks star Bryce Taylor, who's averaging 17.0 points and 5.9 rebounds. The color guy -- I think it was Marques Johnson, who wore an afro when he won the Wooden Award in 1977 at UCLA -- comments Taylor has cut off his "wild afro" and really dedicated himself to the game. Granted, Taylor is a better player without the hair than with it, but how much did the shave actually matter? Were the unkempt ends of his 'fro somehow suppressing his desire to succeed, or obstructing his peripheral vision? Then I flip over to Arkansas-Texas on ESPN2 in time to watch pony-tailed Hog Steven Hill brick a couple of free throws, and am told by an analyst that "obviously his strength is not in his hair." Yet another attack on the hirsute, this time with a nonsensical attempt to draw a correlation between Samson-like strength and charity-stripe accuracy. What gives? Next three: 12/23 vs. Mercer, 12/28 vs. Portland, 12/30 at Oregon State. 12 6 Oklahoma State (11-1) Why are the Cowboys still in the rankings after their loss to Tennessee on Monday? It was basically an away game (in Nashville); they only lost by two; and the Vols crack the rankings this week, so it's not a black mark on the 'Pokes' resume. One thing I do question, however, is announcers who say that Sean Sutton's first team is "playing defense like his father's old clubs." This Cowboys team does defend well on the perimeter (holding Tennessee to 4-of-23 on threes), but the end result isn't all that spectacular because they don't seal off the defensive glass (they're ranked 250th in offensive-board-percentage allowed, at 36.7). Sutton's squad made my Early Warnings list because its defensive efficiency rating is an average 93.1, which ranks 78th in the country. A vintage Eddie Sutton team was much better -- take the one which went to the 2004 Final Four, which had a DE rating of 87.5, ranking 10th in the nation. Next three: 12/21 vs. Pittsburgh, 12/30 vs. UT-San Antonio, 1/2 vs. Southwest Oklahoma. 13 14 Air Force (11-1) The Falcons are in the midst of a 10-day break, so their spot is being hijacked for the first half of the Power Rankings' Year-End Music Top 10 (with each artist's hometown university in parentheses). Last-minute shopping ideas abound here: 10. DeVotchKa's Curse Your Little Heart EP (Hometown U: Denver) 9. Cat Power's The Greatest (Georgia Tech) 8. Nomo's New Tones (Michigan) 7. Neil Young's Live at Fillmore East (U of Toronto) 6. Midlake's Trials of Van Occupanther (North Texas) (If you're ticked about the lack of Air Force content, I offer this link. Bzdelik's boys were the focus of the Inside College Basketball section of SI's Year-End Issue.) Next three: 12/23 at Northern Colorado, 12/28 at George Washington, 1/3 at Colorado State. 14 10 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1) While we're waiting for point guard Ronald Steele to heal, so we can figure out just how good (or, perhaps, overrated) the Tide actually are, the 'Bama section gets used for the second half of the Year-End Music Top 10: 5. Peter, Bjorn & John's Writer's Block (Stockholm U) 4. Marc Moulin's Placebo Years (Université Libre de Bruxelles) 3. The Black Keys' Chulahoma (Akron) 2. M. Ward's Post-War (Portland) 1. Vetiver's To Find Me Gone (San Francisco) Following the Tide's 82-75 win at N.C. State on Wednesday, Steele -- who is dealing with a sprained right ankle and tendonitis in his left knee -- said he was at 75 percent. Next three: 12/23 vs. Coppin State, 12/29 vs. Lipscomb, 1/1 vs. Oklahoma. 15 - Texas Longhorns (9-2) I have mixed emotions after watching the last few minutes of Texas' win over Arkansas on Wednesday night -- or specifically, watching Kevin Durant in the last few minutes. The NBA age-limit rule was supposed to benefit the NCAA -- and it has certainly upped the talent level -- but there's an unfortunate byproduct: the rise of the crunch-time isolation play. You know, the one where eight players stand off to the side while Kobe attacks a defender one-on-one, backing him down, forcing a foul, and then hitting two free throws. Durant is good enough to justify calling the "iso" against a man-to-man D, and even though the 'Horns have a trio of other clutch scorers (D.J. Augustin, Justin Mason and A.J. Abrams) I suspect we'll be seeing many more iso plays this season. Texas is one of the more exciting teams to watch, due in large part to Durant and its wide-open offense, but there are times when it just doesn't feel like college hoops. Next three: 12/23 at Tennessee, 12/28 vs. Centenary, 1/2 vs. Texas-Arlington. 16 - Georgia Bulldogs (7-1) I agonized over who should take this last spot. Washington, perhaps, after its thrashing of LSU on Wednesday night (which made my Early Warnings look unnecessary)? But how could I put the Huskies in ahead of Gonzaga, which beat its intrastate rival by 20? And then, how could I put Gonzaga in ahead of Georgia, which just beat the 'Zags by 13 on a semi-neutral court? Maybe I'm misguided, but the Dawgs are the pick. I've been highly impressed by their guard play -- Mike Mercer, Levi Stukes and Sundiata Gaines are the most underrated backcourt trio in the nation right now. Don't be surprised if they knock off Wisconsin on New Year's Eve in Athens. Next three: 12/23 at Georgia Tech, 12/28 at Clemson, 12/31 vs. Wisconsin.

ON THE CUSP: Again, Kansas and Florida (just waiting for them to earn their way in with a good win, that's all), Pitt (best win is ... Florida State), Washington, Gonzaga, Boston College, UConn, Clemson, Dayton, Illinois, Washington State, Missouri State, Maryland, Drexel, Nevada.

Send your Power Rankings mail to Luke Winn here.