Wisconsin is not pretty, but has earned No. 1 over KU

Wisconsin may not be an aesthetically pleasing No. 1, but it's beaten two of the AP's top-10 teams (Pitt and Ohio State) and another top-25 squad (Marquette). No other school can match the Badgers' resume -- and so, for the second straight week, they stay at the top.

NCAA Basketball Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 1 Wisconsin Badgers (18-1) Bo Ryan's Pioneer Days UW-Platteville Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan is following in the footsteps of greats such as James Naismith, John Wooden, Lute Olson and Mike Krzyzewski and getting a court named after him. Not in Madison, though. (What, did you think they would canonize the guy after five-and-a half years at UW?) The University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where Ryan won four Division III national championships between 1991-99, is honoring him on Jan. 27 by naming the Williams Fieldhouse floor "Bo Ryan Court." The Badgers, who play at Iowa the next day, have volunteered to attend the presentation. "As I was talking on the phone with members of [UW-Platteville's athletic department], Alando Tucker was listening in and asked why the entire team couldn't go," Ryan told the UW-P's student newspaper. "So now we will all make the trip." Hopefully they'll be exposed to old Bo pictures like this one from the '91 title team, in which he has yet to start resembling a Badger, and current Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is still a player ... with a classic moustache. Next three: 1/20 at Illinois, 1/24 vs. Michigan, 1/28 at Iowa. 2 3 Kansas Jayhawks (16-2) I wrote a column about Sherron Collins in September 2005, when he was at the center of a recruiting war between KU's Bill Self and Illinois' Bruce Weber. Back then, Collins' high school coach, Anthony Longstreet, said the Chicago star had been impressed by Self's tradition-heavy recruiting pitch (saying, "I didn't know they had that much history."). The last time I saw the Illini on TV, I thought, screw history -- Collins could be averaging 33 minutes and 20 points per game for Weber, rather than the 19.4 and 8.5 he's getting as a Jayhawks reserve. But Collins actually went and made himself a part of KU lore Tuesday against Missouri, scoring the Jayhawks' final bucket with 44 seconds left on a drive to the hole in which he lost one of his shoes. In the aftermath, he crawled up from a pile of two Tigers defenders, holding the shoe and looking for a ref to stop the game for him. When he realized that wouldn't happen, he threw the white adidas toward press row and raced up the floor. Mizzou never scored again -- KU won 80-77 -- and Collins finished with 23 points. It was his true arrival as a Jayhawk. Next three: 1/20 at Texas Tech, 1/24 at Baylor, 1/27 vs. Colorado. 3 6 Oregon Ducks (14-1) Malik Hairston is one of the two Detroit exports (the other is Tajuan Porter) who have helped lead the Ducks' surprising rise to the top of the Pac-10. And now Hairston is trying to put a Motor City stamp on a non-Michigan teammate, too. After Seattle-born point guard Aaron Brooks hit the game-winner with two seconds left at Arizona on Sunday, Hairston told The Oregonian, "He's Mr. Big Shot. I call him Chauncey Billups, because that's Chauncey's nickname." If the undersized Ducks just had someone Malik could call 'Sheed Wallace, they'd be a shoo-in for the Final Four. Next three: 1/18 vs. Stanford, 1/20 vs. Cal, 1/25 at Washington. 4 4 UCLA Bruins (14-1) The great drama at the end of the Bruins' 65-64 win at USC on Saturday was fueled by a shrewd strategic move. USC's Tim Floyd was the first coach (to my knowledge) to order a deliberate, off-the-ball foul of UCLA's Lorenzo Mata late in a game. The Bruins were up three with 36 seconds left, and Mata was completely out of FSN's camera frame on the inbounds play. He was, to a minor degree, attacked by the Trojans' Taj Gibson and sent to the line. There was good reason for the foul: Mata is shooting 32.6 percent from the line this season. Brick-Mata -- who otherwise was having a monster game, with 12 points and eight boards -- bricked both, and Nick Young converted a four-point play on the other end to give the Trojans the lead. Obviously worried about Mata-hacking becoming a trend, UCLA coach Ben Howland told the L.A. Daily News he had talked with Pac-10 coordinator of officials Bill McCabe about the issue. "I think [intentional fouls] will get called more than you think," Howland said. Arron Afflalo's game-winner erased the problem this time, but will it cost the Bruins down the road? Next three: 1/18 vs. Arizona State, 1/20 vs. Arizona, 1/15 at Cal. 5 5 Florida Gators (16-2) The Gators, and not Wisconsin, Kansas or UCLA, ascended to the top of the AP poll this week, getting 43 of the 72 first-place votes (including one from our own Hoop Thinker Seth Davis, who baited me by e-mailing over his ballot). I guess I understand it; if you're intent on anointing the team that looks the most like a No. 1, then go with Florida. The Gators are in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and if I had to fill out a mock tourney bracket right now, I'd pick them to win the national title. But why not take into account the actual results of this season's games, and hold off on giving Billy D and the boys the No. 1 AP ranking until they've earned it? At least three teams have better cases for No. 1, even by AP thinking: • Kansas has the same record as Florida, has won 10 straight, including a rout of Oklahoma State ... and the Jayhawks beat the Gators on a neutral court. • UCLA has only one loss, to a great Oregon team by two on the road, and wins over Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and USC. • Wisconsin didn't blow out Ohio State, and Florida did, but the Badgers routed Florida State (which beat UF), and have also downed Pitt and Marquette. The Gators' only "good" win other than OSU is Arkansas. Wisconsin has a leg up. Next three: 1/20 vs. Mississippi, 1/24 at Mississippi State, 1/27 at Auburn.

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