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| NCAA Basketball Power Rankings |
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Washington State Cougars (11-0)
The Cougars' resume -- an 11-0 record, with road wins over Gonzaga and Baylor -- gives them the look of a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but a No. 1 may already be out of reach. Given that its non-conference strength of schedule ranks 224th, Wazzu would probably need to win the Pac-10 regular season and the league tournament to earn a top seed. Of the teams in the top eight of these rankings, the Cougars' non-league schedule -- which is bogged down by six games against the bottom 140 of the RPI -- is by far the worst:Team Non-Con. Games vs.
SOS RPI 201+
Memphis 41 4
Mich St. 52 3
Texas 68 5
Kansas 70 3
UNC 78 4
Pitt 112 1
UCLA 163 3
Wash. St. 224 6
Next three: 12/28 vs. North Carolina A&T, 1/5 vs. Washington
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UCLA Bruins (11-1)
The nice thing about being a college basketball star at UCLA and a Cameroonian royal is that you acquire a hybrid nickname like the "Prince of Westwood." The bad thing is, what with the Bruins' tight schedule and the unavailability of affordable, supersonic intercontinental travel, you can't make it home for Christmas. And so Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and fellow (non-royal) Cameroonian Alfred Aboya were both stuck in Los Angeles for the holidays. UCLA coach Ben Howland told the Times that Bruins fans shouldn't be concerned about them getting lonely, though: "They have a lot of friends they've made. Cameroonians, girlfriends."
Next three: 12/29 vs. UC-Davis, 1/3 at Stanford, 1/5 at Cal
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Pittsburgh Panthers (11-0)
For opposing hecklers, Levance Fields has assumed the Marcus Williams Role: That of the uber-talented point guard who's an easy target for harassment due to his past legal transgressions. For Williams -- and to a much lesser degree, current UConn guard A.J. Price -- it was fans yelling "laptops" during Big East road games, referencing their infamous attempt to steal and pawn fellow students' notebook computers. For Fields, the keywords are "stun gun" or "taser," because he was tasered by Pittsburgh police in September outside of a nightclub. "It's funny, but I try to hold it in," Fields told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of chants he heard against Duke at Madison Square Garden. "I don't want to let them know I'm laughing about it." One way to shut them up: Drill the game-winning three in overtime after a vicious step-back move ... and lift your team into the top 10 of the Power Rankings.
Next three: 12/29 at Dayton, 1/2 vs. Lafayette, 1/6 at. Villanova
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Tennessee Vols (11-1)
Who knew J.P. Prince would have such a big impact -- and so quickly -- for the Vols? The transfer most expected to provide Tennessee with a boost was ex-Iowa Hawkeye Tyler Smith, who has been a solid addition to the rotation as their fourth-leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and second-best rebounder (5.1 rpg). But Prince, who left Arizona midway through the '06-07 season and became eligible on Dec. 15, came up huge for the Vols in their biggest victory to date, an 82-75 win at Xavier last Saturday. Prince scored 23 points in 19 minutes, "and it felt like 40," said Musketeers coach Sean Miller. Vanderbilt was rumored to be Prince's first choice after cutting ties with Arizona. Good thing for Bruce Pearl that the 'Dores couldn't accept any January transfers; as Tennessee duels it out with Vandy for the SEC title this year, Prince will play a major role.
Next three: 12/29 vs. Gonzaga (in Seattle), 1/9 vs. Ole Miss, 1/12 at South Carolina
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Arizona Wildcats (9-2)
As exciting as the Wildcats' young'uns are, no one on the current Arizona roster is as fun to watch as their point-guard-in-the-wings, Oak Hill Academy senior Brandon Jennings. In a high-school showcase at the McKale Center following the 'Cats' Dec. 22 rout of San Diego State, Jennings scored 49 points in 32 minutes. Afterward, he campaigned for freshman two-guard Jerryd Bayless and sophomore swingman Chase Budinger -- both legit first-round prospects for the 2008 NBA Draft -- to stick around for another season of college ball. "I'm really close with Jerryd and Chase," Jennings told the Green Valley News. "The three of us together? We could bring the national championship back to Tucson, where it belongs." Jennings could also legitimately contend for first-team All-America honors -- although that cause would be aided by D.J. Augustin and Ty Lawson jumping to the pros.
Next three: 12/29 at Memphis, 1/3 vs. Oregon State, 1/5 vs. Oregon
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