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Memphis Tigers (16-0)
Marshall will not be opening a Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes School of Measurement any time in the near future. Or probably ever. The senior guard's bio says he is pursuing a master's degree in adult teaching and education, but that curriculum probably includes very little math. When asked, after a Jan. 12 loss to Memphis, whether Derrick Rose was the fastest point guard he's seen in college, Cespedes answered (to the Charleston Gazzette), "Is he the fastest? I don't know. I don't have a 'fast meter' calculator or whatever, I don't know. He's a fast player."
If one were to actually use a fast meter calculator -- they're available at most sports stores, and surprisingly affordable! -- I bet Rose would clock in right behind Carolina's Ty Lawson, and right ahead of UCLA's Darren Collison. In case you needed an official answer.
Next three: 1/19 vs. Southern Miss, 1/23 at Tulsa, 1/26 vs. Gonzaga
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Kansas Jayhawks (17-0)
CSTV has been posting a series of instructional videos -- well, just two, as far as I can tell, but I'd like more -- on YouTube that feature NCAA players rather than coaches. The Jayhawks' Russell Robinson, one of the country's preeminent pickpockets, has a video titled "Learn The Steal," in which he essentially tells you to make the ballhandler uncomforable, then make your move. Easier said than done. It also comes complete with cheesy tagline, after Russell throws down a jam: "After you get stolen from, you might get dunked on, so watch out." The other video, which is perhaps more smoothly executed, is Memphis Chris Douglas-Roberts teaching his patented crossover, plus a spinning countermove. His tag is pretty solid, too: "That's my go-to move, don't try to steal it."
Next three: 1/19 at Missouri, 1/23 vs. Iowa State, 1/26 vs. Nebraska
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North Carolina Tar Heels (18-0)
This is the week, it seems, to point out the cracks in Carolina, which has long been entrenched at No. 1 in the AP poll but has been taken to the wire by average ACC teams -- Clemson and Georgia Tech -- in both of its league road games. The Basketball Prosectus take on the Heels is that they barely have claim on being the nation's fourth-best team, behind Kansas, Memphis and UCLA, and slightly ahead of Duke. And SI.com's Grant Wahl made the extremely bold move of leaving UNC out of his Magic Eight -- perhaps the most notable exclusion in the history of his eight-ball series. His problem with the Heels is that they don't play the elite brand of defense that the other contenders do. That's become evident away from Chapel Hill this month ... and while I am going to elevate a far more dominant Kansas team above the Heels, I'm not ready to write off a team from which I just put three players (Hansbrough, Ellington and Lawson) on my mid-season Naismith ballot.
Next three: 1/19 vs. Maryland, 1/23 at Miami (Fla.), 1/21 vs. Boston College
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UCLA Bruins (16-1)
As recruiting strategies go, there is no more important one than "stacking point guards" -- always making sure you have a solid one in the starting lineup, and his replacement waiting in the wings. There are plenty of things for which Bruins coach Ben Howland deserves praise -- bringing suffocating defense to Westwood, going to back-to-back Final Fours, luring in Kevin Love -- but he seems most savvy for the way he's overlapping the careers of floor generals Jordan Farmar, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook. UCLA survived when Collison was hurt early in the season, and now Westbrook, who's averaging 12.1 points and 5.3 assists per game, is right up with UNC's Danny Green and Kansas' Sherron Collins in the nation's-best-sixth-man conversation. Other contenders who have used this strategy well of late:
• UNC, with Ty Lawson, Bobby Frasor and Quentin Thomas
• Kansas, with Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins and Tyrel Reed
• Memphis, with Derrick Rose, Antonio Anderson, Andre Allen and Willie Kemp
• Duke, with Nolan Smith relieving -- and sometimes replacing -- Greg Paulus.
Next three: 1/19 vs. USC, 1/23 at Oregon, 1/26 at Oregon State
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Tennessee Volunteers (14-1)
The Vols' frozen-over shooting guard, Chris Lofton, was getting grilled by reporters about his cold spell (he's shooting just 33 percent on the season) following last Saturday's win over South Carolina when coach Bruce Pearl walked by and said, "You don't have to answer all those questions, Chris." As much as the Vols' team dynamic has changed, with Lofton evolving into a more deferential player, I think everyone -- myself, fans, Tennessee coaches -- expects him to finally catch fire at some point. Thursday's showdown with Vanderbilt, a team that will be launching threes from all over the Thompson-Boling Arena floor, would be a fine time for it to happen. Should Shan Foster et al get hot from outside, the Vols might need Lofton's firepower for counter-punches.
Next three: 1/17 vs. Vanderbilt, 1/19 vs. Ohio State, 1/22 at Kentucky
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