It's still early on in the season, but we already have had some compelling match ups. Last week, I had North Carolina at #3, and Wake Forest ranked #4, without realizing they play this week. Something had to give, and for Wake, it all came up roses, while Carolina continues to search for ways to break out of their funk as the season (and conference schedules) continue on. For me, the difficult task was to determine how big of a win it was for Wake Forest. Either way, there's a few pretty big shake ups, as I try and make better my own ranking system. With that being said, here's my Top 10...

1. Pittsburgh (15-0)

LW #1

I just couldn't drop them after being #1 last week and beating St. Johns by 23.

2. Wake Forest (14-0)

LW #4

Undefeated and outplaying North Carolina on your home court was enough for me. These guys are for real.

3. Duke (14-1)

LW #2

Sorry Dukies... I know you went 2-0 last week, handling both Davidson and Florida State, but you haven't played and beaten North Carolina, yet. We'll see what happens then.

4. Connecticut (14-1)

LW #5

UConn bounced back nicely after their loss to Georgetown last week, beating a couple solid opponents in West Virginia and Cincinnati.

5. Michigan State (13-2)

LW #6

MSU has been rolling, winning nine straight since that blow out loss to UNC. Last week, MSU blew out two solid opponents in Ohio State and Kansas. Right now, I would take them over UNC if they met again, so to me, MSU deserved a bump.

6. North Carolina (14-2)

LW #3

UNC might be the best team in the country and they definitely have one of the best players in the country, but they're struggling to an 0-2 start in the ACC. That's not going to cut it. This week, UNC gets Virginia and Miami so look for them to improve on that impressive 14-2 record.

7. Syracuse (16-1)

LW # 9

Two extremely impressive performances against average teams. Syracuse improved to an eye-popping 16-1 with blowout wins over De Paul and Rutgers. To me, that was enough for them to leapfrog UCLA, despite UCLA beating their cross town rivals on USC's home court.

8. UCLA (13-2)

LW #7

I jumped Syracuse over UCLA... not because of poor performance from UCLA, but because Syracuse has been rolling over their opponents. Still, UCLA has an impressive 9 game winning streak, not losing since the first week in December, so if Syracuse trips up at all, I look at UCLA as a team that can move up rather quickly.

9. Clemson (16-0)

LW NOT RANKED

Clemson hasn't played anyone of any consequence but now that they are in ACC play, we should find out if they are for real. Still, given their 16-0 start and a couple of teams dropping out for poor performance, I would be remiss, in my opinion, not to include them at this point.

10. Oklahoma (15-1)

LW NOT RANKED

Oklahoma is beginning to finally make me a believer. Although they played two cupcakes this last week, that hammered both of them. To add, they have had a couple decent wins. It gets real interesting now as they continue into Big 12 play and Texas is no cupcake.

Teams that dropped out... Texas and Georgetown

Teams to watch... Notre Dame, California, Arizona State, Boston College

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Pac 10 Power rankings

1. UCLA 13-2 (3-0)

LW #1

UCLA is playing really well, winners of nine straight. Still, it is becoming clear that they will be challenged by California and probably Arizona State all season long.

2. California 15-2 (4-0)

LW #2

Cal is absolutely on fire these days. not only did they beat Wazzu and a good UW team on the road, Cal shows the ability to explosive scoring and a solid defensive team. This team has Top 4 seed written all over them and if they keep it up, that is precisely where they will land.

3. Arizona State 14-2 (3-1)

LW #4

ASU has been lighting it up and that loss last week to Cal is turning out to be understandable. Hardin might be the best all around player in the Pac 10, and after dismantling the Oregon schools by a combined 49 points, ASU sits pretty at #3. They are also the only other Pac 10 team in the Top 25 (until later today, when I suspect Cal might get in).

4. Washington 11-4 (2-1)

LW #3

UW had things going really well with the tough tests against Stanford and Cal. They beat Stanford, and if it weren't for silly mistakes down the stretch against Cal, we might be talking about a UW team that is a bit higher ranked. Still, players need to execute, avoid silly fouls, and hit from the free throw line. These continue to be challenges for UW.

5. Arizona 11-5 (2-2)

LW #10

Arizona had a good week, playing more along the lines of what we expect from UA. Still, they only beat the Oregon schools who are very bad this season, so it will be interesting to see how they perform against some stiffer competition. UCLA and USC are definitely going to be a bit tougher of a match up.

6. Southern Cal 10-5 (1-2)

LW #7

USC had the hiccup last week against OSU, but bounced back against Oregon. Then, they got UCLA on their home court. It was a very good match up as USC has exceptional athletes, but in the end, they didn't quite have enough. Still, a very good showing for a solid team.

7. Stanford 11-3 (1-3)

LW #5

Stanford is adopting an entirely new approach to the game since the Lopez brothers are gone. No more half court game, defense, and crash the boards. This Stanford team is a run and gun, transition team, and they are almost pulling it off. Last week, Stanford lost at Washington and at Washington State, each by one point. They need to get it going if they are gonna make the dance, but there should be some level of optimism for the program.

8. Washington State 9-6 (1-2)

LW #9

Wazzu is showing a lot of similarities to their teams of the last couple years, with one notable exception. Their athletes are young and inexperienced. In watching WSU play, they still play great defense, but their defenders aren't quite as good as last year. Add to that, they really have difficulty putting the ball in the hole and it is costing them any chance of playing in a post season tournament. Still, don't lose faith, Cougar faithful, if WSU gets it going, 16 wins are entirely possible, and if that occurs, they could squeak into the NIT.

9. Oregon 6-10 (0-4)

LW #8

This Oregon team looked pretty decent in their loss to UCLA as they came from way back and made it a game, but now we are seeing, after losing to the Arizona schools by a combined 33 points, that they are just not very good. Hopefully, they'll turn it around, otherwise, with OSU playing like they are, we could be watching two Northwest schools among the worst in the nation in basketball, just like football.

10. Oregon State 6-8 (1-3)

LW #6

What can I say, OSU beat USC in shocking fashion, but their other three games have netted losses of 23, 31, and 17 points. The win over USC as great as it was, was just an anomaly. The other games, I fear, are indicative of the talent level in Corvallis.

Games this week...Washington /Washington State @ Oregon / Oregon State

Arizona / Arizona State @ UCLA / USC

California @ Stanford

Happy Hunting!

DM14

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