Well, Week 5 is in the books and wow, what a busy week. Anyways, a lot happened this week and I thought I'd get to it before the Super Bowl. Dawg Fu is in the hospital so instead of watching the Super Bowl on the big screen I am relegated to watching on a 19-inch hospital TV with him. Oh well, what are ya going to do.

So let's get to it.

National Power 10

1. Connecticut (20-1)
Last week #3

Convincing wins this week against De Paul and Providence, coupled with Duke and Pitt falling flat leaves little doubt that UConn is the number one team in the land... and I'm sure both polls will come out that way tomorrow as well.

2. Louisville (17-3)
Last week #4

You guys have seen me high on Louisville for a while. Very few teams are on a bigger roll than Louisville is (winners of nine in a row), but if you've seen them play like I have, this team could very easily be playing for championship in eight weeks. I could be over rating them, only time will tell.

3. Duke (19-2)
Last week #1

After Duke lost at Wake Forest, it was clear that they were going to drop, and given that Wake Forest had a BAD loss yesterday, they could have dropped further, given that wake forest is so up and down. Still, Duke won big over Virginia today and seems to rebound nicely after every loss. How can you bet against a team like that?

4. Oklahoma (21-1)
Last week #5

I've been selling Oklahoma short all season long but after becoming the first team to hit 20 wins I can't deny it any longer, these guys are tough. Still, the Big 12 is not exactly what i would consider a juggernaut conference this season, so we'll see how they do in the tournament.

5. North Carolina (19-2)
Last week #7

I finally get to move the Heels up a spot with Wake Forest playing so up and down. North Carolina is back on track and depending how they play against Duke in 10 days, they could find themselves moving up towards the top yet again.

6. Pittsburgh (19-2)
Last week #2

I have had Pitt in the top three pretty much all season, and I still think that they are that good, but face it, losing to Villanova like they did is not consistent with a Top 3 team, so I had to drop them down for now. We'll see how they regroup.

7. Marquette (19-2)
Last week Not ranked

I've been watching Marquette for a while but had no reason to put them in the polls until this week. an impressive win at Notre dame and a blow out win at home against Georgetown. Marquette is for real and these guys can knock off any Big east team. Watch for them to possibly move up in the future, if they continue on this tear that they are on.

8. Butler (19-1)
Last week #8

Just one game this week, a win over Valpo. Still, don't look for Butler to stay in my Power ten. When you play a weak schedule, it's the price you pay. Honestly, I'm just waiting for someone to step up and jump back in... maybe UCLA or Washington?

9. Xavier (19-2)
Last week #9

Xavier continues to play solid basketball, with wins over Charlotte and UMass. Still, they struggled in both of those wins and given their lack of schedule difficulty, they could find themselves in a similar situation as Butler, unless they start winning these games against marginal opponents a bit more decisively.

10. Wake Forest (17-2)
Last week #6

Talk about an emotional roller coaster? After a bad loss last week, the Demon Deacons were looking to move up into my Top 3 with their impressive home floor victory against Duke, but then they had to go and lay an egg against the worst ACC team in the conference. That almost dropped them completely out of my Top 10, but they barely hold on thanks to Texas who lost to Kansas State and fell out instead.

Out.... Texas
In...... Marquette (7)
Teams to watch...... UCLA, Memphis
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Pac 10 teams in MY top 25

12. UCLA (17-4)
Last week #22

After back to back blow out victories against two solid teams in California and Stanford, UCLA looks primed to get back into the Top 10, if they can continue playing like this through next week.

14. Washington (16-5)
Last week #14

Tough loss at Arizona, giving up the lead and the game, but they bounced back with a go away victory in Tempe against a ranked ASU team. Good enough for me to leave them where they are.

Fell out... Arizona State (after going 0-2 this week AT HOME)
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Pac 10 Power Rankings

1. Washington 16-5 (7-2)
Last week #1

I still give UW the nod over UCLA because despite UCLA having the better week, UW beat them head to head in their only meeting thus far.

2. UCLA 17-4 (7-2)
Last week #3

UCLA rolled last week ALMOST causing me to put them back at number one, but then UW beat up on ASU in impressive fashion, so #2 will have to do for now.

3. Southern Cal 15-6 (6-3)
Last week #4

USC is very impressive last week with wins over both Stanford and California. Look for USC to crack the Top 25, if not this week, next week if they can knock of UCLA.

4. Arizona 14-8 (4-5)
Last week #9

UA continues to be the most schizophrenic team in the Pac 10, but finally they seem to be getting some consistent play with come from behind victories against both Washington State and Washington. I figure their talent level is in the Top 3, but their execution level is in the bottom three. To me, that puts them in the middle of the Pac. Of course, next week, they'll most likely lose to bother Oregon State and Oregon and find themselves dead last.

5. Oregon State 10-10 (4-5)
Last week #5

Who would have thunk it... OSU a .500 team half way through the season and FOUR Pac 10 wins in that stretch? Good enough for me to keep them where they were last week.

6. Washington State 12-9 (4-5)
Last week #7

Wazzu continues to show that they can beat some teams. They would have jumped into my top five if they wouldn't have bombed down the stretch against Arizona. Still, they had a great win against ASU, who is looking awfully marginal these days.

7. Arizona State 16-5 (5-4)
Last week #2

The biggest drop this week belongs to ASU after back-to-back home losses to the Washington schools. It's becoming painfully clear that if you can shut down Hardin, ASU will lose.

8. California 16-6 (5-4)
Last week #6

After last weeks big drop from #2 to #6, cal continues its free fall to #8. face it, cal got rolled against UCLA when they were trying to gauge themselves. the verdict? You got more work to do, gentlemen.

9. Stanford 13-6 (3-6)
Last week #8

Stanford is better than their #9 ranking but like California, when you try and gauge yourselves against the three time defending Pac 10 champs and you get rolled by 34 points, it can't do much for your confidence... nor mine.

10. Oregon 6-15 (0-9)
Last week #10

I hope Ernie Kent is getting his resume updated.

This weeks games....

Washington / Washington State @ Stanford / California
Arizona /Arizona State @ Oregon / Oregon State
USC @ UCLA

Happy Hunting!