Men's hoops rankings and other news

As we flip our calendars to February, we are reminded that we are only 29 days away from the most glorious month of the sports year.

March.

For those of you who share my view that the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA basketball tournament should be recognized as a national holiday, this should be a column for you.

Considering the weekend of upsets that we just witnessed, which included a remarkable 10 ranked teams biting the dust, it seems that there is no better time than the present to line up the contenders in the wild world of college basketball.

So, I present the first installment of one man's humble view of the Top 25 men's college basketball teams in the nation, as well as some other news.

1. Duke (18-1 overall, 7-0 conference): Unbeaten in the best conference (ACC) in the country.

2. Stanford (18-0, 9-0): Yes, the Pac 10 is lame so far this year, but don't forget the wins over Kansas and Gonzaga.

3. Saint Joseph's (18-0, 8-0): In their 83-71 win over Temple this past Saturday, 36 of the Hawks 45 field goal attempts were threes. In the words of Dick Vitale, "Are you serious!"

4. Pittsburgh (20-1, 6-1): A narrow loss to UConn is the only blemish on the Panthers' record and that was followed by a demolition of Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

5. Louisville: (16-2, 6-1): After winning 16 straight, they deserve a mulligan for the loss to Marquette.

6. Mississippi State (18-1, 7-1): As the traditional SEC powers stumble, they quietly rack up the victories.

7. Kentucky (14-3, 4-2): They seem to play down to their competition(losses to Georgia, at Vandy).

8. Connecticut (17-3, 5-1): The Huskies haven't put it all together yet.

9. Cincinnati (15-2, 6-2): Yes, they lost this week, but who didn't?

10. Oklahoma State (15-2, 5-1): Leading the always tough Big 12.

11. Gonzaga (17-2, 7-0): Can't they move to the Pac-10?

12. Georgia Tech (16-4, 4-3): Is'mail Muhammed has to be the best sixth man in the nation.

13. Arizona (14-4, 6-3): They get another shot at Stanford this week (2/7).

14. Texas (14-3, 5-1): Beat Texas Tech and Texas A&M last week to take in-state bragging rights.

15. Providence (14-4, 5-2): Two of their losses this year were in the final seconds (Texas, at Rutgers).

16. Wisconsin (14-3, 5-1): The best of a bad bunch in the Big 10.

17. Wake Forest (13-4, 4-3): The record doesn't look impressive, but the schedule has been brutal.

18. Syracuse (14-3, 4-2): Point guard Billy Edelin is out indefinitely, so champs will have to adjust.

19. Texas Tech (16-4, 4-2): Bob Knight and Andre Emmett always find a way.

20. N.C. State (12-5, 5-2): Won at Maryland for first time since 1989.

21. Kansas (13-4, 5-1): They have the same problem as Kentucky (losses at Nevada, at Iowa State, Richmond).

22. North Carolina (13-5, 3-4): They have to learn how to win on the road.

23. Florida (13-5, 4-3): Lost three of the last five in SEC.

24. Memphis (14-4, 5-2): Big test vs. Louisville upcoming on February 4.

25. Seton Hall (14-4, 4-2): Big win at Providence puts them in the Big East race.

Other News:

* Maryland lost at home to N.C. State on Sunday for the first time since 1989. The Terps dropped to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the ACC. At this pace, their streak of consecutive NCAA tournament bids will stop at 10.

* One team that no one will want to draw come March is Air Force. The Falcons are coached by Joe Scott, a former Princeton assistant, who has turned his team into a clone of his alma mater. They lead the nation in Field Goal Percentage (63%), Points Allowed (46.9 per game) and are 10th in three-pointers made per game (8.9).

* With unbeaten Saint Joseph's lighting up scoreboards around the A-10, it is easy to overlook the play of another undefeated conference team, Dayton. The Flyers (17-3, 7-0) were unimpressive in non-conference play, but have emerged as the second best team in the A-10 under new coach Brian Gregory. Their top three scorers (Ramod Marshall, Sean Finn, Keith Waleskowski) are all seniors who's experience could give them a legitimate shot to upset Saint Joseph's when they meet in Philadelphia on Feb 11.

* Once upon a time, St. John's and UCLA were the marquee college programs in the two biggest cities in the country. At Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the teams combined to shoot a pitiful 11-32 from the free throw line in a 71-55 St. John's victory.

* After leading Gonzaga to the Elite Eight in 1999, head coach Dan Monson left to take over a "major program" at Minnesota. Now in his fifth year with the school, the Golden Gophers are winless (0-7) in the Big Ten in 2003-04 and have not made the NCAA Tournament during his tenure.