TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. School (Record): Comment

1. Duke (12-1: A is for Avery.

2. Connecticut (10-0): St. John’s a threat in Big East.

3. Cincinnati (11-0): Biding time for shot at No. 1.

4. Maryland (13-1): Duking it out for ACC head start Sunday.

5. Stanford (9-2): Taking injury lumps early.

6. Kentucky (11-3): Losers to Louisville two years in a row.

7. Minnesota (9-1): Saturday game against Purdue tells tale.

8. Arizona (8-0): UCLA game Saturday a Freshman Fest.

9. Indiana (13-2): Plays Iowa tonight.

10. Purdue (12-2): Misstep against Providence.

11. St. John’s (10-2): Nice start for Mike Jarvis as coach.

12. North Carolina (12-3): California on their minds.

13. UCLA (8-2): Going to practice? No Rush.

14. Auburn (12-0): Going to a Tennessee waltz.

15. Michigan State (10-3): Louisville dangerous on Saturday.

16. Kansas (8-3): Still might win Big 12.

17. Clemson (11-2): Next team with shot at Tar Heels.

18. New Mexico (9-1): Washington exposed schedule.

19. Arkansas (10-2): SEC might be trouble.

20. Iowa (9-1): Hoosiers tonight in Iowa City.

21. Syracuse (9-3): Big East won’t be brutal.

22. Wisconsin (12-2): All eyes on Rose Bowl.

23. California (9-1): Only loss was to DePaul.

24. Louisville (6-2): Cameron Murray is improved.

25. TCU (11-2): All running game in football too.

GAME OF THE WEEK

DUKE (11-1) at MARYLAND (13-1)

* When--Sunday. * Time--10:30 a.m.

* TV--ESPN2

* Story line--In the premier early season conference game, the second-ranked Blue Devils and the fourth-ranked Terrapins take a run at each other to see who will rule the Atlantic Coast Conference--at least for the moment. Maryland was beaten at its running game by Kentucky, and it could happen again. The matchup to watch is Maryland’s Steve Francis against Duke’s William Avery.