THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS:

*--* Rk School (Rec.) Comment 1 PITTSBURGH (14-1) This could be the nation’s true No. 1 team 2 ARIZONA (14-1) All the Wildcats do is win ... and win ... and win 3 FLORIDA (16-2) Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh are a stunning freshman tandem 4 DUKE (12-2) Suddenly, two losses in a row -- a stunning slump for Blue Devils 5 OKLAHOMA (12-3) In a bind, Hollis Price is your man 6 TEXAS (12-2) Quiet stretch ends with Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma State up next 7 KANSAS (13-4) After loss at Colorado, Jayhawks will be desperate to beat No. 1 Arizona 8 LOUISVILLE (13-1) Rick Pitino has gotten comfortable in his new Kentucky home 9 KENTUCKY (14-3) Wildcats shushed all that talk about surging Auburn 10 INDIANA (14-3) Hoosiers winning despite Bracey Wright (sore back) missing games 11 OKLAHOMA ST. (15-1) Defense is holding teams to only 37% shooting 12 MARYLAND (11-4) Consecutive victories over Duke, North Carolina a feat in any season 13 SYRACUSE (12-2) No shame in loss at Pittsburgh 14 CREIGHTON (16-1) Kyle Korver leads nation with 77 three-point baskets 15 NOTRE DAME (15-3) Kentucky loss might be significant come NCAA tournament seeding time 16 WAKE FOREST (12-1) Josh Howard averaging ACC-best 22 points in league games 17 ILLINOIS (13-3) Big Ten road took its toll on Illini at Iowa, Indiana 18 GEORGIA (11-4) Jarvis Hayes shoots 55% from three-point range (35-64) 19 CONNECTICUT (11-3) Road woes: Huskies lost consecutive games at North Carolina, Miami 20 MARQUETTE (12-3) Dwyane Wade averages 23 points--while shooting 56% 21 ALABAMA (12-4) Crimson Tide has lost four of seven after 9-0 start 22 MISSISSIPPI ST. (11-4) Bulldogs finally ended three-game skid 23 MISSOURI (11-3) Big man Arthur Johnson carrying plenty of the scoring load 24 CALIFORNIA (12-2) True test will be whether Bears can hold up on the Pac-10 road 25 N. CAROLINA ST. (10-4) Wolfpack showed that making free throws still counts

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