THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

*--* Rk School (Rec.) Comment 1 ARIZONA (15-1) Alleged candy theft makes Arizona sure thing for “Sweets” 16 2 PITTSBURGH (15-1) Balanced team has notable flaw: 61% from the line 3 FLORIDA (17-2) Gators are as deep and talented as any team around 4 DUKE (13-2) It’s hard to believe Butler will do it in visit to Durham tonight 5 OKLAHOMA STATE (17-1) The Cowboys haven’t lost since November 6 LOUISVILLE (15-1) Cardinals rank second in nation in scoring margin 7 KANSAS (14-5) If only the Final Four would end up with a game as good as KU-Texas 8 TEXAS (13-3) Too bad Big 12 schedule means T.J. Ford, Texas won’t play Kansas in Austin 9 KENTUCKY (15-3) Added to Alabama’s woes with 17-point victory over Crimson Tide 10 OKLAHOMA (14-3) Sooners are surviving, not necessarily thriving 11 MARYLAND (12-4) Terrapins are holding teams to less than 36% shooting 12 NOTRE DAME (17-3) Like olden days: The Irish are still unbeaten at the Joyce Center 13 ILLINOIS (15-3) Ended Michigan’s unbeaten Big Ten start, but it wasn’t easy 14 WAKE FOREST (14-2) The Demon Deacons lead the nation in rebounding margin 15 CONNECTICUT (13-3) Center Emeka Okafor is one of the game’s true scholar-athletes 16 MARQUETTE (14-3) The Golden Eagles have won 26 in a row at home 17 GEORGIA (12-5) Bulldogs stumbled at Vanderbilt, but lead the nation in assists 18 CALIFORNIA (14-2) Bears’ game Saturday at Tucson should be one of biggest of Pac-10 season 19 MISSISSIPPI STATE (13-4) Bulldogs seem to have recovered after three-game losing streak 20 INDIANA (14-5) Hoosiers need Bracey Wright to be healthy Saturday against Louisville 21 CREIGHTON (18-2) FYI: Blue Jays’ RPI is currently in the mid-40s 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE (11-4) ACC’s leading scorer Julius Hodge had 30 points against UNC 23 SYRACUSE (13-3) The Orangemen got stuck in a Rut-gers on the road 24 ALABAMA (12-5) Once No. 1, Crimson Tide is on the ebb 25 DAYTON (14-3) Flyers have beaten Cincinnati, Marquette and lost to Duke by nine

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