On the surface, it appears as though this is coming out a few weeks late. Yes, college hoops started a couple weeks ago. But preseason rankings mean little. Everybody has a half-dozen games or so under their belts now. We can start to make opinions and judgments. So here is the first installment of the Johnny Blue College Hoops Top 25 (we'll update it monthly).
Top 25 (December)
1. North Carolina. Even if these guys stumble and lose a game or two, it's because they wanted to just for the fun of it.
2. Connecticut. Hasheem Thabeet might be my favorite college hoops name since Svein Dyrkolbotn.
3. Duke. Mike Krzyzewski can coach. He even got Carmelo Anthony to play defense in the Olympics. Amazing.
4. Oklahoma. This just in: Blake Griffin is good. Damn good.
5. Pittsburgh. I'm giving them some love for now because they've won everything by double digits so far. But they will take some lumps later this year.
6. Purdue. Only loss so far was in OT to Oklahoma. Looking forward to tonight's showdown with the Dookies.
7. Gonzaga. The Zags will put up a 28-win season, win the WCC and will be out of the tournament before the Sweet 16.
8. Tennessee. Do you think Bruce Pearl gets a discount at Alimony's?
9. Texas. At least these Longhorns have a chance to play for the national title, unlike the football team that just got screwed over by the BCS.
10. Syracuse. The Orange just beat Florida and Kansas to win some long-named tournament last week.
11. UCLA. Darren Collison is the best college basketball player whose name isn't Hansbrough.
12. Notre Dame. I think Luke Harangody is a nice player, but he is not an All-American and he is not a guy who will carry a team deep into the tournament.
13. Michigan State. Tom Izzo is a good coach. It's that simple.
14. Xavier. They'll be even better when Terrell Holloway gets back from a foot injury.
15. Louisville. Samardo Samuels is going to be a star.
16. Davidson. Yes, Stephen Curry looks like he's 12 years old. But he is the best scorer in the country.
17. Arizona State. James Harden is a hell of a player, but there isn't much around him.
18. Kansas. The defending champs lost a ton of talent. But I've seen them play a couple times and the cupboard is hardly bare. Plus, everyone is probably eligible this season.
19. Memphis. I'm not a big John Calipari fan, but he always has a ton of great athletes to help him choke at the end.
20. Georgetown. These absolutely spanked Maryland the other day.
21. Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons might be good. They might not. One thing for sure -- their non-conference schedule sucks.
22. Villanova. Another Big East team that will build up wins now and struggle later.
23. Wisconsin. Badgers don't have a ton of stars but they have talent. Only loss so far is to UConn.
24. Miami. It would be nice to see Jack McClinton get some love as a first-team All-American. He is the total package.
25. Dayton. Good win for the Flyers last week over Marquette.
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