These teams aren't ranked, but have a shot to sneak in the back end of the AP Top 25 after No. 24 Marquette and No. 23 Memphis both lost tough games against good opponents.
Memphis will be back in eventually, but the Tigers need to take better, smarter shots, and hope that Tyreke Evans improves as a decision-maker.
Marquette has the talent to win a lot of games at home, but it's starting to look like this batch of Golden Eagles -- ya know, Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews, Maurice Acker, Lazar Heyward and the most overrated player in the history of college basketball, Dominic James -- can't be counted on to win road games.
So, without any more posturing ...
1. Michigan -- The Wolverines are the easy choice because they are No. 26 in the AP rankings. But John Beilein (above) has his kids winning games they should and competing in the tough ones. If anyone is surprised by Beilein's getting results, you are crazy. Kentucky has to be kicking itself right now.
2. Miami -- The 'Canes get a chance to totally redeem themselves with an early conference donnybrook with No. 25 Clemson, which has zoomed to a 10-0 record. It's not like two losses against No. 2 UConn and No. 17 Ohio State are all that bad anyway ...
3. BYU -- The Cougars are 10-0 and have a marquee matchup at No. 20 Arizona State on Saturday and a home game against No. 10 Wake Forest on Jan. 3. Those two games will test BYU, and prepare it for the Tournament, where you should expect to see the Cougars.
4. Saint Mary's -- I don't see how one loss against a good UTEP team on a neutral floor has knocked the Gaels this far down the rankings, but the fightin' Patty Millses will be back. Trust me. We mentioned Saint Mary's earlier today because it has a big matchup with Oregon tonight. A game at Southern Illinois follows on Saturday, but after that, Saint Mary's will only have two more chances to beat any big-name teams -- and both of those changes are against No. 8 Gonzaga.
5. Minnesota -- I'm not sold on Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers yet, and neither are the AP voters, who gave the 'Sota two votes in last week's poll. But Minnesota is 9-0, and three of its next five games are against currently ranked teams -- No. 9 Louisville (in Arizona) and home against No. 17 Ohio State and No. 19 Michigan State. With the two calkwalks in between the big games, I think Minnesota will have a tough time doing better than 2-3.
6. Temple -- Riding the high of one upset isn't enough. And the 5-3 record isn't that great, either -- although losses to tougher-than-expected Buffalo, great shut-you-down D and Miami (Ohio) and Clemson aren't bad. But the Owls play at Kansas on Saturday and against Villanova Dec. 29.
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