Best Unranked Teams

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.

Starting the Party Off Right

I have to admit something: I refused to watch more than snippets of the Wisconsin-Virginia Tech last night. I can't stand watching Wisconsin. The Badgers are more boring to watch than The Hills. But my college basketball desires could not be entirely crushed, and, with 30 seconds left, I decided to flip back to ESPN to catch the game's waning moments.

Boy, was I rewarded.

It was 67-58 Wisconsin with 1:14 left, so when I tuned in, the commentators were talking about Virginia Tech's comeback in the final minute to make it a game. Here's what ensued ...

0:53 Va. Tech's Malcolm Delaney hits a 3 (67-61 W)
0:43 Wisconsin's Joe Krabbenhoft makes 1 of 2 FTs (68-61 W)
0:36 VT's Dorenzo Hudson hits a 3 (68-64)
0:33 Wisconsin turnover
0:29 VT's Delaney fouled shooting a 3, makes 2 of 3 FTs (68-66 W)
0:26 Wisconsin's Krabbenhoft makes 2 of 2 FTs (70-66 W)
0:18 VT's AD Vasallo makes a 3 (70-69 W)
0:11 Wisconsin's Jason Bohannon makes 2 of 2 FTs (72-69 W)
0:07 VT's Vasallo makes another 3 (72-72)

And that's when Hughes drove (almost) the length of the floor, slipped by one defender and awkwardly released a jumper while sideways and barely avoiding another defender. Nothing but net.

Virginia Tech even had a halfcourt heave to win, and it looked good when released, but not good enough.

What a finish. Wisconsin won, 74-72.

Elsewhere
-- Rosie O'Donnell's show got canceled after one episode. Surprised?

-- Good games tonight: Ohio State at No. 21 Miami and No. 4 Duke at No. 9 Purdue. Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, of course.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Jack McClinton

If you haven't heard of Jack McClinton yet, you will after Sunday night's showdown between No. 17 Miami and No. 2 Connecticut. McClinton can fill it up in a hurry. At 6-1, he's not overly imposing from the wing, but the all-ACC guard can leave his mark on a contest with his long-range sniping.

His coach, Frank Haith, calls him the "heart and soul" of Miami. He's the little engine who can. And he will, if you don't lock him up. Dude shot 43 percent from 3 last year. He gets to the line, too, where he shot 92 percent last year.

But enough about last year, McClinton and his 'Canes are ready to push the Dukies and Carolina for the ACC title this year. The best way to enter the national spotlight at this juncture in the season is extremely simple: Beat UConn.

McClinton is Miami's ticket to the big time. And the first chance to earn some shine is topping the Huskies, which certainly isn't an easy task.

Other games to watch
-- Xavier and No. 13 Memphis do battle in Puerto Rico. The finals of the Tip-Off.

-- I smell a trap game.

-- I noticed ESPN the Magazine got a lot of complaints about Hasheem Thabeet after his short Q&A in its November 17 issue. Thabeet, when asked who the toughest big man in college basketball is, said, "Nobody's better than me, only more experienced. I played Luke Harangody and he was not tough ... "

I agree: Harangody is not that tough. I'll go out on a limb -- I have never seen someone complain to the referees more than Harangody does in a game, except for maybe me circa 2000 (trust me, it was a lot). I won't question his numbers; the kid is talented. He works hard. But he works the refs harder. If he is near the ball and he doesn't score, it's automatically someone else's fault. Just sayin', but maybe Thabeet is on to something ...

Parting thought: I can't believe a BCS bowl will have Cincinnati in it. Yikes.