NEIL JOSHI, The Sports Lounge

COLLEGE BASKETBALL COLUMNIST

There are three undefeated teams left in college basketball, and as you would guess, its becoming pretty hard to find a consensus number one. Both of the polls say it’s the 18-0 North Carolina Tar Heels, and by a safe margin, but its getting harder and harder to declare the Tar Heels as the best team in college basketball. As the top team in the preseason, the Heels have the benefit of the doubt from the voters. It’s most likely going to take a loss for them to fall off in the polls. But, Kansas (17-0) and Memphis (15-0) are off to tremendous starts as well, and have made the debate for number one an exceedingly interesting topic of discussion in recent weeks.

Roy Williams’ team is loaded with talent, but they haven’t been overwhelming teams like they were expected to. With only one win over a ranked team to boast about, and a near upset loss to 7-9 Georgia Tech last night, UNC isn’t winning any style points like Memphis and Kansas is. North Carolina’s only win over a ranked team was at Clemson, where they needed a dagger from Wayne Ellington near the buzzer to escape with a 90-88 overtime victory. Other than that, the resume is missing a victory where we got to see just how good this team really is. The Tar Heels got revenge on the Yellow Jackets for their loss a season ago, and will have another opportunity for that when they take on Miami, one of the nation’s pleasant surprises. If they can get through that road encounter, Hansbrough, Ellington, and company are likely to be 22-0 going into their February 6th matchup with Duke. The rivalry with the Blue Devils is back and better than ever now that both are firmly entrenched in the top 10.

The Memphis Tigers may be ranked number two, but they have three top-25 wins under the belt. None of them has required a last second shot, either. John Calipari made sure to adequately challenge his team in the nonconference schedule, knowing full well that his conference wouldn’t be able to.

The Tigers responded by beating USC, Georgetown, and Arizona. The win against the Trojans may have required overtime, but Memphis displayed tremendous poise despite playing their worst game of the season. In subsequent big games against the Hoyas and Wildcats, Calipari’s team played with a purpose and it showed, as the Tigers ran away with double-digit victories. Now that conference play is in full swing, the momentum that Memphis built with their impressive performances is likely to fade. But, the Tigers have the best chance of any of these three titans of actually running the table. They aren’t done challenging themselves, either; games against Gonzaga and Tennessee are still left on the schedule, and the latter is definitely going to be must-see television on February 23rd.

Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks have been picking up steam in many sectors up late, and for good reason. Winning six games in a row by over 20 points will certainly go a long way towards earning support in your favor. Early season anxiety about Brandon Rush’s injury has been extinguished. The junior has integrated just fine with the deep Jayhawks. Four guys average double figures, and another, Sherron Collins, is talented enough to make it five. However, the Jayhawks have a history of racing through the regular season with a gaudy record, then flaming out in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas, like UNC, only has one top-25 win, but the Big 12 looks to be one of the deepest conferences in the country. Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State, and even Baylor could give the Jayhawks some trouble in the conference season. Saturday’s tilt at Missouri is also an interesting one to watch; the Tigers took it to Texas pretty hard in dumping 92 points on them. Kansas would certainly go a long way toward making me a believer that they could shrug off their past troubles in March if they can continue their onslaught on the road in the Border War.

So, who’s my number one? It’s gotta be Memphis, who won’t face the stiffest competition between now and March, but can prove something by dominating their inferior competition until then. Fortunately, this isn’t college football so we don’t need to listen what the RPI (UNC at #1) or Pomeroy (Kansas) rankings have to say. There’s no need to debate who’s number one because March’s tournament will settle the battle between these three teams as well as every other quality team around the country. But, watching this trio navigate into January undefeated has made it worthwhile to compare them until the Tournament rolls around.

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