The Power 10 Rankings (updated every Tuesdsay)

1. North Carolina (last week: defeated Wake Forest and Boston College) 27-2
The Tar Heels have risen to the top spot by winning the six games since their loss to Duke, including surviving Tyrese Rice last Saturday. Ty Lawson finally saw the floor playing 21 minutes at Boston College.

2. Memphis (defeated Tulane and Southern Miss) 28-1
People already started writing them off after their loss to Tennessee. As Greg Anthony would say “The reality is” this team only has one loss, and it was to the number two ranked school in the nation.

3. UCLA (defeated Arizona and Arizona St.) 26-3
The Bruins are still one of the most experienced teams in the nation. They’re coming along at the right time of the year, and everyone is finally healthy. Talkhoops.net will keep their collective thoughts on the health of John Wooden.

4. Tennessee (lost at Vanderbilt and defeated Kentucky) 26-3
The Volunteers schedule is the difference between first and fourth in this ranking. The game at Vanderbilt was tough for Bruce Pearl’s team. Two high energy rivalry games in a row is never easy.

5. Stanford (defeated Washington and Washington St.) 24-4
Stanford is 11-1 in their last 12 games and their only loss was on the road at Arizona State. They have good size with the Lopez twins, but this team will go as far as Anthony Goods takes them. They’re game against UCLA on Thursday will be the biggest game in the Pac-10 this season.

6. Wisconsin (defeated Michigan State) 24-4
Wisconsin has been playing as well as anyone in the country lately. They’re not an exciting team to watch, but they play great basketball. Marcus Landry, Michael Flowers and Brian Butch make the best trio in the Big 10.

7. Louisville (defeated Notre Dame and Villanova) 24-6
Louisville is tied atop the Big East with Georgetown. They’re not blowing anyone out, but they’re beating teams convincingly. Winning this way is great preparation for the NCAA Tournament.

8. Kansas (Defeated Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas Tech) 26-3
I turned on the end of the Texas Tech game to find them up by what seemed by hundreds of points. I still remain confident that this is a final four team, there is too much talent across the board for them not to be.

9. Duke (defeated Georgia Tech and NC State) 25-3
Duke has struggled from behind the line lately. They were 2-15 against Georgia Tech and were only 8 for 22 before hitting five straight against NC State. They aren’t going to be able to shoot their way out of double digit deficits in the tournament.

10. Texas (lost at Texas Tech and defeated Nebraska) 24-5
Their three point loss at Texas Tech was their only loss in their last ten games. This team has one of the most impressive resumes in the country with wins over Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas, and could be on their way to a conference title.

Games to watch (all times Eastern):

Wednesday, March 5
Duke at Virginia (ESPN at 7pm)
Sean Singletary always has big games against the Blue Devils. Duke is trying to stay atop the ACC before their weekend showdown with North Carolina.

Tennessee at Florida (ESPN Full Court at 9pm)
These games are always good. Florida desperately needs this win for their tournament resume. Tennessee is working on a number one seed and can’t afford to lose with so many quality teams fighting for one of the four top spots.

Thursday, March 6
Xavier at St. Josephs (ESPN at 9pm)
Xavier is number 11 in the country and in my power rankings. They have one of the most efficient offences in the nation. A little more than half of their field goals made are off of assists and five players are averaging double figures (with one more, Stanley Burrell, averaging 9.9 ppg).

Stanford at UCLA (FSW at 11pm)
This is the conference championship game of the Pac-10. If UCLA wins, they clinch another Pac-10 title, if Stanford wins, they have a shot at a share of the title. This will be a high intensity game at Pauley Pavilion.

Friday, March 7
No big games on Friday. Watch the Bulls vs. the Celtics.

Saturday, March 8
Louisville at Georgetown (CBS at 12pm)
This game will determine the Big East champion. The Hoyas have been at the top of the Big East all season, but Louisville has been playing as well as anyone in the country since the return of David Padgett.

North Carolina at Duke (ESPN at 9)
Another Duke-Carolina meeting with the two teams ranked in the top 5 in the nation. You don’t need me to tell you why this game will be worth watching… there is just a conference title and one of the four number one spots on the line.

Sunday, March 9
Indiana at Penn State (ESPN at 2pm)
Watch D.J. White in his last regular season game as a Hoosier (maybe Eric Gordon’s last game too).

Oklahoma State at Texas (ESPN at 4pm)
Texas can clinch the Big 12 regular season title with a win at home against the Cowboys. They hold the tie breaker over Kansas.

Monday, March 10
No games scheduled

Tuesday, March 11
No games scheduled