California

 

As part of our 5-Year Ranking series, here's how the Pac-12 teams stack up according to conference wins. With the exception of Oregon St, every team in the league has had at least two .500 seasons or better in the last five years. The league adds Utah, who was a mid-level MWC team, and Colorado, who was in the bottom rung of the Big 12.

Heading into Saturday's action the Arizona Wildcats were already up by a game in the Pac-10 standings thanks to their win over Stanford combined with Washington's loss at Oregon State on Thursday night. With a golden opportunity to make themselves the clear favorite to win the regular season title at their fingertips as Washington lost at Oregon earlier in the day, the young Wildcats took a big step in that direction in Berkeley. It's just hard to imagine that anyone involved realized just how much effort would be needed to do so.

One of the most surprising teams in America has to be the Cincinnati (14-0) Bearcats, who remain undefeated after opening Big East play with wins over DePaul and Seton Hall. But that only gets you so far in the argument as to who the best team in the city is, a question that will get its answer on Thursday night when Xavier (8-4) comes calling in what's one of the more spirited rivalries in college basketball. Neither coach has to be particularly pleased with this game being played in early January as opposed to December but that won't diminish the focus for anyone involved.

Overall Rank: #76

Even though many acknowledged that the Cornell Big Red were underseeded in the aftermath of Selection Sunday, it was still a toss-up in regards to whether or not they would beat Temple. But in a game matching mentor (Fran Dunphy) and one-time assistant (Steve Donahue), it was Coach Donahue's team that took control of the game for good in the second half via the three-point shot (Ryan Wittman) on their way to the 78-65 win in Jacksonville.

Not that anyone gets an “easy” route to the Final Four but Duke may have a bracket in which their biggest challengers bludgeon each other on their way to the Elite 8. ACC regular season co-champions and tournament champs, the Blue Devils begin the quest for their first Final Four since 2004 with the winner of the opening round game between Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Winthrop.

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