SunTrip

By Mike DeCourcy -  

Here at Sporting News Power Poll headquarters, we hear you, America, and we heed what you say.

You do not want polls to be issued based mostly on guesswork and brand-name appeal. You want the teams involved to have played some games and given everybody an idea of what they're worth. We get that. The season started in early November; we're starting today.

You do not want a poll to decide your champion. You want a competition, something that determines the outcome on the field of play. We will be only too happy to stand aside once that whole NCAA Tournament thing starts up. It has worked OK to produce a worthy champion for the past seven decades.

There are a few things that make this poll different from what you're accustomed to seeing, though. First, there only one person voting. That person's vote can be influenced. Not bought, but influenced by someone else making a strong case. The primary standard, though, is what a team has achieved -- not preconceptions about a team's potential or talent or whether he thinks a particular team would win a neutral-court game against another.

No. 1 Wake Forest. The Heels' victory over North Carolina, though earned at home, gives the Deacons the edge over the other unbeaten teams. The Deacons' impressive individual talent has coalesced more quickly than might have been expected. At the beginning of the season, we told you the Deacs had a "Florida 2006" quality about them. What has been most surprising is how rapidly they've become an assertive defensive team. They own the baseline like they foreclosed on the mortgage.

No. 2 Pitt. It's possible nobody has claimed a more impressive road victory in more impressive style than the Panthers grabbed at Georgetown. This is the most together team in college basketball - that's the culture that makes this program work - and at last appears to have the talent to make a deeper NCAA run.

No. 3 Clemson. In the comments section about a Clemson column last week, one of our online members mentioned something about having "read this book before" because the Tigers opened each of the previous two seasons with long unbeaten runs. You know how many movies about Batman were made before Christopher Nolan rung the register with The Dark Knight? This Clemson team has won at Illinois, at Miami and at South Carolina and owns homecourt victories over Alabama and N.C. State. The only reason they're not at the top of this list is they haven't yet beaten a truly great team.

No. 4 Connecticut. UConn's at Gonzaga could easily be overlooked because the Zags subsequently slumped. But the Zags are among the most talented teams, and UConn had to travel cross-country to play the game. The Huskies also own neutral wins over Wisconsin and Miami and have owned the Big East road through the early portion of their league schedule.

No. 5 Duke. Nobody owns more quality victories than the Blue Devils, but it's the remaining schedule that'll really test them. Two games against Carolina, two against Wake, a visit to Clemson and, as an appetizer, a non-league visit Saturday from Georgetown. Take a deep breath, Devils fans.

No. 6 Syracuse. The Orange are one highlight-show heave from being undefeated. Andy Rautins' shooting has made them even better offensively, and they're continuing to improve on defense. For a change, none of SU's best victories -- against Florida, Kansas and Memphis -- has come at home.

No. 7 Oklahoma. It's a long road from here to dishing out player of the year trophies, but the longer the Sooners hang in this neighborhood the closer Blake Griffin gets to owning a few. No elite team leans harder on its star, and he continues to deliver.

No. 8 North Carolina. So if the season ended today, the Tar Heels would be a No. 2 seed. How'd you like to be the top seed handed that consolation prize? Carolina has dominated three good to excellent teams -- Kentucky, Notre Dame and Michigan State -- so we know it's still in there. Somewhere.

No. 9 Michigan State. It feels odd rating the Spartans adjacent to the Heels, given how wide a gap existed between them when they played. But MSU, if it wants, can point to the fact center Goran Suton did not play against the Heels and they've beaten Texas, Minnesota, Ohio State and Kansas when he did.

No. 10 Texas. More than any other top team, the Longhorns still are experimenting with lineups and combinations. It's a luxury for now, but they'll have to figure out an identity soon.

Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.