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Approximately one month away from the madness the top 5 is shaken up again as top four seeds in the dance continue to be up in the air. #1 Memphis has the luxury of playing in a conference with no competition and, if they can make free-throws, will waltz into the dance as the unbeaten and top seed. As for the others in the top 10, if this was a harbinger of things to come it will not be decided until the Sunday of the selection show. This week disposed of the #3 and 4 schools as North Carolina was upset by Duke at home and UCLA fell asleep against Washington on the road. #7 Tennessee got a scare on the road barely squeaking by LSU by 2 and #9 Wisconsin was not so lucky losing to #24 Purdue. So what does the top 10 look like now and how many losses will be tolerated to be a top seed? Lastly, who is your number one? Should Memphis get the not even though they don’t play any of the top teams from any conference? Talk about it in the NCAA hoop chat room and blog.

After a wild week in college hoops that saw the #1, 4, and 6 teams lose lets everyone know that conference play has begun. Now that NC, UCLA, and Tennessee have fallen the only team with a decent shot to make it to March unbeaten is Memphis. Playing in the weakest conference by far of all of the remaining top five teams look for the Tigers to roll into the dance as the number one seed. Kansas is right there talent wise, but will not make it out of the Big 12 without a scar or two. Here is the Smacchat Top-10 going into this week. Now add Indiana to the list which lost today, at home to UCON.

1. Memphis 18-0
2. Kansas 19-0
3. Duke 16-1
4. North Carolina 19-1
5. UCLA 17-2
6. Georgetown 15-2
7. Michigan St. 16-2
8. Wisconsin 16-2
9. Michigan St. 16-2
10.Indiana 17-2

1. North Carolina (16-0) Got a great road test at Clemson, which they almost failed.
2. Memphis (14-0) 41-straight home wins, and the easiest of the conference schedules of all the top 10 teams the Tigers have the best shot as going into the dance as the top seed
3. Kansas (15-0)Could have the best athletes but can they put it all together?
4. Washington St. (14-0) Huge game Jan 12, at UCLA with the upper hand in the Pac-10
5. UCLA (15-1) to the winner. Collison still ill and questionable for game.
6. Michigan St. (14-1) Begin League play where Indy is the toughest hurdle their see
7. Georgetown (12-1) Big East play will will test the Hoyas resolve
8. Tennessee (13-1) Big win over Ole Miss in the last second keeps them in the -1
9. Duke (12-1) Duke's young team better be all growns' up before Chapel Hill
10. Indiana (13-1) Have possibly the best freshman in the country but can they parlay that into a Big-10 championship

There will be at least 2 teams that falter in the Top-10 after this week. First, #6 Duke losing a tough game to Pittsburgh, and when #2 Memphis and #5 Georgetown meet this Saturday someone's 0 has to go. This year it appears the game plan was to play as many cupcakes as you can before conference play starts, and roll into league with at least 10 wins, a top-20 ranking, and a little momentum. With the strength of the Conferences this year don't expect anyone to stay atop the mountain too long. Going into the holiday weekend, here is the Smacchat top 10.

1. North Carolina (10-0) - The Tar Heels returned to the Dean Dome for some home cooking after six straight games away. Nicholls State battled but fell, 88-78, with UC Santa Barbara next on the five-game homestand.
2. Kansas (11-0) - The Jayhawks are finally at full strength with the return of power point guard Sherron Collins, who had 11 points off the bench as Kansas held off Georgia Tech, 71-66, for a quality road win. The Jayhawks head back into the Phog to face Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
3. Memphis (9-0) - HUGE contest with GTown this weekend will be the litmus of where both teams are at this point in the season. The Tigers will welcome Big Roy and the Hoyas for a Saturday game that will have the atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament.
4. Texas (11-0) After already knocking off Tennessee and UCLA, the Horns stampede into Auburn Hills, Mich., to try to claim victory on their third top-10 team (Michigan State). D.J. Augustin is the Steve Nash of college basketball, and with running mate A.J. Abrams, the two combine for 38.4 points per game.
5. Georgetown (8-0)The Hoyas have passed all the quizzes on their schedule and will now be graded on their first major test of the season as they travel to Memphis. Roy Hibbert is the anchor of a balanced attack that has nine players averaging 17 or more minutes. G'town has the depth and athletes to compete with Joey Dorsey and Co.
6. UCLA (10-1) The Bruins have won three straight since the home loss to Texas. The next major test will be Jan. 3 when conference play begins at Stanford.
7. Washington State (9-0) Still slipping under the radar and going about their business the Pac-10 will be the test of how good they really are.
8. Pittsburgh (10-0) -The Panthers enter the Duke game on Thursday with a 10-0 record for the fifth consecutive season. Freshmen DeJuan Blair has given an already experienced team a stud inside, and the Panthers will test Duke's interior defense. Pitt is 17-8 in the Garden since the 2000-01 season.
9. Duke (10-1) A tough loss against a good team that perhaps exposed the youth of Duke.
10. Marquette - Forward Lazar Hayward has continued to improve his offensive and rebounding output to help the triplets (James, McNeal and Matthews) on the perimeter.

After #1 UCLA had it's 21-game home winning streak snapped in the final seconds by Texas, there is a new, undisputed top team, and of course it's the Heels. Memphis moves up to number 2 and survives a scare at the Jimmy V by USC. The top teams continue to play tough competition, who will be number one when conference play begins? Which freshman has make the biggest impact?

ESPN/USA Today Poll

1. North Carolina (23) 7-0 753

2. Memphis (6) 6-0 746

3. Kansas (1) 7-0 717

4. Georgetown (1) 5-0 670

5. Texas 7-0 620

6. Washington State 7-0 599

7. Duke 8-0 594

8. UCLA 7-1 587

9. Pittsburgh 7-0 477

10. Michigan State 6-1 437

UCLA picked up two first-place votes from last week to grab the top spot alone over North Carolina in the ESPN/USA Today men's basketball rankings released Monday.

The Bruins have 12 first-place votes, one fewer than the No. 2 Tar Heels. But UCLA has 749 points, four more than UNC.

Memphis, Kansas and Georgetown rounded out the top five for the second straight week, while the Jayhawk roundball squad survived an overtime scare at home vs. Arkansas 66-62.

Several schools shot up the rankings. Washington State climbed from ninth to sixth, followed by Duke (10th to seventh), Texas (16th to eighth) and Texas A&M (15th to ninth). Louisville, last week's sixth-ranked team, fell to 10th.

Four teams entered the rankings: Wisconsin (No. 20), Brigham Young (No. 23), USC (No. 24) and Xavier (No. 25). Kansas State, Syracuse, Florida and Davidson dropped out.

Should the TarHeels have been leaped? Talk about about it in the NCAA Basketball chatroom.

Despite missing 2 of their top 8 players, one being their starting point-guard, UCLA has managed to stay unbeaten at 5-0 and win some voters over to gain a share of the top ranking. Tied with North Carolina who is yet to be tested but struggled vs. Davidson, the Bruins held their mud against number 11 Michigan St. to win the CBE Classic. Meanwhile Memphis looks very good and very athleticdown at number 3 at 5-0. Still things won't start getting serious until December when the top 25 start matching up as UCLA is the only team to play and beat a top opponent. With that, here are the Smacchat power rankings. Post your comments here and in NCAA chat room at smacchat.com

1. UCLA (5-0)
2. North Carolina (3-0)
3. Memphis (5-0)
4. Georgetown (2-0)
5. Kansas (3-0)
6. Indiana (3-0)
7. Tennessee (4-0)
8. Louisville (2-0)
9. Washington St. (3-0)
10.Marquette (4-0)