Who will be #1?

After Vanderbilt stunned Florida on Friday, the top spots in the AP and USA Today Polls are up for grabs. #3 Wisconsin would be the likely choice since they already have a win over #2 Ohio State, with Florida falling no further than #3. Besides that, the Badgers have the best record in the nation - 26-2 - and Ohio State was severely beaten by Florida back in December, 86-60.

On the other hand, since Florida already trashed Ohio State, why not keep them at #1? Everybody loses once in a while, and Florida's loss to Vandy was on the road and ended a 17-game winning streak. So, despite the one bad game, the Gators are still as good, and arguably better than Ohio State. Furthermore, last week's voting was unanimous. All first place votes went to Florida in both polls.

Personally, I'd move Nevada way up and forgive some of the losses by North Carolina, Kansas and Texas A&M. My Top Ten would look like: Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pitt, Texas A&M, UCLA, Ohio State, Nevada, Kansas, Georgetown.

The long and short is that it doesn't really matter much right now. In three weeks the NCAA Tournament gets underway and we'll really see who's got what it takes to claim the crown.

Just two games from last night to report:

#2 Ohio St. 85 Minnesota 67 - Apparently, Greg Oden is good enough to play half a game and still put up impressive numbers. On the road against the Golden Gophers, Oden played just 21 minutes but led the team in scoring with 19 points and pulled down 9 rebounds for good measure. Ohio State has won 11 in a row and may be ranked #1 for the first time since John Havlicek was wearing the crimson and white - 45 years ago.

Arizona St. 68 #22 USC 58 - After 14 straight Pac-10 losses, the Sun Devils victimized USC. Trailing 26-21 at the half, Arizona State blazed away for 47 2nd half points to post their first win since December 21. The Sun Devil's home crowd was more shocked than ecstatic.

For USC, losing a game like this certainly doesn't help their post-season chances. They're 19-8 overall and 9-5 in the conference with three games remaining. The Trojans host Cal on Saturday, then close out the regular season with a pair of road games - at Washington and #10 Washington St. Losing any of those games coupled with an early exit from the Pac-10 tourney could spell N-I-T for USC. The Trojans may not need worry, however, as Arizona and Oregon have imploded and are already on the bubble for invitations to the the March Madness Big Dance.

Cougars Keep Pac-10 Pressure on Bruins

#14 Washington St. 58 #25 Stanford 45 - The Washington St. Cougars stayed within hailing distance of 1st place UCLA, winning at home over Stanford. Ivory Clark had his first double-double of the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The 9-3 Cougars trail the 10-2 Bruins by one game. The two teams meet March 1 at UCLA.

#8 Memphis 70 UAB 56 - The Tigers got 30 points from senior guard Jeremy Hunt and held the Blazers to just 31% shooting (16-52). The 20-3 Tigers hold a 3 1/2 game lead over their closest rivals in Conference USA. UCF, Houston and Rice all are 6-3. Memphis has won 12 straight overall; their last loss was at Arizona on Dec. 20 (79-71).

#10 Butler 92 Cleveland St. 50 - Pete Campbell scored 28 points as the Bulldogs improved to 23-2 and 11-1 in the Horizon conference. Butler can extend their lead on Saturday at Wright State, 2nd at 11-2. The Bulldogs already have a win over the Raiders in hand, having beaten them 73-42 on Jan. 6.

#12 Nevada 81 Fresno St. 68 - Nick Fazekas scored a season-high 33 points and had 15 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season. The 10-1 Wolf Pack leads the WAC over 8-2 New Mexico State.

#13 Oregon 55 Arizona St. 51 - The Ducks won for just the 2nd time in their last 5 games, improving to 4-1 on their home court vs. Pac-10 opponents.

#24 Arizona 72 Oregon St. 66 - The Wildcats hit 25 of 33 free throws to Oregon State's 6-8 and pulled out a needed road win. The beleaguered Wildcats now face a tough three-game stretch which will likely determine their March travel plans. On Saturday, they travel to #13 Oregon. After that, they host USC and UCLA on Feb. 15 and 17, respectively.