Originally Published: December 29, 2005

Power 16: Expert Lists

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The ESPN.com Power 16 is compiled each week by a panel of ESPN experts and ESPN.com's college basketball editor. These individual lists help create the final rankings each week.

Here is how ESPN.com's experts ranked the top teams in the country.

(Through Wednesday's games)

ESPN.com Experts' Top 16s
Andy Katz
OK. Here's how I see it this week: Arizona played like a Final Four team last weekend in Washington and should be rewarded as such. I don't care if the Wildcats had a few other losses. This is about a snapshot of how they're playing right now. That's also why Memphis drops, Texas rises and Connecticut sinks. N.C. State has done a sensational job of beating the teams it's supposed to and taking out teams that are supposedly of equal value. Washington drops because it lost at home, even if it was in double overtime and to one of the hottest teams in the country. Indiana and Ohio State are charging forward and should keep climbing in the poll. It was hard keeping Pitt out, but I felt like Indiana and Ohio State did more than the Panthers.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Michigan State
4. Arizona
5. Illinois
6. Florida
7. Connecticut
8. Gonzaga
9. Boston College
10. Texas
11. Memphis
12. N.C. State
13. Washington
14. Maryland
15. Indiana
16. Ohio State

Joe Lunardi
Potential No. 1 seeds are dropping like flies all of a sudden. Memphis hosting a temporarily suspect Texas team? Down go the Tigers. Connecticut at Big East newcomer Marquette to open the Big East season? See ya, Huskies. At least Memphis lost to a rejuvenated Final Four contender; UConn stumbled after seven straight home games with an average score of 103-56. Coincidence? I think not. Look for both the Tigers and, especially, the Huskies to remain in the top seed sweepstakes. In the meantime, a pair of unbeatens -- Florida and Illinois -- claim places in my top four. Elsewhere, Arizona, North Carolina State and Texas are on the rise. Gone this week are Wisconsin, Nevada and George Washington.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Florida
4. Illinois
5. Memphis
6. Connecticut
7. Gonzaga
8. Michigan State
9. Arizona
10. Washington
11. N.C. State
12. Texas
13. UCLA
14. Indiana
15. Maryland
16. Boston College

Pat Forde
These are the weeks that make college basketball the beautiful mess it is: UConn gets dumped at Marquette, in the Golden Eagles' first Big East game; Memphis looks great, then loses at home to former problem team Texas; Washington loses at home in multiple OT to Arizona; and so forth. If you thought it was tough going unbeaten until now, we're just getting started. League play reveals all.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Illinois
4. Florida
5. Michigan State
6. Connecticut
7. Gonzaga
8. Texas
9. Memphis
10. N.C. State
11. Indiana
12. Arizona
13. Washington
14. Boston College
15. Pittsburgh
16. Ohio State


Howie Schwab
Did anyone catch the truck that hit Connecticut Tuesday night? Wow, Tom Crean's Marquette squad made noise in its Big East debut with a misleading win over the Huskies. The 15-point final score did not indicate how dominant the Golden Eagles were, as the lead was well over 20 in the second half. Connecticut and Memphis (a loser to Texas Monday) slide a bit. Kentucky has had too many close calls (barely beating Central Florida) to stay in my poll.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Florida
4. Illinois
5. Michigan State
6. Washington
7. Connecticut
8. Gonzaga
9. Memphis
10. Indiana
11. N.C. State
12. Ohio State
13. Maryland
14. Arizona
15. Pittsburgh
16. Texas

 Dick Vitale
It was shock city in Milwaukee Tuesday night as Connecticut lost to Marquette by 15 points. Wow, what a great way for Tom Crean to begin Big East play! Steve Novak put on a clinic with 41 points and 16 boards. The Huskies barely stayed in the top 10. I am looking forward to calling Villanova-Louisville on Thursday night at Freedom Hall ... that should be a good one. I'm also intrigued by Michigan State-Illinois on Thursday night.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Illinois
4. Florida
5. Michigan State
6. Indiana
7. Washington
8. Memphis
9. Connecticut
10. Maryland
11. Boston College
12. Ohio State
13. Gonzaga
14. N.C. State
15. Kentucky
16. Louisville


Jay Bilas
Duke takes over my top spot based upon UConn's loss to Marquette. It is not often that the Huskies will not show up, especially on the road, but I still think the Huskies have a great chance to be the best team by the end of the season. The Huskies' road this year reminds me some of Michigan State's in 2000. When the Spartans lost Mateen Cleaves for the first semester with an injury, most everyone wrote them off. I believed that Michigan State was the nation's best team, with or without Cleaves, and the Spartans proved it. I think UConn might just do the same. Texas still does not look as good as they will be in the next month, but be careful not to count the Longhorns out. Memphis looked awfully young and unpolished against Texas, and won't get a chance to play anyone that good or physical until the NCAA Tournament. That is too bad for John Calipari's team, because this Memphis team has a chance to be really good if consistently challenged. Michigan State might have some losses, and will lose a few more, but I am still a believer. The team on the rise is N.C. State. Also, watch out for the MVC ... the league has chops.

1. Duke
2. Connecticut
3. Villanova
4. Michigan State
5. Florida
6. Illinois
7. Texas
8. Washington
9. Indiana
10. Louisville
11. Memphis
12. Oklahoma
13. Gonzaga
14. Arizona
15. N.C. State
16. Missouri Valley Conference

Fran Fraschilla
N.C. State is a solid, well-coached team with underrated guards in Engin Atsur, Cameron Bennerman and Ilian Evtimov who shoot the 3 well and take care of the ball. Rapidly improving big man, 6-foot-9 sophomore Cedric Simmons, is becoming a defensive presence. ... Michigan State can score with anyone in the country, but can the Spartans regain the defensive mentality that is a staple of their program as they enter Big 10 play Thursday at Illinois? Drew Neitzel's continuing development as a Final Four-caliber point guard is on the right track. ... If you are going to move in the Big East neighborhood, you will have to deal with the neighborhood bully, UConn, and get the first punch in. Instead of slowing the game down, Marquette beat UConn at its own game and ran all night. Heaven help the LSU Tigers, who travel to Hartford on Saturday.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Florida
4. Illinois
5. Memphis
6. Connecticut
7. Michigan State
8. Gonzaga
9. Washington
10. N.C. State
11. Texas
12. Boston College
13. Ohio State
14. Indiana
15. Oklahoma
16. Louisville

Doug Gottlieb
Texas made Memphis look like, well, Memphis of the last couple of years as the Tigers launched 3 after 3, digging a deeper and deeper hole. There is no doubt that Memphis has Final Four talent, but can the Tigers get back to grinding for wins like those at Cincinnati and Alabama? Speaking of the SEC, those mass defections to the NBA draft (Kennedy Winston, Kelenna Azubuike, Monte Ellis, Louis Williams, etc.) are obviously hurting this league, while youth (Kansas, Oklahoma State) and disappointing high profile teams (OU, Texas Tech and Texas) has hurt the Big 12. The big question is, how many teams do these two power conferences demand when March roles around? Michigan State plays three of its next four games on the road and all are in-conference against ranked teams. If the Spartans win two of these games, I will be impressed. N.C. State has a similar stretch in the ACC and this is where we must remember that any road win is a big win. Washington just missed my 16 due to the lack of any road games on its schedule so far. The same goes for Maryland. For the life of me, I cannot figure out UCLA, losing at home to Cal after dominating Michigan in Ann Arbor and Nevada at the Pond in Anaheim.

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Florida
4. Illinois
5. Connecticut
6. Arizona
7. Michigan State
8. Memphis
9. Ohio State
10. Gonzaga
11. Texas
12. N.C. State
13. Louisville
14. Indiana
15. Pittsburgh
16. Boston College

Andy Glockner
I've been as vocal as anyone in saying that I don't think this season's Duke squad is untouchable, but there is one thing I will guarantee: Duke will not get plastered this season like UConn and Memphis did this week. That's the thing that seems to separate the Blue Devils from other programs; you might beat them, but they will never self-destruct and hand a game to you. That said, I don't want to overreact to one bad performance, even though it looked like Memphis had never seen a zone before and UConn had never seen tape of Steve Novak. Memphis drops more because the loss was at home and the Tigers weren't overrun by a career game. We'll find out a lot more about the cluster of Big Ten teams in my top 10 and N.C. State in the next couple of weeks. Texas slips back in after the win at Memphis. Air Force didn't do anything wrong to drop out, but other teams had better wins that needed some recognition (like Pitt).

1. Duke
2. Villanova
3. Illinois
4. Connecticut
5. Michigan State
6. Memphis
7. Florida
8. Indiana
9. Washington
10. Gonzaga
11. N.C. State
12. Ohio State
13. Boston College
14. Arizona
15. Texas
16. Pittsburgh

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