There is nothing more ridiculous than a Top-25 before any team plays. What is even more ridiculous is asking a coach (ESPN USA Today Poll) or a beat writer (AP) to pick the top 25 teams out of 300+ before they ever see a team play. I know 
what it is like to cover a Division I college basketball team and it might make you less of an expert than a casual sports fan of the entire basketball scene (not true in all cases). Sure, you might know the team you cover better than most, but you might not know as much about every other team out there.
So, anyways, I have waited and have finally seen the majority of the top teams play this season. Now, I feel comfortable enough to select CBR’s first Top 25 poll of the 2008-09 season. Honestly, I still feel that it is early, but it has to be done sometime.
1) North Carolina 11-0
It would be nice to see UNC take on some better opponents. The team does, however, have quality wins over Kentucky, Oregon, Notre Dame and Michigan State. Overall, its schedule doesn’t prepare themselves that well for the tournament.
2) Duke 10-1
The Blue Devils are starting to click. Even though they have already lost this year, I still think this is currently the second best team in the country with convincing wins over then ranked top-ten teams Purdue and Xavier.
3) Oklahoma 11-0
The Sooners have quality wins over Davidson, USC and Purdue. Other highly ranked/undefeated teams like Pittsburgh and Wake Forest haven’t played anyone yet.
4) Connecticut 10-0
The Huskies battled and edged out Gonzaga on Dec. 20 in Seattle, which deserves some recognition. UCONN also has wins over Miami (Fla.) and Wisconsin. It will be nice to see how the team performs in Big East play.
5) Pittsburgh 11-0
The Panthers have yet to have anyone that is ranked. Wins over Texas Tech and Washington St. are ok, but not good enough to prove anything. PITT is getting by on their name right now. However, in the team’s defense, they have blown out every team it has faced. Waiting for Jan. 3 when PITT visits GTOWN.
6) Wake Forest 10-0
Not sure where to put the Demon Deacons. They are undefeated and have a quality win over Baylor, but this team turns the ball over a lot and is very young. Wake will undoubtedly fall in CBR’s rankings as the season moves on, but this is definitely a team to keep an eye on.
7) Gonzaga 8-2
Have to give the Bulldogs credit for never playing at home. Gonzaga has wins over Oklahoma St., Maryland, Tennessee and Washington St. Only losses were to Arizona and UCONN.
8) Xavier 9-1
I know when the major polls come out on Monday, X will probably fall to the mid-teens, but I don’t think that is a fair ranking. Xavier has quality wins over Missouri, Virginia Tech, Memphis and Cincinnati. It was obvious they weren’t ready for Duke and had a rough time just traveling to the game.
9) Texas 9-2
The Longhorns could easily be No. 2 and undefeated. Texas has lost two heartbreakers, a 81-80 loss to Notre Dame and a 67-63 loss to Michigan State. Texas does have wins over St. Joseph’s, Oregon, UCLA and Villanova.
10) Georgetown 8-1
The Hoyas haven’t been that impressive this year. Its best win was over a good Memphis team. Its loss came against Tennessee. GTOWN has games @UCONN (Dec. 29), vs. PITT (Jan. 3) and @ND (Jan. 5) coming up.
11) Tennessee 8-2
UT has hurt itself with a tough schedule this year and dropped in the major polls due to a 88-72 loss to Temple. However, UT has quality wins over GTOWN and Marquette. Its over loss was to Gonzaga. UT play @Kansas on Jan. 3.
12) Ohio St. 8-0
The Buckeyes have room to improve and their perfect record must to recognized. OSU has quality wins over Miami (Fla.), Butler and Notre Dame. Looking forward to the Dec. 27 matchup against West Virginia.
13) Notre Dame 8-2
The Irish has a major quality win by beating Texas. Its losses came against UNC, which is understandable and to Ohio St.
14) Syracuse 11-1
The Orange have quality wins over Florida, Kansas and Memphis. That Cleveland St. loss hurts a bit, but this team is still good even without Eric Devendorf.
15) Purdue 9-2
The Boilermakers two losses this season are to Duke and Oklahoma. They have wins over Boston College and Davidson.
16) Michigan St. 8-2
Just when you think MSU is having an off year it comes up with a big win over Texas. Prior to that, the 93-68 loss to UNC didn’t make the Spartans look that tough.
17) Michigan 8-2
The Wolverines have huge wins over UCLA and Duke. They have also lost to Duke. The other loss came to Maryland. It looks like head coach John Beilein has turned this program around quicker than anticipated.
18) Louisville 7-2
U-of-L has the talent to make a run in March, but like always are not playing its best b-ball in December. It has losses to Western Kentucky and Minnesota.
19) Villanova 10-1
Only loss was to Texas. Has two quality wins over Rhode Island and St. Joseph’s.
20) Clemson 11-0
Still unbeaten, however they have to play that many tough opponents. Give the Tigers credit for wins over Temple, Charlotte, Illinois and Miami (Fla.).
21) Davidson 8-2
The Tigers have losses to Oklahoma and to Purdue. It has wins over N.C. State and West Virginia. Davidson plays Duke on Jan. 7.
22) UCLA 8-2
Like U-of-L and Marquette (No. 24), UCLA is being ranked just because of its talent. Sorry Arizona St. couldn’t fit three unproven talented teams on this list. Losses are to Texas and Michigan.
23) Minnesota 10-0
The Gophers hadn’t played anyone that good until it recently beat Louisville. The team will get a good test when it faces Michigan St. on Dec. 31.
24) Marquette 9-2
Has losses to Dayton and Tennessee. Still getting adjusted under new coach Buzz Williams, but it is easy to argue that the Golden Eagles have the three best guards in college basketball.
25) West Virginia 8-2
Recently beat Miami (Ohio) 82-46. Has a quality win over Ole Miss. Losses are to Kentucky and Davidson. Looks like a team that will shake things up in the Big East this season.
Next 15: (In no order)
Arizona St., Stanford, Dayton, Butler, Illinois, Missouri, Texas A&M, Baylor, BYU, Illinois St., Creighton, UNLV, Memphis, St. Mary’s and Kansas.
