For a complete bracket with game times click here

NCAA Tournament Games Thursday
TIME (ET) MATCHUP TV
12:20 PM ET (9) Butler vs. (8) LSU CBS
12:25 PM ET (15) Cal State Northridge vs. (2) Memphis CBS
12:30 PM ET (9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Brigham Young CBS
2:30 PM ET (12) Northern Iowa vs. (5) Purdue CBS
2:50 PM ET (16) Radford vs. (1) North Carolina CBS
2:55 PM ET (10) Maryland vs. (7) California CBS
3:00 PM ET (16) Chattanooga vs. (1) Connecticut CBS
5:00 PM ET (13) Mississippi State vs. (4) Washington CBS
7:10 PM ET (10) Michigan vs. (7) Clemson CBS
7:10 PM ET (10) Minnesota vs. (7) Texas CBS
7:20 PM ET (14) American University vs. (3) Villanova CBS
7:25 PM ET (13) Akron vs. (4) Gonzaga CBS
9:40 PM ET (15) Binghamton vs. (2) Duke CBS
9:40 PM ET (15) Morgan State vs. (2) Oklahoma CBS
9:50 PM ET (11) Virginia Commonwealth vs. (6) UCLA CBS
9:55 PM ET (12) Western Kentucky vs. (5) Illinois CBS

NCAA Tournament Games Friday
TIME (ET) MATCHUP TV
12:15 PM ET (14) Stephen F. Austin vs. (3) Syracuse CBS
12:25 PM ET (9) Tennessee vs. (8) Oklahoma State CBS
12:30 PM ET (14) North Dakota State vs. (3) Kansas CBS
12:30 PM ET (11) Utah State vs. (6) Marquette CBS
2:45 PM ET (11) Temple vs. (6) Arizona State CBS
2:55 PM ET (16) East Tennessee State vs. (1) Pittsburgh CBS
3:00 PM ET (14) Cornell vs. (3) Missouri CBS
3:00 PM ET (11) Dayton vs. (6) West Virginia CBS
7:10 PM ET (16) Morehead State vs. (1) Louisville CBS
7:10 PM ET (12) Arizona vs. (5) Utah CBS
7:20 PM ET (10) USC vs. (7) Boston College CBS
7:25 PM ET (13) Portland State vs. (4) Xavier CBS
9:40 PM ET (13) Cleveland State vs. (4) Wake Forest CBS
9:40 PM ET (9) Siena vs. (8) Ohio State CBS
9:50 PM ET (15) Robert Morris vs. (2) Michigan State CBS
9:55 PM ET (12) Wisconsin vs. (5) Florida State CBS

AP Top 25
No. School Record Points Prev
1 North Carolina (35) 27-3 1734 2
2 Pittsburgh (33) 28-3 1731 3
3 Connecticut 27-3 1592 1
4 Memphis (2) 28-3 1544 5
5 Louisville (1) 25-5 1513 6
6 Oklahoma 27-4 1399 4
7 Michigan State 25-5 1349 8
8 Wake Forest 24-5 1246 10
9 Duke 25-6 1237 7
10 Villanova 25-6 1108 11
11 Kansas 25-6 1038 9
12 Gonzaga 26-5 978 14
13 Washington 24-7 910 16
14 Missouri 25-6 779 15
15 UCLA 24-7 752 20
16 Butler 26-4 536 22
17 Clemson 23-7 528 18
18 Syracuse 23-8 518 25
19 Xavier 24-6 465 17
20 LSU 25-6 461 12
21 Marquette 23-8 453 13
22 Florida State 23-8 333 24
23 Arizona State 22-8 199 21
24 Purdue 22-9 169 19
25 Brigham Young 24-6 158 27
Others Receiving Votes: Illinois(23-8) 131; Texas A&M(23-8) 63; St. Mary’s(25-6) 56; Utah(21-9) 21; West Virginia(21-10) 17; Auburn(21-10) 9; Dayton(25-6) 7; Utah State(27-4) 6; Virginia Commonwealth(24-9) 6; Weber State(21-8) 5; Creighton(26-7) 4; Northern Iowa(23-10) 3; Siena(26-7) 3; Oklahoma State(20-10) 3; Penn State(21-10) 2; New Mexico(21-10) 2; Texas(20-10) 2; California(22-9) 2; Ohio State(20-9) 1; American(23-7) 1; Tennessee(19-11) 1

AP Top 25
No. School Record Points Prev
1 Connecticut (64) 22-1 1792 2
2 Oklahoma (5) 23-1 1691 4
3 North Carolina (3) 21-2 1639 5
4 Duke 20-3 1563 1
5 Louisville 17-4 1464 7
6 Pittsburgh 21-2 1427 3
7 Wake Forest 17-3 1409 6
8 Marquette 20-3 1358 8
9 Xavier 20-3 1176 10
10 Clemson 19-3 1077 12
11 Butler 21-2 1051 13
12 Purdue 17-5 961 16
13 Michigan State 19-4 876 9
14 Memphis 20-3 798 18
15 UCLA 19-4 787 17
16 Texas 15-7 724 11
17 Villanova 19-4 698 21
18 Gonzaga 17-5 632 20
19 Minnesota 18-5 426 27
20 Syracuse 18-6 415 15
21 Kansas 19-4 316 28
22 Washington 16-6 216 23
23 Illinois 18-5 198 19
24 Arizona State 18-5 146 14
25 Utah State 23-1 99 35
Others Receiving Votes: Dayton(21-2) 95; Davidson(20-4) 85; Missouri(20-4) 39; Penn State(17-6) 37; LSU(18-4) 36; South Carolina(17-5) 33; West Virginia(16-7) 33; UNLV(17-6) 29; Florida(19-4) 24; Providence(14-9) 14; Southern California(15-7) 8; Notre Dame(12-10) 7; Siena(18-6) 4; Kansas State(16-7) 4; Ohio State(17-5) 3; Northeastern(16-7) 3; Kentucky(16-7) 2; Arizona(16-8) 2; Florida State(18-5) 1; Northern Iowa(17-6) 1; VMI(19-4) 1

AP Top 25
No. School Record Points Prev
1 Duke (62) 18-2 1789 2
2 Connecticut (6) 20-1 1694 3
3 Pittsburgh (3) 19-2 1647 4
4 Oklahoma (1) 21-1 1539 6
5 North Carolina 19-2 1529 5
6 Wake Forest 17-2 1509 1
7 Louisville 17-3 1351 9
8 Marquette 19-2 1209 11
9 Michigan State 17-3 1136 7
10 Xavier 19-2 1084 15
11 Texas 15-5 1017 14
12 Clemson 18-2 929 10
13 Butler 19-1 916 16
14 Arizona State 16-5 834 17
15 Syracuse 17-5 808 8
16 Purdue 17-4 724 18
17 UCLA 17-4 544 13
18 Memphis 18-3 530 22
19 Illinois 17-4 401 25
20 Gonzaga 16-4 381 23
21 Villanova 16-4 276 20
22 St. Mary’s 18-3 247 27
23 Washington 16-5 218 36
24 Kentucky 16-6 217 28
25 Georgetown 12-8 189 12
Others Receiving Votes: Notre Dame(12-8) 154; Minnesota(18-3) 138; Kansas(17-4) 84; Florida(18-4) 65; Missouri(18-4) 52; Virginia Tech(14-7) 37; Baylor(15-6) 34; West Virginia(15-6) 32; Davidson(18-3) 27; Utah State(21-1) 23; Dayton(19-2) 14; California(16-6) 13; UNLV(17-4) 4; Florida State(16-5) 3; Ohio State(15-5) 1; Virginia Commonwealth(16-6) 1

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.