Field of 65--Version 3

1) Connecticut (20-1); Oklahoma (21-1); North Carolina (19-2); Marquette (19-2)
At this point in the season, Marquette deserves a one seed. Take a look at the Golden Eagles' resume: 8-0 in the Big East. Wins over Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, West Virginia, Villanova, and Wisconsin. They haven't loss since December 16, and their only two losses came against Tennessee and Dayton. Very winnable road games against DePaul and South Florida are on tap for this week.
2) Louisville (17-3); Pittsburgh (19-2); Wake Forest (17-2); Duke (19-2)
After an uninspiring non-conference showing to start the season, Louisville now possesses conference wins over Villanova, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse,and West Virginia. Freshman sensation Samardo Samuels gets all the press (and rightfully so), but, for the Cards to truly be a title contender, their other highly-touted freshman, Terrence Jennings, must become a consistent contributor. Jennings is a super-athletic shot-blocker (4 blocks against Villanova in 12 minutes and 4 blocks against Rutgers in 18 minutes), and he showed glimpses of his offensive potential against West Virginia on Saturday, scoring 13 points in 17 minutes. The Cards will need Jennings on Monday, as they face off against number one UConn.
3) Clemson (18-2); Michigan State (17-4); Xavier (19-2); UCLA (17-4)
Just as some folks (including myself) were ready to write off UCLA's chances of making it a fourth straight Final Four appearance, the Bruins bounce back with a 15-point win against California and a 34-point demolition of the Stanford Cardinal.
4) Butler (19-1); Purdue (17-4); Texas (15-5); Memphis (18-3)
After leading off their Big 10 schedule with losses to Illinois and Penn State, there was cause for concern in West Lafayette. Since those early missteps, however, we now know that both the Fighting Illini and Nittany Lions are much better than anticipated. More importantly, the Boilermakers have reeled off six straight conference wins, including this past week's victories against Wisconsin and Michigan.
5) Minnesota (18-3); Syracuse (17-5); Kansas (17-4); Washington (16-5)
It's hard to gauge exactly how good the Jayhawks are. Winners of six straight, Bill Self's young squad appears to have turned the corner. However, a closer look reveals KU has been feasting on the Big 12's bottom-feeders. Their six-game win streak features the likes of Kansas State, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Colorado twice. Only Texas A&M looks like a tourney team. The Jayhawks' next three will tell us a lot about just how good this team is -- at Baylor, home against Oklahoma State, and at Missouri.
6) Illinois (18-4); Villanova (17-4); Arizona State (16-5); Gonzaga (16-4)
In the last version of the Field of 65, I noted that conspicuously absent from Villanova's resume was anything resembling a marquee win. Well, the Wildcats took care of that problem with their win over the Pitt Panthers. Jay Wright's club also picked up a nice win against Cincinnati for good measure. Oh, and if you haven't seen the Wildcats play this year, you might not recognize Dante Cunningham. The senior power forward has always been a nice player, but he's turned into the team's most important player, averaging 16.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
7) Dayton (20-2); Ohio State (15-5); Missouri (18-4); Utah State (21-1)
Dayton's Chris Wright is a top-level athlete with tremendous potential. If the 6-8 sophomore forward continues to develop (and stays in school), he could be contributing in the Association.
8) Florida State (16-5); California (16-6); Baylor (15-6); Florida (18-4)
Baylor had a bad week, losing to Texas and Missouri. Still, I like the Bears going forward. Five Bears average double figures. Baylor's perimeter quartet of Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn, Henry Dugat, and Tweety Carter are as offensively-gifted as any group of guards in the country. Kevin Rogers provides an athletic, veteran presence in the post, and freshman Quincy Acy handles the shot-blocking duties. All that's missing from making this team really dangerous -- depth in the post.
9) Kentucky (16-6); Davidson (18-3); West Virginia (15-6); UNLV (17-4)
Kentucky's climb up the rankings came to a halt this past week, as the Cats lost at Ole Miss and at home against South Carolina. The national media loves sharpshooter Jodie Meeks (and for good reason), but rugged power forward Patrick Patterson is the engine in the Wildcats' attack. When Patterson stops getting touches, Kentucky starts to struggle.
10) Saint Mary's (18-3); USC (15-6); Texas A&M (17-5); LSU (17-4)
With the injury to Patrick Mills' hand sidelining the Gaels star for four weeks, Saint Mary's takes a huge slide in the seeding. Before Mills' injury, Saint Mary's held a 39-33 halftime lead at conference rival Gonzaga. (The sophomore scored 18 points before breaking two bones in his hand with three minutes left in the first half.) After Mills' injury, the Gaels scored all of 23 second-half points and ended up losing 69-62. Saint Mary's then lost to Portland by 18 on Saturday. Here's hoping the Gaels hold it together in the West Coast Conference until Mills returns. This team deserves to be dancing in March.
11) Tennessee (13-7); South Carolina (16-4); Penn State (17-5); Boston College (17-6)
I wasn't a big fan of South Carolina hiring Darrin Horn this past offseason. Sure, Horn's Western Kentucky Hilltoppers made a nice run to the Sweet 16 last year, but I thought he may be sort of a one-hit wonder. Thus far, it's looking like I couldn't have been more wrong. It's also looking like former Gamecocks coach Dave Odom was seriously past his prime during his last few years in Columbia. With wins over Florida and Kentucky, South Carolina is making a case for being the SEC's best. 5-9 Devan Downey and 6-0 Zam Fredrick may not be big, but they are terrific off the bounce.
12) Providence (14-7); Georgetown (12-8); Michigan (14-8); Northern Iowa (16-6)
Well, the Notre Dame free-fall watch is over with the Fighting Irish exiting the Field of 65 (for now). Now on Big East free-fall watch -- Georgetown. The Hoyas are 3-6 in the Big East and have lost five straight. With home games against Rutgers and Cincinnati this week, JT3 has a chance to right the ship.
13) Siena (17-5); Buffalo (14-5); Northeastern (15-6); Stephen F. Austin (14-5)
Traditional Colonial Athletic Association contenders VCU, George Mason, Hofstra, and Old Dominion have been displaced for the time being by the Northeastern Huskies, the team Jim Calhoun coached before taking the job at UConn.
14) Arkansas-Little Rock (16-6); VMI (17-3); North Dakota State (16-5); Weber State (14-8)
With their 9-2 conference record, the UALR Trojans get the Sun Belt's automatic bid. However, UALR's spot in the Field probably needs to be assigned an asterisk. Western Kentucky is 8-2 in the conference and has a win over UALR. Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers game against Arkansas State this past week was postponed by the ice storm that slammed Kentucky (and especially the western part of the state). Look for the Toppers to reclaim the Sun Belt bid next week.
15) Vermont (16-6); East Tennessee State (16-6); Cornell (14-6); Robert Morris (15-7)
Atlantic Sun co-leaders ETSU and Jacksonville have split their head-to-head contests, but the Bucs take the automatic bid with their superior overall record.
16) Long Beach State (11-9); Morehead State (13-10); Morgan State (11-10); Alabama State (10-8); Holy Cross (11-11)
Holy Cross won the NCAA Championship back in 1947. Sitting at .500, the Crusaders' chances of adding a second banner are slim.