If you're looking for shockers, try Davidson over North Carolina in the Dean Dome, but I don't think the Tar Heels are that good in the first place. They have no superstars, just a bunch of decent role players like Kris Lang and Jason Capel. They'll need a lot more than that to be an elite team, never mind the fact that they don't have a proven point guard.

Speaking of overrated, I think Illinois has proven that they are just that. Could they be living up to the Sports Illustrated jinx, ala Oregon State? They squeaked by Penn after being down 11 at the half. Now, Penn is good, but not as good as the Matt Maloney/Jerome Allen teams of the mid-'90s. I'll be honest, I don't know a thing about Eastern Illinois except that the number two team in the country should beat them by more than just three points. The Illini then lost convincingly to a Maryland team that is clearly better.

Don't get me wrong, Illinois is very good, but they're not in the same class as Duke. The Blue Devils might just be better than they were last year, which is bad news for the rest of college hoops. Mike Dunleavy is a hell of a lot better than last season (and that's saying a lot) and Dahntay Jones is as good as advertised.

I liked UCLA at the start of the season, but they've hit a couple of bumps already with all that talent. Remember, Steve Lavin does not have "Bozo Immunity", so he's open to criticism. Iowa, another team I held in high regard at the start of the season, has also hit some trouble though their losses have come higher caliber opponents like Missouri and Duke.

Over in the Pac-10, Arizona has been quite a surprise. We knew they would be okay despite losing all those players from last year's national runnerup team, but to knock off Maryland and Florida on back-to-back nights on a neutral floor has been the most impressive feat thus far in this young season, with all due respect to Ball State and their victories in the same fashion over Kansas and UCLA.

So what can we expect in the next few weeks to come? Expect St. John's to avenge last year's loss to Fordham when they hook up on December 1 at Madison Square Garden. I'll be at the Meadowlands on December 18 when Duke handles Kentucky in the Jimmy V Classic, the same way they did three years ago. Expect North Carolina to rebound some if they get Ronald Curry back at the point after the Tar Heels' football season. Expect Bob Knight and Rick Pitino to have no more than six losses between the two of them entering January, as well.

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