2007-08 college hoops cliff notes.

For the past few months, many college sports fans have been wrapped up into college football season, but with only one game left (not counting the postseason all-star games like the Senior Bowl) on the schedule, it’s time to look ahead on the schedule.

An entire two months has already gone by in the current college basketball season, and a lot has happened in that time. So, I thought I’d help out those who’ve been occupied by the gridiron, and catch you up to speed on what’s been happenin’ in hoops so far.

How are last season’s Final Four teams faring? National champion Florida has gotten off to a 13-2 start under refocused new old coach Billy Donovan, but are unranked and have an RPI of 127 (according to CBS Sports’ site) due to the #302 schedule in the country. Their two losses have come in their toughest games (65-51 to Florida St., 62-49 to Ohio St.). As for the Buckeyes, last season’s runner-up, they’re 11-3 (2-0 Big Ten) - there’s wins over UF and Syracuse, but losses to North Carolina, Butler, and Texas A&M.

The other two teams, Georgetown and UCLA, are both well in the top 10. The #7/#8 Hoyas are 11-1, with their lone loss coming to #2 Memphis on Dec. 22 (85-71). #5 UCLA, meanwhile, is 14-1, with their one loss coming against Texas at home (63-61 on Dec.2). However, the Bruins aren’t even the highest-ranked team in the Pac-10 (keep reading to find out who is).

The state of Tennessee is having a pretty nice season: While Memphis is off to an expected unbeaten start, and could very well head into the NCAA tournament unbeaten, the Tigers aren’t the only unbeaten school in Tennessee, as Vanderbilt is off to a 15-0 start, which has the Commodores creeping up on the top 10. That’s where John Calipari’s team finds themselves (#2) and so do Bruce Pearl and Tennessee (#8 AP, #9 Coaches), with the additions of transfers Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince helping the Vols to a 12-1 start after an 82-72 win at Gonzaga.

The A-10 is sexy again: The East’s ‘other’ big conference hasn’t looked this good since John Chaney still wanted to kill Calipari, and Jim Harrick was only somewhat violating NCAA rules.

Temple’s far from what they were for many years under Chaney, and recent A-10 dominator George Washington is struggling, but thanks to a quartet of Big Dance-worthy squads, it’s happy times in the A-10 + 4.

Xavier and Rhode Island were picked to be the leaders of the pack, and both are backing it up right now, as the Musketeers are off to a 12-3 start. In their last three games, they’ve recorded wins of 26, 38, and 23 points over the likes of Kansas St., Virginia, and Auburn to help break into the top 25.

The Rams (14-1) haven’t been this good since Harrick was working after-hours with an athletic office secretary and Lamar Odom, Cuttino Mobley, and Tyson Wheeler were almost as big as Rhode Island itself. URI has won at Syracuse and Boston College, and is ranked #20 in the newest coaches' poll.

As for the other two, they were picked to be in the middle of the pack, but have been anything but so far.

Dayton (12-1) raised some eyebrows when they went into Freedom Hall and knocked off #14 Louisville. But a 25-point win at unbeaten and #6 ranked Pitt? The Flyers have won 11 in a row
and are soaring up the rankings, coming in at 17th in the most recent AP poll.

The Minutemen of UMass have shot down some pretty impressive foes on the way to an 11-3 start, matching Rhode Island with wins at Syracuse and BC. They could have broken into the rankings with a win at 14-0 Vandy on Saturday, but the ‘Dores fought back from an early double-digit deficit to win 97-88.

If you want some exciting, high-scoring hoops, tune in to the A-10 - Duquesne (10-3) is averaging more than 88 points per game, with UMass at 85, and Rhode Island close to 84, and Xavier at 81.

Rhode Island at Dayton this Wednesday. Catch it if you can, 'cause it's going to be a good one.

Texas is doing pretty well without Kevin Durant: With Durant’s one-man shows last season, Texas was only a second-round team in the NCAA tourney.

Without him? A 13-2 start and a top-10 ranking. The Longhorns’ only two losses came to Michigan St. and Wisconsin, the latter a last-second, 67-66 defeat at the hands of the Badgers. Texas has dealt Tennessee and UCLA their only losses of the season, and just took upstart St. Mary’s to school on Saturday.

It’s not out of line to say so, but they’re much better off without Durant, because when you have someone of his amazing talents, you can start to become a little over-reliant on that one person, and that doesn’t always work, as was the case at times last season.

Thank you, Billy Gillispie, from Mark Turgeon: While Kentucky is bumbling, stumbling, and fumbling their way to a 6-7 start - you know something’s wrong when the football team’s record tops the hoopsters in Lexington - Gillispie’s former school, Texas A&M, has gotten off to a 14-1 start under former Wichita St. head man Turgeon.

Is Washington St. a pretender or contender? Washington St. made a lot of waves last season, when they went 25-8 (13-5 Pac-10), made the second round of the NCAA tourney, and were ranked as high as #12. This season, the #4 Cougars (no, that’s not a misprint) are the highest-ranked Pac-10 team (yes, ahead of UCLA), with their 14-0 start including wins at Gonzaga and Washington. We’ll see just how good they are in the next week, as they face a daunting trip down south to LA, to face USC then UCLA.

Speaking of contenders, is Ole Miss one? As a Mississippi State fan, it’s not particularly pleasant for me to see the Rebels doing so well in a sport that the Bulldogs should be better in. While MSU has finally started pulling it together, winning four in a row after a 5-5 start, Andy Kennedy has had the Rebs kickin’ tail from the get-go, as they’re 13-0 entering SEC play.

Ole Miss’ signature win is an 85-82 win over current #18 Clemson in the San Juan Shootout title game, a win that put them into the top 25. They also have wins over quality mid-majors South Alabama and Winthrop, and also beat Steve Alford’s New Mexico team, who’s 14-2 right now. There’s also a win over DePaul (also in San Juan) that looks really, really good at the moment because of the Blue Demons’ upset of Villanova on Thursday, even though DePaul is 6-7, thanks in large part to an early-season slate that saw them play Ole Miss, Clemson, Kansas, and Vanderbilt.

So, who’s the nation’s best team? Is it North Carolina? The Tar Heels are ranked #1, but barely, as they needed a last-second three from sharp-shooting Wayne Ellington (36 points) to beat Clemson in OT on Sunday. Memphis is #2, but have the most impressive ledger thus far - and need it, considering things are going to get significantly weaker once they hit C-USA play - as they have wins over Oklahoma, USC, Georgetown, Arizona, and Connecticut, all by 10 points or more. Or is it 14-0 Kansas? The Jayhawks have passed their toughest tests (Arizona, USC, Georgia Tech), but have cut it close in each one.

I’ll go with Memphis, because they’ve been the most impressive up to this point. But, only time will tell if the Tigers have what it takes to replicate regular-season results in March, when it really matters.

Any questions? Oh, before I forget - watch Michael Beasley (Kansas St.), Eric Gordon (Indiana), O.J. Mayo (USC), and Derrick Rose (Memphis) while you can, because those guys are good, and won't be long for the college game.