EPIC CARNIVAL'S NCAA BASKETBALL TOP 20+1 POLL

by Jacob, Vegas Watch

1. UCLA, 160 (3)
2. North Carolina, 149 (2)
3. Memphis, 148 (2)

The top three was the same on every ballot, and for good reason. UCLA, playing without PG Darren Collison, notched impressive wins against Maryland and Michigan St. in the CBE classic.

UNC has looked a bit more vulnerable, but they have beaten both Davidson and BYU (with the latter win coming without Ty Lawson).

Memphis beat both Oklahoma and UConn at MSG. The interesting part of their schedule is coming up, with December games against USC, Georgetown, and Arizona.

4. Kansas, 134
5. Washington St., 124
6. Georgetown, 111
7. Duke, 105

There is a second tier of teams that didn't have quite as much pre-season hype, but were expected to be good, and haven't done anything to dispel that notion. Kansas has faced a pretty weak schedule, and needed overtime to beat Arizona. But they've certainly done nothing to fall lower than their pre-season ranking.

Washington St. has benefited from teams that were generally ranked ahead of them losing. They don't face their first real test until facing Gonzaga next Wednesday.

Georgetown has only played three games to this point. They have a game against Alabama next week, but their first real test will come in a showdown with Memphis on 12/22.

Duke looks like they might actually be good this year, with a convincing win against Wisconsin on Monday night. They play at Davidson on Saturday, which should be good.

8. Texas, 96
9. Michigan St., 93
10. Texas A&M, 86

Both of the Texas teams have been pleasant surprises. The Longhorns beat Tennessee by 19, shooting 64% from the field and hitting 10 of 20 3s. A&M surprised many in beating Washington and Ohio State, on its way to winning the Preseason NIT in New York.

Michigan State's only regular season loss came against UCLA, in a game they easily could have won. They have an interesting December schedule, with games against BYU, Bradley and Texas.

11. Marquette, 83
12(t). Louisville, 81
12(t). Indiana, 81
14. Tennessee, 75

And now, the teams that were in the top 10, but already have a loss on their resume.

Marquette lost to Duke by 4 in the final of the Maui Invitational. But the way Duke has looked, that's not really something that can be held against them. The Golden Eagles did beat Oklahoma St. by 30 the night before.

Louisville followed up an impressive 20-point victory over UNLV with a loss to a very solid BYU team. They play Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, which should be very interesting.

Xavier beat Indiana by 15 last week, momentarily slowing the overwhelming hype surrounding freshman Eric Gordon. They stumbled out of the gate against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night, but came away with a four point victory. It's hard to say whether Indiana is particularly good at this stage, but they certainly have the potential to be dangerous in March.

Tennessee looks quite impressive when playing Ark Monticello (101-44; their Schedule/Results is impressive), Middle Tennessee St. (109-40), and North Carolina A&T (93-59). But they only beat West Virginia by 2, and gave up 97 points against Texas. They'll have another opportunity to prove themselves at the end of the month, with games against Xavier and Gonzaga.

15. Butler, 58
16. Gonzaga, 38
17. Oregon, 36
18. Pittsburgh, 35

Butler had had another impressive November, with wins against Michigan, Virginia Tech and Texas Tech in Alaska. They play Kosta Koufos and Ohio State on Saturday, which should tell us a good deal about both of these teams.

Gonzaga has had a fairly uninspiring month, losing to Texas Tech in Alaska. As usual, they have a very challenging December schedule, with games against UConn, Washington St., Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Oregon has played an extremely boring schedule, and lost in a tough environment at St. Mary's. They play Kansas St. in Manhattan on Thursday, which is a very interesting matchup.

Pitt's opponents to this point: Houston, NC A&T, St. Louis, MVSU, Buffalo, and Boston. They may be great, they may be extremely mediocre. I have no idea.

19. Clemson, 19
20. New Mexico, 18
21. Kansas St., 17

These ballots were all filled out before Monday night's games, and I just watched Clemson struggle against Purdue at home, so I don't envision them making any further appearances on this list.

New Mexico is only here because one participant voted for everybody who is undefeated, and they are 6-0. Not that I have anything against the Lobos.

Kansas State should be good, as they have two of the most talented players in the country in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. But the results haven't been there to this point, as they lost to George Mason and barely got by UCF.

Photos: MSNBC, Huffington Post.