By By Jared Rosenbloom
JARED’S POWER 10
1. Duke (7-0): Coach K’s Blue Devils looked as strong as ever in the Big Ten/ACC challenge. The number one team in the land went into No. 16 Indiana and took care of business, 75-67. Duke standout J.J. Redick led the way with 29 points, shooting better than 50 percent from the field. On Sunday night Duke survived a scare from ACC upstart Virginia Tech. Sean Dockery hit a half court shot as time expired to lead the Blue Devils to a 77-75 win and a perfect week.
2. Texas (8-0): Longhorns sophomore guard Daniel Gibson led the way with 29 points in a 93-55 win over Texas Arlington last Saturday. Brad Buckman added four blocks and junior forward P.J. Tucker led the team in rebounds with 10.
3. Connecticut (6-0): Superstar Rudy Gay scored 22 points in a 113-49 romp over Texas Southern as UConn continued its non-conference dominance. Josh Boone pulled down 12 boards and senior guard Rashad Anderson came off the bench to score 20 points in the win.
4. Villanova (5-0): The Wildcats’ four guard tandem of Allan Ray, Mike Nardi, Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye took care of business against Rider, combining for 68 of 86 points in a blowout victory. If that is not impressive enough, Nova defeated No. 5 Oklahoma in the first top five matchup of the season thus far. Foye led the team with a career-high 32 points in an impressive 85-74 win.
5. Louisville (4-0): The Cardinals were successful in a rare two games in two nights extravaganza. Sophomore center David Padgett had a game for the ages on the first night, recording 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in a 90-65 win over the Prairie View A&M Panthers. The very next night, guard Taquan Dean made six three pointers in a 67-55 win over Arkansas State.
6. Boston College (6-1): The Eagles took care of business last Saturday by beating Sacred Heart, 77-65. Although the team did not look overly impressive, it won the game. Craig Smith was one of the only bright spots, posting a double double with 20 points and 10 boards.
7. Illinois (8-0): After a very tough first half in the United Center in Chicago, the Illini came out strong behind leader Dee brown to prevail in exciting fashion. Center James Augustine had 23 points in the 65-62 win over Xavier last Saturday.
8. Florida (8-0): Perhaps the most surprising team in the first month of the season may be playing the best basketball in all the land. Corey Brewer led the Gators with 25 points and 5 steals in a big time 80-47 win over Central Florida.
9. Memphis (6-1): John Calipari’s Tigers have not been getting the respect they deserve after their conference (Conference USA) was ransacked by the Big East. Memphis took the Big East head on as it faced rival and former C-USA member Cincinnati. Freshman Antonio Anderson dropped a career-high 32 points and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 11 points off the bench on Saturday in the 91-81 victory.
10. Oklahoma (4-1): Aside from Texas, the Sooners are the Big 12’s best team. However, they showed the conference is not nearly as strong as the Big East in the team’s 85-74 loss at Villanova. Oklahoma is the only team in the top 10 that lost this week, but did have some bright spots in the loss. Taj Gray looked great, scoring 22 and a grabbing seven boards while Kevin Bookout added 15.