Measuring the early returns: if you missed the shows Hakim Warrick and Nate Robinson staged in November, good news: the season lasts another four months

Notre Dame is struggling to provide more rest for PG Chris Thomas and SG Chris Quinn. In surprisingly competitive games against Harvard and Charleston Southern, those two combined for only 8 minutes of bench time. That's not helping to build the team's depth, and there's a risk of wearing down Thomas and Quinn before Big East play, when they'll probably get very little rest that isn't mandated by foul trouble. Coach Mike Brey admits he's not yet confident enough to take either of the guards out of the game. Instead, Brey is trying to mix in some zone defense to lessen the physical demands on Quinn and Thomas.

TSN POWER POLL

The TSN Power Poll is determined by TSN writers and editors.

Key December matchups edition

+, - rise or fall in rankings

1. Wake Forest (5-0) Even

2. Syracuse (5-0) Even

3. Oklahoma State (3-0) Even

The Cowboys have shown some early rust, but they can't afford a slow start against Syracuse (12/7). To close the month, they'll try to lasso Gonzaga (12/28).

4. Kansas (2-0) Even

5. Illinois (4-0) +2

6. Georgia Tech (3-0) -1

7. Kentucky (3-0) -1

Time to find out how good the freshmen are with a trip to North Carolina (12/4). Then there's that little rivalry game against Louisville (12/18), in which the Wildcats have lost two straight.

8. Duke (3-0) +1

9. Washington (4-0) +12

10. Connecticut (1-0) Even

12. Pittsburgh (3-0) Even

12. Michigan State (3-0) +1

13. North Carolina (3-1) +6

14. Maryland (3-0) +2

15. N.C. State (4-0) Even

The Wolfpack faces a tough West Coast trip against Washington (12/19) and BYU (12/21). The game against the Huskies features two of the top guards in the country: State's Julius Hodge and Washington's Nate Robinson.

16. Mississippi State (5-1) -2

17. Notre Dame (3-0) +3

The Irish face a potential tricky stretch against three regional rivals: at Michigan (12/4), at Indiana (12/8) and DePaul (12/11).

18. Florida (3-0) +7

Coach Billy Donovan already has beaten Providence, his alma mater, this season. Now he'll try to beat a former coach, Rick Pitino, in a game against Louisville (12/11).

19. Louisville (3-1) -7

20. Iowa (3-1) NR

21. Alabama (4-1) -4

22. Texas (3-1) -4

23. Virginia (4-0) NR

24. Creighton (5-0) NR

25. Southern Illinois (4-0) NR

* Records through last Saturday

COPYRIGHT 2004 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning