The Wildcat Sports Desk picks its Top 25 teams heading into No. 1 Arizona's first weekend of regular-season play

1 Arizona ö Simply the best. The Wildcats are the favorite to be partying on Bourbon Street in early April.

2 Alabama ö The Tide rolled over the Sooners in NYC last week.

3 Kansas ö Undefeated in the Big 12, again? Ask the Longhorns and Sooners.

4 Texas ö T.J. Ford has added a jump shot that may land the Longhorns in New Orleans.

5 Oklahoma ö Suffered a tough loss to 'Bama. The Sooner they respond, the better.

6 Pittsburgh ö Returns its core group of players that took it to the Elite Eight.

7 Oregon ö The Luke and Luke show is a dynamic duo, but how much will UO miss Freddie Jones' scoring?

8 Michigan State ö Tom Izzo is still the reigning king of the Big Ten.

9 Duke ö Losing Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy was huge, but Chris Duhon and Dahntay Jones will keep the Duke legacy alive.

10 Georgia ö Ezra and the Dawgs have opened their eyes early and Athens seems to be learning how to swim through the Tide.

11 Florida ö The Gators are depleted. Will the human highlight reel, David Lee, finally live up to his potential?

12 UCLA ö Kapono's sharp shooting gives UCLA a chance in every game.

13 Maryland ö The Terrapins lost a lot, but never underestimate a champion.

14 Mississippi State ö Won the SEC tournament last year ÷ was it a fluke?

15 Gonzaga ö You know they're going to end up here. The question is, who is going to become the next Dan Dickau? Is it Blake Stepp?

16 Xavier ö The Musketeer dynasty in the Atlantic 10 starts right now. David West best in the country?

17 Marquette ö Cincinnati's run of conference titles may end this season.

18 Connecticut ö Jim Calhoun has a real challenge ahead of him if he wants to overtake Pitt in the Big East.

19 Kentucky ö Keith Bogans has earned his time to shine. Will he have a breakout season?

20 Indiana ö Mike Davis got the respect he deserves, now he just has to live up the hype.

21 Memphis ö Fresh off an NIT Championship last year, this time they should compete for the "real" title.

22 North Carolina ö The Tar Heels are starting three freshmen for the first time in school history. This should be fun to watch.

23 Notre Dame ö The luck of the Irish jumped them into the Top 25.

24 Western Kentucky ö This team may be better without the All-American center · we said maybe.

25 Pepperdine ö Boomer Brazzle has by far the coolest name in all of college hoops.