College basketball provided us with a few contests for the ages Saturday, as Connecticut against Gonzaga and Michigan State at Texas were both thrilling games with a post-season feel. With just a handful of games until conference play get in full-swing, here is our latest version of College Basketball’s Power Rankings:

1. North Carolina (11-0, 0-0): Tyler Hansbrough further cemented his legacy at North Carolina, as the senior became the school’s all-time leading scorer Thursday night. This group is starting to take the look of the MonStars from Space Jam, as they’ve won all 11 games they’ve played by double-digits.

2. Connecticut (10-0, 0-0): The calendar may only say December, but UConn’s win Saturday at Gonzaga sure had a Final Four atmosphere. A.J. Price looks like he’s finally returned to last year’s form (24 points, 10 assists vs. the Bulldogs), a scary thing for everyone else in the Big East.

3. Pittsburgh (12-0, 0-0): It took Pittsburgh 12 games and almost two full months, but they finally played a true road game, winning Sunday night at Florida State. The win was a nice moral victory, but the Panthers won’t beat many teams in the Big East shooting 33 percent from the field, as they did against the Seminoles.

4. Oklahoma (11-0, 0-0): Paging Tony Crocker? With expectations high, the junior struggled early this season, but stepped up big in Saturday’s win against Virginia Commonwealth, netting a career-high 26 points.

5. Duke (10-1, 0-0): Saturday’s game with Xavier was supposed to be a showdown. The Blue Devils made it look more like a pre-season exhibition, as they jumped out to a 19 point lead before Xavier scored their first field goal.

6. Gonzaga (8-2, 0-0): In every great game, there must be a loser, the role the Zags were cast in Saturday. After leading UConn for most of the second half before ultimately falling apart, Gonzaga needs to erase this game from their memories quickly.

7. Syracuse (11-1. 0-0): It was quite the busy week at Syracuse, with a buzzer-beating, heartbreaking loss to Cleveland State, a win against Canisius, and the on-going saga surrounding Eric Devendorf. Oh, and did we mention the Orange went to Memphis (without Devendorf) and got a huge road victory?

8. Texas (9-2, 0-0): The great defense that has been Texas’ signature all year went out the window against Michigan State, which shot 50 percent from the field in their win over the Longhorns. This team looks awfully beatable when A.J. Abrams (3-10, 8 points against MSU) isn’t on top of his game.

9. Wake Forest (10-0, 0-0): Can someone please check the birth certificates of the players on this team (virtually none of the regulars in Wake’s rotation can drink legally)? This team is playing well beyond its years, and should find itself playing deep into March.

10. Ohio State (8-0, 0-0): Thad Motta’s crew continues to climb up these rankings, but now must deal with the loss of captain David Lighty, who’s expected to miss the next 6-12 weeks with an injury. The only thing Buckeyes fans should be asking for this holiday season is a quick and healthy recovery for the junior.

11. Georgetown (8-1, 0-0): Hoops Addict told you before the season to watch out for Chris Wright, and the junior made us look good Saturday, with a 19 point, 7 assist effort against Mount St. Mary’s. A December 29, road trip to Connecticut is coming up quickly for the Hoyas.

12. Michigan State (8-2, 0-0): The Spartans make a huge jump after their emotional win against Texas. Durrell Summers (14 points, and the game winning three-pointer with 18 seconds to go) will get all the credit for the win, but Michigan State does not get the victory Saturday without center Goran Sutton, finally healthy after missing close to a month with injury.

13. Xavier (9-1, 0-0): Saturday’s nightmare against Duke was one of those games Xavier coach Sean Miller needs to set the tape on fire and make sure no one talks about again. The Musketeers better rebound quickly, as they play a 9-1 Butler team Tuesday night.

14. Villanova (10-1, 0-0): Philadelphia is supposed to be the city of “Brotherly Love.” Apparently no one told Villanova, which showed no mercy beating intra-city rivals St. Joseph’s and LaSalle this week.

15. Louisville (7-2, 0-0): Louisville didn’t do themselves any favors by playing Minnesota Saturday afternoon in Phoenix; just 36 hours and a cross-country flight after their win over Mississippi. Regardless, if you can turn all the Cardinals NBA-caliber athletes into jump shooters, this team looks beatable.

16. Baylor (9-2, 0-0): Maybe taking a full week off for finals wasn’t such a good idea, as Baylor struggled to beat Texas-Arlington at home this weekend. In a conference starring Blake Griffin and A.J. Abrams, Curtis Jerrells (17.1 ppg, 5.9 apg) could make a dark-horse run at Big XII Player of the Year honors.

17. Minnesota (10-0, 0-0): Hoops Addict was waiting for the Gophers to challenge themselves out of conference before we ranked them, and beating Louisville proved them legit. With in-consistency all over the Big 10, there’s no reason to think this team can’t contend for a conference title.

18. Notre Dame (8-2, 0-0): Yes the Irish beat Delaware State by 28 points this week. Except for family of the team and coaches, no one seemed to notice.

19. Michigan (8-2, 0-0): The Wolverines win over Oakland this week did little to turn heads nationally. But people in Ann Arbor are gushing over Laval-Lucas Perry’s first performance in a Michigan uniform, a 14 point effort, for the Arizona transfer.

20. Clemson (12-0. 1-0): Another team that was under board review until further notice. An 18 point win at Miami was more than enough to get them admitted to this weeks Power Rankings.

New to the Power Rankings: Minnesota, Clemson

Dropping out: Davidson, Marquette

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media