Top 40 countdown

A quick look at how things shake out on this week's ballot:\ \ \ * Some shuffling in the top 10, but the teams remain the same. Washington State climbed a few spots on the strength of its victory at Gonzaga. \ \ \ * Butler falls down to No. 19, but a team like the Bulldogs is bound to get themselves into a few first-to-45-wins clunkers like Saturday's loss to Wright State. And in case anyone forgot, Wright State coach Brad Brownell (formerly of UNC Wilmington) knows what he's doing.\ \ \ * Vanderbilt, Rhode Island and Miami slip in this week; Gonzaga, Arkansas and Virginia fall out. The Razorbacks didn't do anything particularly bad to slip two spots; it's just that Rhode Island (victories over Providence and Syracuse last week) and Miami have slightly better profiles at the moment.\ \ \ * Speaking of Rhode Island, the Rams are one of three Atlantic 10 teams in the top 40, along with Xavier (No. 18) and Dayton (No. 33). And if this extended to 50, Charlotte (which has rattled off victories over Wake Forest, Davidson and Southern Illinois) would have a decent chance of popping up as well.\ \ \ * The only top-25 team with three losses is Southern California, but it's fair to say the opening loss to Mercer was an aberration that means less and less every week. Setbacks to Kansas and Memphis are nothing to be ashamed of, especially after slopping it up with John Calipari's Tigers at the Jimmy V Classic last week.\ \ \ 1. North Carolina (8-0)\ 2. Texas (9-0)\ 3. Memphis (7-0)\ 4. Kansas (9-0)\ 5. Georgetown (7-0)\ 6. Washington State (9-0)\ 7. UCLA (8-1)\ 8. Duke (9-0)\ 9. Michigan State (8-1)\ 10. Indiana (8-1)\ 11. Marquette (6-1)\ 12. Tennessee (8-1)\ 13. Pittsburgh (9-0)\ 14. Clemson (8-0)\ 15. Texas A&M (8-1)\ 16. Arizona (6-2)\ 17. Oregon (6-1)\ 18. Xavier (7-1)\ 19. Butler (8-1)\ 20. Brigham Young (7-2)\ 21. Villanova (7-1)\ 22. Vanderbilt (9-0)\ 23. Southern California (6-3)\ 24. Rhode Island (10-1)\ 25. Miami, Fla. (8-0)\ \ 26. Gonzaga (8-2)\ 27. Arkansas (7-1)\ 28. St. Mary\0x2019s (7-0)\ 29. Virginia (7-2)\ 30. Stanford (8-1)\ 31. Wisconsin (6-2)\ 32. Florida (9-1)\ 33. Dayton (7-1)\ 34. Louisville (5-2)\ 35. West Virginia (7-1)\ 36. Baylor (6-1)\ 37. Creighton (6-1)\ 38. Connecticut (6-2)\ 39. Boston College (7-1)\ 40. San Diego State (8-2)\ \ \ --- Patrick Stevens