Let's be honest: Ranking the best college teams week in and week out is hardly an exact science.

Sure, you can take into account won-loss records, strength of schedule and "quality wins," but the fact is almost any team in the upper echelon of Division I can beat any other on a given day, particularly if the so-called "favorite" heading into the game has a bad shooting night, for example, or simply gets outplayed.

Which is not to make an excuse for our No. 1-ranked team for most of the season--Kansas--or to somehow justify our selection of the Jayhawks week in and week out after their somewhat shocking loss to Villanova the other night. We won't even mention the fact that we had been down on Jay Wright's team for most of the season...

No, instead, we'll look at the bright side: the fact that North Carolina, another one of our favorites, is still playing and that Oklahoma's presence in Houston proves our boosterism of the Big 12 to be well-placed--even though we've been waiting for the Sooners to fold since late February.

Sigh.

Here are our CBB rankings for the week of March 28, 2016 (won-loss records are as of the time of this writing).

 

NCAA College Basketball (CBB) Rankings

1. North Carolina, 32-6

Brice Johnson (17.1 PPG/10.5 RPG) and the Tar Heels continue to impress this postseason. Although Johnson is the unquestioned star of this team (check out his solid steals and blocks numbers as well), Roy Williams' bunch has a lot of weapons. On paper, they head into Houston as the favorites.

2. Villanova, 33-5

We won't blame you if you say, "I told you so." Frankly, we underrated the Wildcats and the Big East all season. Apparently, so did Bill Self. However, we learned all we needed to know about point guard Ryan Arcidiacono (12.3 PPG/4.3 APG) when he sank all those key free throws down the stretch on Saturday.

3. Oklahoma, 29-7

Our only argument against the Sooners all season has been that they can be a bit one-dimensional: It's Buddy Hield (25.4 PPG) and everybody else. But the formula keeps working. Guard Isaiah Cousins (12.8 PPG/4.6 RPG/4.6 APG) has pretty solid numbers, too.

4. Kansas, 33-5

We know. They lost. But the Jayhawks still had a great season, and we still think they have a better team, top to bottom, than at least one of the programs in the Final Four.

5. Virginia, 29-8

After leading his team to the Elite Eight, Malcolm Brogdon (18.2 PPG) had one of the worst shooting nights of his career (two of 14 overall) against Syracuse. Timing is the key to comedy, but no one is laughing in Charlottesville.

6. Oregon, 31-7

Hold it. Are we being hard on Syracuse here? Maybe. But the Orange were a No. 10 seed coming into the tourney, and many people didn't think they even belonged in the bracket. The Ducks can hold their beaks up high after an outstanding season--and we don't care what Coach K thinks.

7. Gonzaga, 28-8

Okay, now we're pushing it, you're thinking. But hey, like most of the pollsters in the country we zipped past the Zags most of the season, and they clearly warranted our attention.

8. Duke, 25-11

Hang on Boeheim backers, we're getting there. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Durham. Instead, Grayson Allen (21.6 PPG) et al showed us that there's a lot in the cupboard--now and in the near future.

9. Syracuse, 23-17

The Orange finished 9-9 in ACC play, and started off the season on a sour note, with NCAA penalties. They'll finally get rewarded in our list for making it all the way to Houston--and a fine send-off for senior forward Michael Gbinije (17.6 PPG), but a loss in the semis may render their appearance here fleeting.

10. Indiana, 27-8

Tough call between Maryland, Miami and Iowa State here, but the Hoosiers had a solid showing in the Big Dance and may have lost to the eventual champions.

 

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