Top 5

Of course, no season is complete until Duke and North Carolina play their second game, UNC winning 76 – 68. The story of the game is North Carolina's defense, which held Duke to nine points for the first ten minutes, and scoreless for the last five. Duke had managed to scratch back into the game, behind 15 pints by Greg Paulus, and took the lead 68 – 66, with5:24 to play. They would not score again. Danny Green had a big game with 18 points and 7 blocked shots, while Tyler Hansbrough added 15 rebounds. UCLA likely cemented a top seed with a win over Standford, 77 – 67, in an overtime classic. Stanford got a huge game from Brook Lopez, 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists, and led by as many as 14 in the first half. UCLA led by Darren Collison's 24 points, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's 11 rebounds. After the game, UCLA's Kevin Love referred to Brook Lopez, and his twin brother Robin, as the “walking trees from Lord of the Rings.”

Top 25

Action was limited as most schools prepared for conference tournament play. Georgetown had an important win over red hot Louisville, 55 – 52, winning the conference for second consecutive year, for th first time in school history. Austin Freeman had 15 points for the Hoyas, and Roy Hibbert added 12 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Stanford followed its loss to UCLA with another to Southern Cal, 77 – 64. O.J. Mayo had a star turn, with 24 points and 4 assists. Stanford shot only 32.3% for the game. In an early conference tournament, Drake rolled through the Missouri Valley, downing Illinois State in the final, 79 – 49, to take the automatic bid. Indiana had an unexpected loss to Penn State, 68 – 64 in overtime. Eric Gordon had a big game for the Hoosiers, with 26 points, but David Jackson led a balanced attack with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Nitany Lions.Gonzaga, in another early tournament, was shocked by San Diego in the finals, 69 – 62. Keying the win was Gyno Pomare's 10 rebounds, as SDU out rebounded Gonzaga 38 – 25.