The college basketball season has quietly gotten underway and the upsets have come early in often. Parity and better coaching are partial reasons for this, but unlike college football there is no reason to panic. A season does not end with a team’s second loss and there are no subjective polls and computer formulas to worry about. College basketball is determined on the court with March being the ultimate proving ground. So with that said, here's a look at November’s ten best teams.

1. UCLA
Cause for optimism:  Experience.
Almost the entire roster returns from a team that has made back-to-back Final Fours losing to the eventual national champions in Florida both years.  Freshman Kevin Love steps in to fill the Bruins' only weakness (inside scoring).

Cause for concern:  Injuries.
Point guard Darren Collison has already missed more time than expected, and with shooter Mike Roll out, the Bruins have only one true guard healthy in sophomore Russell Westbrook. The Bruins will try to hold down the fort with wing Josh Shipp playing back-up minutes at the point, something he has never done in his entire basketball career. Collison and Roll should be back in the next few weeks, but if another injury pops up UCLA's title hopes would be in serious jeopardy.

Outlook: This team has it all. UCLA will be much improved on offense with a solid post presence in Love.  Add quicksilver point guard Collison with multi-talented forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Ben Howland's signature defense might make UCLA the most complete team in the country.

2. North Carolina
Cause for optimism:  Man in the middle.
Tyler Hansborough still mans the post for the Tar Heels, and he's on everybody's list for national player of the year honors. Guards Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson are a year older and a year better.  Sophomore post Deon Thompson should be fin in replacing Brandan Wright, but will need to show more than he has thus far.

Cause for concern:  No influx of new talent.
The Heels certainly have the talent to win it all, but even with Wright bolting early NBA early and Reyshawn Terry graduating Roy Williams brought in zero recruits this year. If Thompson or fellow sophomore Alex Stepheson can't cut it, who steps up and fills the spot in the rotation? Shot selection and half court defense will also areas marked "needs improvement."

Outlook:  The Heels are the easy favorites in the ACC and should be a heavy favorite to make to college basketball's Final Four in San Antonio.

3. Georgetown
Cause for optimism:  Depth and coaching.
Freshman guards Chris Wright and Austin Freeman will bring some much needed athleticism and scoring punch to the perimeter.  Center Roy Hibbert bypassed the NBA draft and is back for his senior season joining fellow veterans Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace. Sophomore forward DaJuan Summers looks ready to have a breakout campaign after a promising first year in D.C, and Patrick Ewing Jr. provides more depth up front.

Cause for concern:  Who's the man?
Departed Jeff Green left was the clear go-to player and leader for the Hoyas, and made plays all over the court.  Wallace seems to be the most likely candidate to fill that void as he is a more assertive voice than Hibbert.  Forward Vernon Macklin will have to improve on a mediocre freshman campaign to live up to his lofty prep hype.

Outlook:  Georgetown might start out slowly while integrating Wright and Freeman, and adjusting to playing without Green. Either way, John Thompson III's club should rule the Big East along with Louisville.  The Hoyas are one of the best coached teams in America, and they now have elite talent on the perimeter to match their impressive frontcourt depth.

4. Memphis
Cause for optimism: Athletes galore.
Point guard phenom Derrick Rose will start from day one and join a crowd of athletic perimeter players that include Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson, Willie Kemp and Andre Allen. A soft conference schedule allows the Tigers to rack up wins and likely stay in the top-five all year and be in the mix for a No.1 seed in March.

Cause for concern: Playing style and defense.
The Tigers play one of the most unorthodox styles in college basketball. Calipari has introduced an offensive system based on dribble drives, kick-outs, and three pointers giving free reign to his players. When the Tigers get hot they will bury opponents, but they will just as easily let teams back in games because their style is not conducive to putting teams away when discipline, defense, and good shot selection are called for. If shots aren't falling, the Tigers will struggle to score in the half-court as they did last week against Connecticut. Big man Joey Dorsey also needs to stop talking and do what he does best: rebound and block shots. He has plenty of guards to do the scoring.

Outlook:  Memphis will come at opponents in waves, and “Coach Cal” probably has the most athletic club in the country. The Tigers will run teams out of the gym some nights, but also let inferior teams hang around for far too long in games. The weak Conference USA didn't seem to hurt them last year, and they will try and get over the hump and make the Final Four this season.

5. Kansas
Cause for optimism: Brandon Rush is back.
The junior made a sooner-than-expected recovery from an ACL injury and played in a win last Thursday over Washburn. The Jayhawks are among the most talented teams in the nation with an impressive trio of guards in Sherron Collins, Mario Chalmers, and Russell Robinson. Darrell Arthur and Sasha Kaun will provide the muscle inside.

Cause for concern:  Injuries, March mental hurdles.
Rush will still need some time to regain his explosiveness after his injury, and now Collins is out six weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot. Kansas again should be the class of the Big 12, but the Jayhawks won't be able to meet expectations unless they can avoid another March meltdown.

Outlook: Bill Self has the regular season part down; it's just the postseason that he hasn't figured out.  Kansas is very athletic and they will get out and defend teams out on the perimeter and in the paint. Nothing short of at least a Final Four appearance though will appease fans in Kansas, something coach Bill Self has yet to accomplish. More consistent play from Arthur will go a long way in making that happen.

6. Louisville
Cause for optimism: Maturing young talent.
Guard Edgar Sosa introduced himself to the country with an electrifying 32 point display against Texas A&M.  Unfortunately, he also showed he has a long way to go after missing two crucial free throws that would have put the Cardinals up with just seconds on the clock.  The maturation of Sosa is key to this team's success as is the health of senior David Padgett. Wing Terrance Williams has already put his skills on display this season recording a triple-double.

Cause for concern: Who plays point?
Sosa is very much cut from the New York City scoring guard mold rather than a true lead player. He will share backcourt duties with Jerry Smith, and Williams will likely play a "point-forward" type role at times. As all Rick Pitino teams will do, the Cardinals will get out and run and shoots tons of threes, and overwhelms lots of teams on sheer talent. When games grind to a halt and are won in the half-court will be the true test for the 'Ville.

Outlook: Pitino has the post players to help his perimeter talent, but Padgett and Juan Diego Palacios have a history of injuries. Those two will need to stay off the trainer's tables and stay on the court. Derick Caracter also needs to keep his weight under control and provide some more help inside as well. If those things happen this team could be dancing well into March. Those are some big "ifs" however.

7. Tennessee
Cause for optimism:  Depth and senior leadership.
Chris Lofton returns for his senior season, and there might not be a better shooter in the country.  When he gets hot from downtown it's lights-out for opponents. His backcourt mates Jajuan Smith and Ramar Smith are back as well to add even more firepower on the perimeter. Transfer Tyler Smith adds another player to a very athletic frontcourt that already includes Duke Crews and Wayne Chism.

Cause for concern: Style and defense.
Like Memphis, the Volunteers will press all day long and will blow some very good teams right off the court under an avalanche of scoring. And, just like a run-and-shoot team in football, when a slower style is dictated, the Vols can grind to a screeching halt. Bruce Pearl knows that his system is a double-edged sword, but with the kind of athletes he has on his roster who can blame him. He will need to emphasize good solid defense in order to pull out the inevitable close games in SEC play.

Outlook:  Lofton is among the best offensive players in the country, and carry a team with his shooting.  Luckily, he won't have to with a talented roster that will looks to be the best in the SEC.  Pearl's all-out attacking style suits his personnel well from the guards to the post players.

8. Washington State
Cause for optimism: The best pair of players the nation has never heard of.
The Pac-10 knows just how good guards Derek Low and Kyle Weaver are. Soon the rest of the country will too. The two were among the best players for the U.S. team that finished fifth in the Pan American games this past summer. Low hardly played in the first two games in that tournament, both losses for the red, white, and blue. He then started the final three games which were not coincidentally, all wins.

Cause for concern: Element of surprise is gone.
The Cougars will have to get used to being the hunted this year after sneaking up on the entire country in 2006-2007. The Pac-10 too as a whole will be as strong as it has ever been from top to bottom with up to 8 tourney caliber teams. Washington State is expected to be among the elite, and it is up to them to deliver.

Outlook: Las season wasn't just smoke and mirrors as the roster is much more talented than it is given credit for.  Low and Weaver form one of the best backcourts in the country along with sharpshooter Taylor Rochestie. Aaron Baynes is a serviceable big man, and Robbie Cowgill has a solid inside-outside game that belies his rail-thin physical stature. The Cougars will continue to methodically beat their opponents all year.

9. Michigan State
Cause for optimism: Drew Neitzel is back.
The do-everything guard carried the team for long stretches last season, and now his supporting cast should be a year older and a year better. Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan looks ready to take on a larger role after playing impressively down the stretch last season

Cause for concern: Depth.
Beyond Neitzel, there is some concern as to where the points are going to come from. Morgan certainly should be the number two guy on this team, but the Spartans will be looking heavily at freshmen Chris Allen and Durrell Summers to provide some much needed athleticism to the backcourt.

Outlook: As long as Neitzel is upright, this team will play with grit and toughness. Coach Tom Izzo surely didn't envision his squad losing to Grand Valley St. in an exhibition, but the Spartans almost lost to that same team last year and recovered nicely.  This isn't college football where an early loss can cripple a season, and Neitzel's teammates should help carry the load much more this time around.
 
10. Oregon
Cause for optimism: Four starters return.
Bryce Taylor, Marty Leunen, Tajuan Porter, and Malik Hairston all return from last season's Elite Eight team. The Ducks have a wealth of talent on the perimeter and will compete once again with UCLA and Washington State for Pac-10 supremacy.

Cause for concern: How do the Ducks deal with the loss of Aaron Brooks?
As good as Oregon was last season, Brooks was the engine that made them go. He distributed the ball to all the scorers, and took the pressure off Porter and allowed him to be a scorer. With Brooks gone to the Houston Rockets either Porter or freshman Kamyron Brown will have to assume playmaking duties and get everybody enough touches to stay happy.

Outlook: The Ducks will likely be able to score with anybody in the country. They do however play what amounts to an all-wing lineup meaning Leunen and Hairston will have to continually match-up with bigger players. That happened last season as well though, and it seemed to work itself out either way. Forward Joevan Catron will help provide some inside muscle.
 
Best of the Rest
Gonzaga: Best mid-major in the nation keeps on rolling. Newcomers Micah Downs and Austin Daye bring athleticism to the frontcourt that will be very formidable once Josh Heytvelt returns from injury.

Marquette:  Perimeter trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Matthews are back for another run.

North Carolina State:  Just like Oregon, the Wolf Pack will need to find solid play from a lead guard to help a great frontcourt headlined by Ben McCauley, Brandon Costner, and frosh J.J. Hickson.

Texas:  Kevin Durant is gone, but D.J. Augustin and company still have the talent to play with the big boys in the Big 12.

Texas A&M:  New coach Mark Turgeon inherited a ready-made team from Billy Gillespie, and also one of the best freshmen in the country in DeAndre Jordan