UCLA is the best team in college basketball, and nobody can convince me otherwise. Now, they may not win the national title at the end of the year because of how much luck and match-ups play a role in winning six straight games in a tournament setting, but having seen Memphis, UNC, and Kansas play I am very confident in my declaration.

The Bruins have it all. With the addition of freshman big man Kevin Love, UCLA now has a legitimate player to go to in the post and to get points when the offense gets bogged down. He is opening up the perimeter for his teammatesand UCLA is scoring more easily in both transition and in the halfcourt than at any point in the Howland era. Point guard Darren Collison returned last night, and after some initial rustiness, got into the groove finishing with 15 points, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers. The experience Russell Westbrook gained running the point in Collison's absence has made the sophomore into a great confident player. He is UCLA's most capable player in breaking down opposing defenses, and is first in the Pac-10 in assists-to-turnover ratio. He and Collison will terrorize opponents on defense with their quickness and length. Add the scoring and savvy of Josh Shipp and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and you have the most complete team in the nation.

Collison and Westbrook will terrorize opposing backcourts with their length and quickness.

I still can not buy into the style that Memphis has chosen to play on offense. They have an absurd amount of talent with the addition of Derrick Rose at the point, and Chris Douglas-Roberts is one of my favorite players in the country to watch. CDR can do it all and is very underrated. Still the Tigers, again due to their style predicated on dribble drives and complete offensive autonomy, are prone to taking poor shots and undisciplined play. Sure, it will work against inferior foes and Memphis should roll to 30 wins and at least the Sweet Sixteen, but a quality disciplined team that can control tempo will give Memphis a lot of problems. Some teams I see capable of doing this to the Tigers are Georgetown, UCLA, and Washington State.

Chris Douglas-Roberts is one of the best players in America, but will it be enough for Memphis?

The Tar Heels are very good, but I question their mental toughness after folding last year in the tournament. They withstood a rally by Ohio State last night, but the Buckeyes are not a legitimate top-15 team just yet. I want to see how UNC reacts in a pressure environment which they certainly will see in the ACC. Forward Deon Thompson needs to step up his game and contribute more alongside Tyler Hansborough.

Hansbrough is great, but he needs more help from Thompson.

Kansas has the same problem as the Heels. The talent has been there for several years, but the results are not quite commensurate with that level. Bill Self has proven himself a peerless recruiter without a doubt, but his coaching record in big games is dubious. Illinois after he left immediately went to the finals and finished 39-1. That same year (Self's first year at Kansas) he took a loaded team with Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, and Aaron Miles to the Elite Eight losing to finalist Georgia Tech in overtime. No shame there. The following year however with essentially the same team he lost in the first round to Bucknell. The following year he guided a young team to the Big 12 title, but again lost in the first round this time to Bradley. With what he called his best team ever in 2007 Self was stopped in the Elite Eight by UCLA. The Jayhawks once again have the talent to win it all with Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, and Sherron Collins once he gets healthy. The question will be whether Self can mold his talent into a winning team in March which is really all that matters at Kansas. He should start by making sure the right players are getting shots namely finding more opportunities for Arthur down low and keeping Rush involved in the offense throughout the game.

Bill Self needs to get his team going in March.

Some quick impressions of some other teams:

Duke - The freshmen have fit in well, and the Blue Devils are better than I thought they would be but there is a huge hole in the middle. Kyle Singler is great, but he is not a center even though he is the only player over 6'9'' for Duke. I don't want to hear about Brian Zoubek (who is 7'0''). He is not a viable option, and Greg Paulus is clearly not a natural point guard. The Dukies are good, but they won't challenge seriously for a title.

Washington State - The Cougars are the biggest threat to UCLA in the Pac-10. They play sound, discplined basketball on offense and defense, and the talent in Pullman is very underrated. Low and Weaver are the most well-known guys on the roster, but Taylor Rochestie will put up some good point totals throughout the year.

Texas - They actually seem better without Kevin Durant only because everybody else is now forced to get actively involed in order to win. Last year everybody on the roster stood around and watched Durant do his thing. Other times they simply forgot to get him the ball. I still will reserve judgement until I see if D.J. Augustin is capable of being the man for the Longhorns, and improves his decision-making. Assist totals is not the way you measure a true point guard. Wins are what matters. Texas will get to test itself in a big way Sunday at No.1 UCLA.

Xavier - If you want a good sleeper pick when you're filling out your bracket in March remember the Musketeers. Xavier should have beaten Ohio State last year in the tournament, and it should be the class of the A-10 once again. Drew Lavender is tiny (just 5'7'') but he knows how to control a team and has gotten more and more comfortable after transferring from Oklahoma. He already has led his team to a win over Indiana.