Arizona is now the #1 ranked team in college basketball as freshmen-led programs from Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky all sit outside the top eight after beginning the year in the top five.

The Wildcats have a few prized first years of their own, including top recruit and second leading scorer, Aaron Gordon (12.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg), and left-handed defensive whiz Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (8.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg), but otherwise have a pretty balanced offensive attack and a mixed group of veterans and young players.

Their roster of lean scorers is managed by transfer T.J. McConnell, who said his 2012-13 season on the bench as an NCAA transfer gave him the confidence to play like he has this season. The former Duquesne point guard isn't scoring like he used to (11.4 ppg in '11-12 compared to 7.2 ppg this year) probably because opposing PAC-12 defenses are closing out more quickly on his questionable shooting form and because he doesn't have to with a team as talented as Arizona. He is, however, averaging a career high 6.2 assists per game and emerged on the national scene during the Duke game (10 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and countless compliments by announcers in 39 minutes).

But McConnell likely doesn't have pro potential. That distinction best applies to Aaron Gordon, who's had an up-and-down year so far. The 6-foot-9 forward has struggled at times to find his scoring niche, but has been a solid second or third option and leads the team in rebounding.

Syracuse (9-0) finds themselves in the #2 spot mostly out of opportunity, perhaps demonstrating the benefit of playing a relatively easy out of conference schedule when you play in a major league like the ACC ('Cuse's first year in the ACC, by the way, after leaving the Big East) and have a decent preseason ranking (#8). They did beat #14 Baylor (8-1), which recently upset #11 Kentucky, and Indiana (7-2) so the Orange have some examples of legitimacy. Their next few games will feature the best of the current big East: at St. Johns, an uber athletic group who played #5 Wisconsin tough, and then against the surging #10 Villanova Wildcats on Dec. 28.