We take a look at the latest polls from the college hardwood:

COMPLETE RANKINGS

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When the Miami Heat landed Lebron James and Chris Bosh this off-season, they quickly became the New York Yankees of the NBA. A team everyone watched, but just loved to hate.

 It’s hard to compare Miami to the Bronx Bombers too much just yet as the boys in pinstripes have plenty of championship trophies on the shelf. The Heat hasn’t won anything yet.

The Celtics would be the top seed in the Eastern Division if the playoffs started now, yet most bookmakers still give the Heat better odds to win a championship.

Last week the Knicks went out and got Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to help them close the gap on the conference’s elite.

As Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote on Monday:

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“The Knicks obtained Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to beat the Heat. And they did. Oh, yes — the Knicks’ new star trio did it on its first try last night.

The Melo & ‘Mare Show — with a clutch late fourth-quarter burst from Billups — were better than the Dream Team last night.

The Knicks eked out a stunning 91-86 victory over the Heat, gutting it out with defense in the final minutes, ending the game on a 13-2 spree as chants of “New York Knicks” rattled around American Airlines Arena. “

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Granted the big win by the Knicks came just two days after they lost to the league’s worst team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Sunday night proved that the Knicks are capable of being a factor. In the end, Sunday night only intensified the rivalry. The hotter it gets the better it is for the NBA.

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2010 Rewind: After first and second place finishes in the NL West in 2007 and 2008, the Diamondbacks have found themselves in the cellars the past two seasons. The team hit rock bottom last summer and cleaned house in July as they hired Kirk Gibson as their manager on their way to a 65-97 finish.  The team was awful, including having the third worst bullpen (5.74 ERA) in major league history. 

The Good: The D-Backs boast second basemen Kelly Johnson and shortstop Stephen Drew up the middle, giving them one of baseball’s best all-around combos.  They only committed 18 errors combined and both flashed some pretty good leather. Johnson hit .284 with 26 HR and 76 RBI and wound up hitting third in the order by year’s end. Drew, a .272 career hitter, batted .278 last year with 15 HR, 61 RBI, 83 runs and 10 stolen bases.

The Bad: Long gone are the days of Arizona having one of the division’s best rotations. They dealt Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson last season, leaving them with a rotation that figures to have Joe Saunders, Daniel Hudson (7-1, 1.69 ERA after being acquired July 30), Ian Kennedy, Zach Duke, and Armando Galarraga in the mix. Despite positive results in stretches last season the unit likely overachieved.  The bullpen got better and will now turn to J.J. Putz to close out games, but expect it to be taxed and worn out early on.

Biggest Loss:  Though they won’t miss his 211 strikeouts .198 batting average, the team will sorely miss Mark Reynolds’ power. The third basemen left via free agency as did fellow corner man, first basemen Adam LaRoche. The duo combined for 57 homers and 158 RBI a year ago.

Best Addition: Melvin Mora was brought in to replace Reynolds at third base. He will come nowhere near the power numbers, but he will provide a much more professional at bat and a major upgrade defensively. The veteran hit .307 with 31 RBI following the All-Star Break in 2010 after taking over the starting job in Colorado.

Fantasy Slant: The biggest buzz in the desert centers on the Diamondbacks’ young outfielders, Justin Upton and Chris Young. Upton is one of the game’s best five-tool players, but his average 2010 numbers could lower his value heading into this season. He has some injury risk, but could prove to be a great value pick for owners. Young rebounded from a dismal 2009 campaign by hitting 27 HR and 91 RBI while earning All-Star honors. He needs to get the .257 average up and cut down on his strikeouts, but the team is counting on him in the middle of the order.

Final Take: The Diamondbacks still have plenty of question marks, but they appear to be headed in the right direction. The division isn’t as good as it was a year ago, so don’t count on 97 losses again.  Still, it will be hard for them to improve their record by more than 10 games…2011 Record: 73-98

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Less than a week after rising back to the top from the No. 5 spot in the rankings, the Duke Blue Devils lost to unranked Virginia Tech on Saturday leaving mayhem in the rankings for the second straight week. Things are really getting interesting as we enter the final week of regular-season action on the college hardwood.

For the second straight week at least three of the top six teams have suffered a weekend defeat.  Second-ranked Pittsburgh fell in overtime in a road Big East battle at Louisville on Sunday. Fifth-ranked Texas lost at Colorado on Saturday and fourth-ranked San Diego State got beat for the second time this season by BYU over the weekend.

Following their win over Indiana at home on Sunday, Ohio State figures to return to the top of the rankings when they are released on Monday. Kansas will also receive plenty of votes. After that things get murky.

Rankings don’t mean much in the end, but they do have a huge influence on the tournament seeding. At this point it is hard to project which teams will earn a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday two weeks from tonight. There is still plenty of basketball to be played, but if the brackets were built today I could make a strong argument for OHIO STATE, KANSAS, DUKE, and BYU.

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TIER 1
Joe Mauer (MIN)
Victor Martinez (DET)
Brian McCann (ATL)
Buster Posey (SF)

TIER 2
Carlos Santana (CLE)
Jorge Posada (NYY)
Matt Wieters (BAL)
Kurt Suzuk (OAK)
Miguel Montero (ARZ)

TIER 3
Mike Napoli (TEX)
Geovany Soto (CHC)
Russell Martin (NYY)
Chris Iannetta (COL)
Miguel Olivo (SEA)
Yadier Molina (STL)
John Jaso (TB)

TIER 4
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (BOS)
A.J. Pierzynski (CHW)
Bengie Molina (SF)
John Buck (FLA)
Carlos Ruiz (PHI)
Josh Thole (NYM)

TIER 5
Ryan Doumit (PIT)
Ramon Hernandez (CIN)
J.P. Arencibia (TOR)
Rod Barajas (LAD)
John Baker (FLA)
Jesus Flores (WAS)
Nick Hundley (SD)
Alex Avila (DET)
Jeff Mathis (ANA)

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1. Carolina (2-14)
2. Denver (4-12)
3. Buffalo (4-12)
4. Cincinnati (4-12)
5. Arizona (5-11)
6. Cleveland (5-11)
7. San Francisco (6-10)
8. Tennessee (6-10)
9. Dallas (6-10)
10. Washington (6-10)
11. Houston (6-10)
12. Minnesota (6-10)
13. Detroit (6-10)
14. St. Louis (7-9)
15. Miami (7-9)
16. Jacksonville (8-8)
17. New England (14-2) -- from Oakland
18. San Diego (9-7)
19. New York Giants (10-6)
20. Tampa Bay (10-6)
21. Kansas City (10-6)
22. Indianapolis (10-6)
23. Philadelphia (10-6)
24. New Orleans (11-5)
25. Seattle (7-9)
26. Baltimore (12-4)
27. Atlanta (13-3)
28. New England (14-2)
29. Chicago (11-5)
30. New York Jets (11-5)
31. Pittsburgh (12-4)
32. Green Bay (10-6)

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For the first time since divisional play started in the SEC in 1991, the Kentucky Wildcats have lost six road games as they fell 77-76 in overtime to Arkansas.

Tubby Smith’s last team in 2006-07 was the only time UK had lost as many as five SEC road games.

The most frustrating part of the struggles away from Rupp Arena inside the conference is the fact that the six losses came by a combined 18 points.

The Wildcats are reeling. They don’t have anybody stepping up in crunch time to hit the big shot or to be a leader on the floor.  They won’t be playing at Rupp Arena in March and that suggests that UK won’t be around very long in the upcoming tournament.

The team simply hasn’t gotten better as the season progressed and unfortunately time is running out.

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The Cincinnati Bearcats got their second signature win in a week’s time as they knocked off the 11th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas on the road Wednesday night.

The win comes just a week after the Bearcats defeated the Louisville Cardinals at home and marked the first time in 20 tries that UC beat a ranked team away from the friendly confines of Fifth Third Arena.

Georgetown is fourth team in the current top 25 of the RPI that the Bearcats have beaten.  Mick Cronin’s team now moves to 22-10 and firmly off the NCAA Tournament bubble.

In some of the latest “Bracketology” releases on Monday, UC was already in. Now, they should stay there regardless of how they close out the season.

ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi had Cincinnati as an eight seed. CollegeHoops.net had the Bearcats as No. 9 seed.  Jerry Palm put UC as a seven-seeded team on Tuesday.

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