It has been about a month since the first look-in from Thanksgiving weekend. As you might expect some things have changed but others have stayed the same.
Small Potatoes; Mid-Major Conference Look-in
Again we are talking about the non BCS conferences of Conference USA, Mountain West, Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10. When last we blogged together, I stated that I thought the Mountain West might be the most likely of the four best 
mid-majors to fall after a nice start. It looks like the conference is holding up just fine. New Mexico is in the top 15 in the last poll, UNLV is in the top 20 and BYU is also receiving some votes.
In actuality it has been the Missouri Valley Conference that has dropped over the last month. At the moment Memphis and Tulsa are still holding Conference USA up above the others. However, the Atlantic 10 has shown some good depth.
Temple, Xavier,Richmond,Rhode Island, Dayton and Charlotte round out the top of the A10 thus far. Richmond just beat #13 Florida, Temple beat #3 Villanova and Xavier beat #19 Cincinnati. In addition, this past week UMass also upset Memphis. URI has beaten Providence and Boston College. And, Charlotte has a win over Louisville.
The Pomeroy rankings do have Conference USA and the Mountain West just above the Atlantic 10. However, top to bottom the A10 is definitely deeper than C-USA. The A10 should be able to give the Mountain West a run as well.
C’mon man; The Nation’s Most Disappointing Conference
I can’t pick on the Pac-10 again. During this past month the SEC has had some ups and downs. We all knew Kentucky had one of the most talented teams in the nation. The question was how quickly could they mesh and play well. To date they haven’t lost a game–that’s how quickly.
Beyond that there have been some disappointments.
Tennessee doesn’t yet have a quality win. They lost earlier in the season to Purdue and just this past week were blown out in Cali by USC. Florida went on a two game losing streak; ‘Cuse and Richmond. No other team has really proven that they are a legit contender. In fact South Carolina just lost to Wofford this past weekend while Mississippi and Mississippi St and Vandy have yet to impress.
Who-dat; The Nation’s Best Conferences
Alright so who is at the top? Last time I said it was obviously the Big 12, Big East and ACC at the top. That is still the case but there have been some interesting developments.
The ACC has really come on a bit. Florida State couldn’t beat Ohio State earleir this month but did get wins over Auburn and Georgia Tech on the road. Wake Forest beat Gonzaga early in December. Boston College has some bad losses but 
they did beat Providence, Michigan and Miami. Duke has beaten Uconn, St. John’s, and Gonzaga. UNC has lost some big games to very good teams. They do hold that early December win against Michigan St.
The Big 12 has Kansas and Texas at the top. Potentially the best two teams in the nation. Texas beat UNC this past weekend while Kansas beat up on Michigan. Beyond those two teams there have been some surprise standouts. Texas Tech is 9-1 after falling to the Shockers of Wichita St. They hold wins over Washington and TCU. Baylor is also 9-1 and beat Xavier and Arisona State. Oklahoma St. is 9-1 after a one point win at Stanford. Oklahoma is 8-3 and beat Arizona, Arkansas and Utah. Texas A&M are 9-2 and their only losses are two ranked teams in West Virginia and New Mexico. Lastly, Kansas State is 10-1 and just this month hold wins against Washington State, Xavier, UNLV and Alabama. This is the best conference in the country at the moment.
That leaves the Big East which is battling the ACC for the number two spot after the Big 12.
That being said, it is hard to bet against the Big East when you look at that conference up and down. At the top you have Syracuse, West Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut and Georgetown. In the second tier you go to Cincinnati and Louisville. Definitely a conferce that can give the Big 12 a run for tops in the nation. There have just been less high profile wins this month. That coupled with some high profile losses has to give the edge to the Big 12.
