Everyone wants to talk about the remaining unbeatens as we rocket into conference play.

It might be just as worthwhile to check out the "best of" the one-loss, two-loss and three-loss teams to this point.

No one's perfect; well, North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas, Washington State, Vanderbilt and Mississippi are for now. But in four of the last six years, there were no unbeatens when February arrived. And since 2000, the Last of the Unbeatens has made the Final Four just twice (Illinois in 2005, Florida in 2006).

So who are the best of the rest, at least in the long term and not based exclusively on the present moment? Here's a set of nominees.

One loss: UCLA. The Bruins' only defeat came at home against Texas, and they remain as complete a team as there is in the nation. A road sweep of Stanford and Cal prompted a two-spot jump on this AP ballot. Plus, UCLA owns a victory over Michigan State, arguably the next-best one-loss team.

Also considered: Michigan State, Georgetown, Duke.

Two losses: Clemson. There's a temptation to discount the Tigers, in part because of their flame-outs after strong starts the last two seasons. But anyone who caught a glimpse of their game last night against North Carolina should know better.

The maddening thing about Clemson remains its foul shooting. The Tigers are shooting 64.5 percent at the line, and that's actually good compared to the 60.1, 61.7 and 57.8 percent of the last three years. Oliver Purnell joked in the past about there being something in the water in Lake Hartwell; someone might want to suggest investing in a Brita.

Clemson was just 14-for-27 at the line last night, with veterans K.C. Rivers, James Mays and Trevor Booker a combined 5-for-13. That must get better, because the Tigers do just about everything else well enough to be a legitimate top-15 team.

Also considered: Wisconsin, Stanford.

Three losses: Xavier. Good luck finding a team that's looked better since Christmas than the Musketeers. Xavier's average margin of victory in the last week against Kansas State, Virginia and Auburn is a sparkling 29 points. There are other options, but it's easier to see the balanced Musketeers making an extended March run than some other teams with three setbacks.

Also considered: West Virginia, Arkansas.

On to this week's ballot...

1. North Carolina (15-0)
2. Memphis (13-0)
3. Kansas (14-0)
4. UCLA (14-1)
5. Michigan State (13-1)
6. Washington State (13-0)
7. Georgetown (11-1)
8. Tennessee (12-1)
9. Duke (11-1)
10. Indiana (11-1)
11. Texas (13-2)
12. Texas A&M (14-1)
13. Vanderbilt (15-0)
14. Wisconsin (12-2)
15. Clemson (12-2)
16. Butler (13-1)
17. Marquette (11-2)
18. Xavier (12-3)
19. Villanova (11-2)
20. Notre Dame (12-2)
21. Dayton (11-1)
22. Rhode Island (14-1)
23. Mississippi (13-0)
24. Miami, Fla. (13-1)
25. Arizona (9-4)

26. Stanford (12-2)
27. Oklahoma (11-3)
28. Pittsburgh (12-2)
29. West Virginia (11-3)
30. Brigham Young (11-3)
31. Southern California (9-5)
32. Gonzaga (11-4)
33. St. Mary's (12-2)
34. Ohio State (10-3)
35. Arkansas (11-3)
36. Connecticut (10-3)
37. Arizona State (12-2)
38. Virginia (10-3)
39. Baylor (10-2)
40. Florida (13-2)
41. Syracuse (12-3)
42. Nebraska (11-2)
43. Drake (12-1)
44. Massachusetts (11-3)
45. Oregon (9-4)

--- Patrick Stevens