Oklahoma started the season as ESPN.com's preseason No. 1. The next night, the Sooners lost to Alabama in Madison Square Garden.

Were we wrong in choosing OU to win it all? Don't base an answer to that question on the first month of the season. It's way too early to render a decision.

Yes, Oklahoma was exposed by 'Bama in certain areas Nov. 14. But the problem areas are correctable. The Sooners still have senior leadership, something they couldn't survive without. However, senior guards Hollis Price, Quannas White and Ebi Ere will need an inexperienced frontcourt to mature quickly. It's getting better, but so will the competition in coming weeks.

	While playing better each game, Ebi Ere and the Sooners still have plenty to prove before Big 12 play.

Oklahoma (4-1) has rebounded from its opening loss by beating UC Irvine, Princeton, Prairie View A&M and Hartford. But those were games OU should have won -- no matter the outcome against Alabama. No, the true tests of where the Sooners stand among the nation's elite don't start again until Dec. 28 when Oklahoma plays Mississippi State in New Orleans. The new year then tips off with games against Michigan State in Oklahoma City (Jan. 4) and Connecticut in Norman (Jan. 7).

All this before the Sooners' first Big 12 game.

"Look, the inside game isn't going to be the strength of this team, we know that is going to be our weakness all year," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I don't have a great inside player. But I do have two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior. We're getting positive contributions."

Freshman Kevin Bookout has scored in double figures the past two games. Junior Jabahri Brown proved he could be more assertive on the boards with 13 against Prairie View. And oft-injured sophomore Johnnie Gilbert will return to the court Saturday against Coppin State after missing the past three games with a nagging abdominal injury.

"We are better, but remember we don't have an Aaron McGhee this season," Sampson said. "We're doing this by committee. We also need Ebi (22.8 ppg), Quannas (22 assists, 3 turnovers) and Hollis (31.2 percent on 3s) to play at the level we anticipated."

The Sooners can also get better production off the bench as long as freshman center Larry Turner improves (1.8 points in 9.6 minutes a game). Getting more out of Gilbert would be a plus. Freshman guard DeAngelo Alexander hasn't even begun to bust out. He can raise his 3-point shooting percentage (26.7 percent) and must get his overall field-goal percentage (24.1) up to demand more minutes (17.8).

"We've got a few more games before we really get into the tough part of our schedule," Sampson said.

Oklahoma remains a Final Four contender. A few other teams that could end up being NCAA Tournament teams deserve a closer inspection in this first monthly report.

	Chris Thomas helped the Irish go from unranked to No. 15 in a week.

Notre Dame (8-1): The Irish are probably the country's most impressive team after 30 days of non-conference games. The Irish have lost only once (to Creighton) while beating Marquette, Maryland and Texas last week -- easily the most impressive streak of wins this season. Notre Dame went from out of the Top 25 to No. 15 in seven days and should remain in the national picture until Selection Sunday.

"This is definitely new territory for us," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "I told our guys that it's a different world around our program. But I asked them, 'just don't change on me.' What does it mean? It means we made huge deposits in the RPI bank."

The Irish have the perfect blend of experience and youth. Sophomore point Chris Thomas simply doesn't get rattled. He leads the Irish in scoring (17.8 ppg) but also has 65 assists to 29 turnovers. Danny Miller (17.3 ppg) is still knocking rust off his game after sitting out last season. But he and fellow wing Matt Carroll (17.7 ppg) are knocking down plenty of 3s in transition. And then there is freshman forward Torin Francis, who is getting even more comfortable inside, not to mention grabbing every loose rebound and finishing with authority (11.8 ppg, 10.1 rpg).

Notre Dame has one of the toughest offenses to defend when Miller moves to power forward. When he's the "second big man," the opposing defense has to spread out too far in the half court.

"You can't guard him out there," Brey said. "And that leaves Francis with a half a guy guarding him because that player is still cheating out to help out on Carroll, Miller or Thomas. And when we bring (freshman Chris) Quinn on the court, you can't help off him either (44.8 on 3s)."

Miller and Thomas can score off the dribble. Thomas, meanwhile, is perfecting his drive-and-dish to set everyone else up on the perimeter.

"We've been fearless shooting the ball," Brey said. "That's the staple of our offense."

The Irish are home for three of their next four games, with the fourth in Chicago against Valparaiso. The opener of the Big East is a showdown at West Division favorite Pittsburgh (Jan. 6).

The Irish still have room to grow, which is scary for opponents and gives Brey reason to be even more optimistic come 2003.

Boston College (4-2): The Eagles weren't patient in their opening loss to Saint Joseph's. BC didn't share the ball in a road loss at Holy Cross. Simply put, the preseason pick to challenge for the Big East title was looking like an NIT team, if that.

Then, starting center Uka Agbai was lost for the season when a freak injury during the Holy Cross loss left him with a fracture in his neck.

But the Eagles did something their NFL namesakes have done without Donovan McNabb -- rally in the face of adversity. Boston College beat St. Bonaventure at home 105-96 in a wild game, won at UMass 80-62, and then went out to Iowa State and took out the Cyclones 85-78.

Suddenly, there was a renewed hope in the BC season.

"(Iowa State) was a big win, there is no discounting that," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "It was big because of when it came, where we were and where we were trying to get to. That was a tough place to play and they were playing well."

Skinner admitted his team wasn't relying on each other, instead looking toward their individual talent to win games. Needless to say, it didn't work. Senior Troy Bell shot too much and too quickly. Junior Ryan Sidney was out of his comfort zone playing too much on the perimeter, instead of inside. And freshman forward Craig Smith was almost doing too much in the post.

"We always had the ability to score, but we didn't utilize each other," Skinner said. "And we didn't work as hard defensively. It was that simple."

Losing Agbai (14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) will be felt in the long run, but has brought the Eagles closer as a team. Skinner said his players realized they needed each other more without Agbai, who is expected to redshirt and return as a fifth-year senior. Without Agbai, Skinner moved to a younger lineup in the three wins. He's starting two freshmen (Smith and guard Louis Hinnant), one senior (Bell), one junior (Sidney) and a sophomore (center Nate Doornekamp).

The Eagles still have one more shot for a quality non-conference win when they play at North Carolina State on Jan. 16.

	While Illinois got the best of UNC, both young teams have been surprising early-season success stories.

North Carolina (5-2): These Tar Heels may be the youngest group in school history, but they've grown up and into the biggest story of the young season.

North Carolina's starting lineup of three freshmen and two sophomores handled a number of challenges in racing out to a 5-0 start. The euphoria on Chapel Hill has been tapered a bit with back-to-back losses to Illinois and Kentucky, but it shouldn't lessen what the Heels accomplished in NYC when they beat Kansas and Stanford to claim the Preseason NIT.

North Carolina boasts three of the top freshmen in the country in point Raymond Felton, wing Rashad McCants and forward Sean May. After being brought back to Earth a bit with a road loss at Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and last weekend's loss at home to Kentucky, UNC simply needs to take a breath and get back to practice.

"We've played so many games that we haven't had a chance to get quality practice time," North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said. "We were doing a lot of game preparation instead of working on our defense. In an ideal world, we would have rather played a mid-major at home instead of Kentucky."

Doherty expects his defense to improve. It did, remember, all but shut down Kansas and Stanford in New York. Neither team could handle the Tar Heels' athleticism, traps or constant ball pressure. Doherty expects McCants (20.1 ppg) to continue to score and his average to rise, too. And the Tar Heels could get even better as Doherty gets more minutes off his bench from freshmen forwards David Noel and Damion Grant.

"We'll get a lot more out of our bench," Doherty said. "And that will definitely help."

Illinois (6-0): The Illini were the afterthought in the Big Ten. Nobody had Illinois challenging for the title. But they will if Bill Self's young crew keeps playing like it has over its first half-dozen games.

Illinois has been impressive, but the impact of its freshmen guards -- Dee Brown (13.3 ppg) and Deron Williams (4.3 apg) -- is the biggest surprise. Then again, it shouldn't be considering this season's freshmen. Sophomore Roger Powell has been more of a scorer as well (13.3 ppg), while senior Brian Cook is the go-to guy Illini fans hoped he'd be with Frank Williams and Cory Bradford gone. Cook is averaging 19.5 points a game, while Illinois is averaging 84.2.

Sure, Illinois beat up on some weak competition early. But the Illini then roasted North Carolina before winning at Arkansas.

"We can be good, real good," Self said. "We played great against Carolina. The Arkansas win is a good win, but we'll still have to prove more away from home. I love this team."

Self isn't worried about shooting. He's even confident that this team can maintain its current 53-percent shooting clip. "We're defending the first shot well, but we've got to rebound the ball better at the defensive end," Self said. "And we've got to get a better low-post presence at both ends of the court."

Illinois will get a barometer on where it stands in a week, when it goes up against Missouri (Dec. 21) in St. Louis.

Florida State (4-1): The Seminoles' only loss was a one-point defeat to Florida. In the meanwhile, Florida State has beaten Iowa and crushed Miami.

The source of the early success? The Seminoles are playing tremendous defense, holding Miami and Florida under 60 points, and its first five foes to an average of 54.6 points -- fifth-best in the country. The architect of this defensive attitude is Leonard Hamilton, while he can thank some of the success of the steal he got when Tim Pickett signed late in the season. He had originally committed to Wyoming. Pickett is leading the Seminoles in scoring (16.2 ppg) and is second on the team in assists (5.4 apg).

"The difference has been our attitude and the mind set," Hamilton said. "Everyone has bought into it."

The Seminoles lost Andrew Wilson (wrist) for a month and that will hurt the inside depth. Wilson was third on the team in minutes played. He understood the FSU offense and defense. The Seminoles' best players aren't going to wow anyone, but they will defend and will score within Hamilton's offense.

Combine all this and Florida State becomes a tough out for anyone in the ACC, especially on their home court. Expect Hamilton to make the Seminoles a top-five team in the ACC soon. If not this season, then definitely next.

	If A&M keeps up its early pace, senior Bernard King should enjoy his first winning season.

Texas A&M (5-1): The Aggies were also 5-1 a year ago. The difference this year? Two of the wins have come against quality teams (LSU and Tennessee) and their loss was to Miami, Fla. Oh, and A&M won't lose 10 of its next 11 games like a season ago.

Why? The talent will keep the Aggies on course to finish above .500 for the first time in eight seasons. Texas A&M has one of the best freshmen in the country in Antoine Wright (18.5 ppg). Senior Bernard King has been steady (17 ppg) and the Aggies are doing a decent job defensively. They held Tennessee to 66 points and no team has reached 80 against the Aggies, so far.

Texas A&M, picked last by some in the league, already have two wins against the SEC that might be two of the better wins against that league this season. "We've got a chance to be decent," Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "We're not going to win the national championship, but we'll be competitive."

Watkins credits the maturity of King and Wright with the team's turnaround. The Aggies will get 7-foot junior Andy Slocum back in December after back surgery. His presence will help the Aggies be even tougher in the rugged Big 12.

"We can score now and have more options than we've had before," said Watkins, who has struggled in four previous seasons to get over the hump. "We've got confidence now."

Surprise team of the first month: College of Charleston
OK, so Charleston lost to Central Florida on Thursday night. Tommy Herrion's club still gets the honors for the Great Alaska Shootout title. No one, I mean no one, thought Charleston was going to win the Shootout. Charleston beat Wyoming, Oklahoma State and Villanova for the title. Those three wins are bankable for the rest of the season, and barring any more collapses, Charleston could be in line for an at-large berth on Selection Sunday.

Surprise player of the first month: Torin Francis, Notre Dame
In case you haven't noticed, the 2002-03 season has been the year of the freshmen, so far. So, it makes sense that a freshman win this honor. Francis' numbers may not be the most gaudy, and he isn't the most dominating new face (see: Carmelo Anthony or McCants). But he could have as much impact as any other freshman for an NCAA Tournament team. Francis is averaging a double-double and is giving the Irish the needed inside presence on a perimeter-oriented team. He was a McDonald's All-American, but he wasn't as hyped as some of his classmates. He has a mature body and looks like he'll be able to withstand the rigors of a long season.

	"	We're doing this right and getting a win like (Florida) rewards everyone here. I got a lot of letters from around the state of West Virginia, from people who were really happy with this win. They really like what we're doing. "
		— John Beilein, first-year West Virginia head coach

Most shocking score to date:
West Virginia 68, Florida 66
Other candidates included Prairie View A&M beating Houston or Florida Atlantic defeating Miami. But West Virginia wasn't supposed to be a factor in the Big East West Division, let alone beat a top 10 team. Granted, this was on the Mountaineers' turf, but the Mountaineers outplayed the Gators in the win. Going to West Virginia is never easy for road teams in the Big East, but Florida clearly thought it was giving Brett Nelson a homecoming, not a loss, when it scheduled the game.

"That win gave everyone credibility in our program,'' said first-year West Virginia coach John Beilein.

The school dumped heralded and oft-troubled point Jonathan Hargett prior to the season. Then, Beilein got rid of Tim Lyles in September. He had already lost three other players when they left school. As a result, Beilein is mostly playing three freshmen and two sophomores.

"We're doing this right and getting a win like that rewards everyone here," Beilein said. "I got a lot of letters from around the state of West Virginia, from people who were really happy with this win. They really like what we're doing."

Unheralded coaching jobs: Karl Hobbs and Dave Leitao
Jim Calhoun's disciples at George Washington and DePaul were both assistants at Connecticut. Now, both are proving they can run their own programs quite well.

The Colonials lost sophomore forward Tamal Forchion (ankle injury) in the offseason, leaving the Colonials with a freshmen frontcourt. Yet, the Colonials have been one of the toughest outs for any opposing coach. They gave Connecticut fits for most of the game in Hartford and they took Texas down to the wire last weekend. Hobbs' players bust their tail for him. He's got one star in Chris Monroe and a collection of role players, but it doesn't matter, as Hobbs' players are pests on the defensive end, love to get out and run, and can score. The Colonials might not get to the postseason, but they should be in every game this season.

Opposing coaches are talking about how disciplined DePaul is so far this season. The Blue Demons have won their first four games of the season, heading into Saturday's game against Notre Dame. DePaul is playing with more purpose, pride and passion than a year ago. The Blue Demons could end up being a sleeper team in Conference USA. Leitao wasn't successful in his first stint as a head coach at Northeastern. Maybe, all he needed was more seasoning and a better situation.

Best game: Indiana 80, Maryland 74 (OT)
The Dec. 4 game at Conseco Fieldhouse had the feel of an NCAA Tournament contest. Granted, the first half wasn't played well, as Indiana shot under 20 percent and Maryland couldn't get a run going to create separation. But the second half was a classic big-time shootout with Indiana's Tom Coverdale and Maryland's Steve Blake matching shot for shot, make for make. Role players like Sean Kline of Indiana and Ryan Randle of Maryland established themselves as reliable scorers. The coaching was as intense as it gets, not seen often this early in December. The Indianapolis crowd was into every possession, making for a conference-like atmosphere. This was supposed to be a made-for-TV national title game rematch. And while the stakes weren't as high, the game itself was better than the original last April.

Player of the year candidates
There is no leader at this point. Like ESPN.com's preseason prediction of No. 1, it's still way too early. Besides, the preseason favorites have all had spotty starts.