NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Ohio State No. 1 A.D. (After Duke)

For the first time of the 2010-11 college basketball season, the Duke Blue Devils are not the consensus best team in the nation. They fell Wednesday night at Florida State, 66-61, and will have to give up the perch they've had all season -- the No. 1 spot in nearly every poll out there. It goes without saying that shift takes place atop FanHouse's power rankings, as the Blue Devils tumble to No. 4.

Ohio State slides into the top spot, but it wasn't unanimous. Two of our panelists voted for the Buckeyes to be No. 1, while two liked Kansas. A single rating point separates the top slot from second here. With conference play kicking into high gear, we're finally about to see some shuffling in a top five that had been stagnant for quite a bit.

Ballots were tallied from college basketball editor Ray Holloman, editor Matt Snyder, national college basketball writer Terrance Harris and blogger Evan Hilbert. Points, listed in parentheses, were given in reverse order of rankings (16 points for a first place vote, 15 for second, etc.).

1. Ohio State (62) Last Week: 2
The Buckeyes have walked a tight rope in their past three games, but all that matters is getting the win. When Jared Sullinger's on the court and the outside shots are falling, they are tough to beat. -- Matt Snyder
2. Kansas (61) Last Week: 3
The Jayhawks have held on in their last two games, but could they be the next undefeated team to go down? We'll see how the Morris twins respond. -- Terrance Harris
3. Syracuse (54) Last Week: 4
First true road game was unkind to the Orange, who posted a dysfunctional 89.8 offensive efficiency rating against Seton Hall. Next two are both on the road at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Tighten up the chin straps for a war against Pitt and hope Scoop Jardine doesn't get goaded into trying to one-up Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker. --Ray Holloman
4. Duke (54) Last Week: 1
So what happens when Nolan Smith can't penetrate past the free throw line and the team's interior rotation fails to get any offense going? A peek-through-your-fingers ugly loss to Florida State on the road. Poor play of Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry may force Mike Krzyzewski to rethink the two point guard approach. Of course, Duke was probably in direr straits a year ago, after losses to N.C. State and Georgetown. We know how that turned out. -- RH
5. Pittsburgh (49) Last Week: 5
First-half dismantling of Georgetown was the best 20 minutes of basketball any team has played all season. Panthers committed just two turnovers in the entire period. When the nation's best offensive rebounding team doesn't give away possession on turnovers, they're next to impossible to beat. -- RH
6. Villanova (42) Last Week: 6
How good is the Big East? The Wildcats are 15-1 and an afterthought at the moment. Wildcats face Maryland Saturday, which should show us how well they can handle a team with a 20-10 kind of center in Jordan Williams. -- RH
7. Connecticut (37) Last Week: 14
Kemba Walker versus the worst defense in the Big East Saturday (DePaul). Expect Walker's final line to range somewhere between 35 and Jimmer-ish. -- RH
8. San Diego State (35) Last Week: 8
So the Aztecs go cold and have to survive on defense and rebounding against a solid foe? Check. Malcolm Thomas and Kawhi Leonard outrebounded UNLV all by themselves Wednesday night. -- MS
9. Purdue (33) Last Week: 13
The Boilers haven't had to play a close game since beating Virginia Tech in OT in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. That should all change quite soon, going to Minnesota Thursday night, to West Virginia Sunday and then hosting Michigan State next Saturday. -- MS
10. Texas (23) Last Week: 10
The heart-breaking loss to UConn sits under a cloud of controversy (did Kemba Walker really get the shot off?), but doesn't ultimately hurt the Longhorns much. They rebounded with a 31-point win over Texas Tech and are likely eying a trip to Lawrence on Jan. 22. -- MS
11. BYU (22) Last Week: 15
Jimmer Fredette had 47 Tuesday in a blowout win over rival Utah. Keep an eye on Jan. 26 -- when the Cougars host San Diego State. It will be interesting to see how the Aztecs attack Fredette in what will be a classic. -- MS
12. Texas A&M (21) Last Week: NR
The Aggies continue to impress in what was supposed to be transition year. They face a big test Saturday when Missouri comes into Reed Arena. -- TH
13. Missouri (19) Last Week: 7
The Tigers press broke down against red hot Colorado, but recovered against Nebraska in a 77-69 win Wednesday night. -- TH
14. Notre Dame (10) Last Week: 12
Ran into a buzzsaw against Marquette, but inability to pressure the ball on the perimeter has been a season-long issue. -- RH
15. Kentucky (8) Last Week: 9
Following a road loss to Georgia to open SEC play, the Wildcats have a host of tasty conference cupcakes prior to a rematch with the Bulldogs at Rupp Arena. They can ill-afford a loss to any of the lower-tier SEC squads, of which there are many. -- Evan Hilbert
16. Washington (5) Last Week: NR
The class of the Pac-10 is humming right now, having won every game since a 1-point loss to Texas A&M December 11. The Huskies' only serious challenger in league play should be Arizona. -- MS