It’s easy to get wrapped up in the NBA, especially during opening week, but hoop heads know there’s less than a week to go until the tip of the college basketball season. Heading in, some squads are getting more than their fair share of love, and others not enough. This morning, we’re looking at the most overrated teams in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll. Though the early season schedule looks like a collective cakewalk for the nation’s premier teams, some of these rankings lack substance.

No-14 Gonzaga: The Bulldogs lost their most efficient player in Derek Raivio from an already pedestrian team. It doesn’t bode well that one of the most important faces on their prospectus had his mug shot taken last year after being arrested for felony possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Josh Heytvelt also sat out the team’s first week of practice this year. To make matters worse, the Zags don’t have a proven option on offense; they hope that the platoon of Micah Downs, Matt Bouldin and Jeremy Pargo can get it done. Do they really deserve 36 more votes than a Texas team that has a legit contender for Big 12 POY in D.J. Augustin and one of the nation’s best shooters in A.J. Abrams?

No-19 Arkansas: As the Pac-10 surges in ’07-08, the SEC stumbles. Arkansas is rated as the conference’s second best team behind the loaded Vols, largely because the Razorbacks return their entire starting lineup. But that starting five averaged a garish 10.9 turnovers per game last season. And while this lineup has a history together, it hasn’t been a history of success: the Hogs finished 7-9 in the SEC last year. New coach John Pelfrey must call on talented PG Gary Ervin and top returning scorer F Charles Thomas to swim through a generally light schedule, which will provide little love from the selection committee if the Hogs falter in conference play. They aren’t three spots better than the third SEC squad, Kentucky.

No-21 Stanford: The Cardinal is the sixth Pac-10 team in the Top 25 and a superfluous selection. It’s tough to imagine that Stanford will maintain their ranking without 7-0 PF Brook Lopez available due to suspension for the first semester. The returning high-scorer, ultra-efficient 6-8 215 lbs. SF Lawrence Hill will continue to wreak havoc as a mismatch on the wing for smaller three’s. But can he handle more than the lion’s share without B-Lopez? Also, the Cardinal bench is anemic; the leading contributor off the bench, junior G Mitch Johnson averaged 4.3 points per game last year and expects to see over twenty minutes a night in Trent Johnson’s system.

While we plan to keep a close eye on these three teams, there are some early season games that promise more than the usual forty-piecing seen in the early going of every college season.

Sunday November 11, St. Louis @ Pittsburgh: Rick Majerus will steer a St. Louis ship that hasn’t made it to the Dance since 2000, might have picked the perfect time to jump aboard. The Billikens 6-4 junior G Tommie Liddell notched 15.4 point per game last year on 45% shooting from downtown. The southpaw could give the Panthers fits as guards 5-11 Levance Fields and 6-1 Ronald Ramon don’t match up well.

Saturday November 17, Virginia @ Arizona: This game will be a litmus test for 6-3 freshman PG Jerryd Bayless, as he will be up to his elbows trying to contain 6-0 senior PG Sean Singletary.

Friday November 23, Tennessee @ West Virginia: Bobby Huggins might not be able to conjure up a top-notch team in his first year, but he will certainly have Morgantown rocking when Tennessee rolls through. Bruce Pearl’s Vols will be tested for the first time in a raucous road atmosphere.

Come back later on today for our list of the Top 25’s most underrated squads…