The Times’ Rankings : TOP 25

No. School (Record): Comment

1. Duke (17-1): Clemson had two shots at upset.

2. North Carolina (19-1): Three more games before Duke.

T3. Arizona (15-3): Crucial Stanford game next week.

T3. Stanford (16-0): Hard to find a weakness.

5. Kansas (21-3): Shown up in Show-Me State again.

6. Kentucky (17-2): Learn how to say Nazr.

7. Utah (15-0): UNLV, New Mexico tests on way.

8. Connecticut (16-3): St. John’s was upsetting.

9. Purdue (16-4): Lost battle of Indiana to Hoosiers.

10. UCLA (14-3): Can’t keep playing one-on-one.

11. Iowa (15-3): Last Big Ten title was 1979.

12. Princeton (13-1): Tigers chewing on Ivy.

13. Mississippi (13-2): Rocky-topped at Tennessee.

14. Syracuse (15-3): Another Notre Dame victim.

15. Michigan (15-4): Wolverine an unpredictable animal.

16. Clemson (12-6): One more shot against Duke, please.

17. Maryland (11-5)D: Knocked No. 1 Carolina out Cole.

18. New Mexico (13-3): Lobos believe in Arizona.

19. South Carolina (12-3): Still misses Larry Davis.

20. Arkansas (15-3): Played Kentucky tough.

21. Florida State (13-5): ACC battle-scarred.

22. Xavier, Ohio (12-4): Can pour on pressure.

23. Cincinnati (14-2): Should only get better.

24. Rhode Island (12-3): Just another victim at St. Bonaventure.

25. Indiana (13-5): Recker a freshman to reckon with.

GAME OF THE WEEK

CONNECTICUT at SYRACUSE

* When--Saturday. Time--1 p.m. PST.

* Storyline--Things are suddenly tough for the Huskies, who were upset by St. John’s this week in one of a series of setbacks. Starting forward Kevin Freeman is out because of a broken wrist, reserve forward Antric Klaiber was suspended after a drunk-driving arrest, and freshman point guard Khalid El-Amin is hampered because of a bruised leg. UConn sophomore forward Richard Hamilton has been a scoring machine, but Syracuse--coming off a loss to Notre Dame--might be able to take advantage of the situation on its home court.