For casual college basketball fans, and even for those of us who love the sport and follow it closely, teams with undefeated records can be very seductive. Just as the Patriots' pursuit of perfection is creating such a frenzy in the NFL, the prospect of a team going all the way and cutting down the nets in early April without losing is a romantic ideal that excites that part of us that makes us passionate sports fans in the first place.

There are still 10 teams in the top 25 that are undefeated (Miami and Mississippi are also unblemished, but are not ranked). Some of those teams could stay that way for a long time, while others will soon join the ranks of the mortal. St. Mary's was an undefeated ranked team until Tuesday night, but they will lose both of those distinctions after a bad loss against Southern Illinois. Which teams will soon join them in losing, and which ones will keep the goose egg for a while? Here's an assessment of the chances of each ranked, undefeated team to stay undefeated through to March.

North Carolina (8-0) - Unless Rutgers or UCSB pulls a shocking surprise, the Tar Heels should enter conference play undefeated. They are through their biggest challenges and have six very winnable games on the schedule. The conference is a different story. The ACC is obviously tough, and the Tar Heels lost to three of their conference opponents - Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Virginia Tech - last time out. Add to that the likes of Duke, Boston College, the undefeated Clemson and the rest, and you have too many potential potholes in the road. The Tar Heels stand a great chance of being a No. 1 seed, but undefeated is too much to hope.

Memphis (7-0) - This might not be enough credit for the Conference USA, but I truly believe that Memphis is working with a worst-case scenario of 27-4. No conference team has been able to run with the Tigers in recent years, and that hasn't changed. The four potential losses are the games stuck in the schedule to build some credibility for the team come tournament time - Georgetown and Arizona in December, Gonzaga in January and Tennessee in February. Through some brilliant scheduling, they face all four teams at home, and stand a good chance of winning all four. It's not a given, but in my mind this team has the best chance of running the table.

Kansas (9-0) - This team is very good, but they have some challenges ahead. They have to travel to Boston College and Texas, and they play a flawed but explosive and dangerous Kansas State squad twice. Not to mention the Texas Tech and Texas A&M squads that they finished the season with - both teams beat the Jayhawks last season. Things would have to go right a lot of times for perfection.

Texas (9-0) - The Longhorns have been very impressive this year, including wins over Tennessee and UCLA. Clearly, they want to prove that their success was not just about Kevin Durant last year. They are fortunate that they get Kansas, Texas A&M and Wisconsin at home. Besides that, there are few obvious hurdles, but as good as the team has been it is impossible to assume that they are good enough not to stumble at some point.

Georgetown (7-0) - How do we know what we have with the Hoyas? They have kept winning, but they haven't played anyone of note - their tightest spread has been 7.5 points. It's a bit of a concern for me that they have failed to cover their three biggest spreads. I don't like their chances against Memphis this month, and the Big East is, as always, full of strong teams that can win on any night. I give the Hoyas almost no chance of going undefeated.

Duke (9-0) - This team is already doing better than most expected. They face Pitt next week, North Carolina twice, and the rest of the tough ACC. It doesn't look good for Coach K. Not that he cares - he'll get to the Elite Eight yet again regardless of his record, and then add a gold medal to the trophy case next summer for good measure.

Washington State (9-0) - An impressive win at Gonzaga is the shining star of an otherwise pretty lackluster schedule so far. In conference play they will face UCLA, USC, Oregon, Arizona and the rest two times each. There is no chance of the Cougars going undefeated, and I'm not afraid that I will live to regret that statement. Conference play opens with trips to Washington, USC and UCLA in eight days. I will be shocked if they are undefeated by Jan. 12.

Pittsburgh (9-0) - This is another team that hasn't really been tested yet this year, and they needed a miraculous reversal of a call to get past Washington. With Oklahoma State and Duke in the next two, and a tough Big East Schedule, this team will go into the tournament with a good record and seed, but not with anything close to perfection.

Clemson (8-0) - All you need to know is that their best win to date is over Mississippi State, and the Tigers weren't even favored. There is no chance they survive their ACC schedule.

Vanderbilt (9-0) - I guess that it's possible that the Commodores could run the table in a conference that looks solid but not particularly inspiring this year. Of course, it's also possible that I could make the NFL as a rookie wide receiver at age 32 despite running about a 5.8 40 and having never worn a helmet or even stood on a sideline.