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We’re just three weeks into the 2011-12 college basketball season.

And there is no shortage of teams that, so far, appear much better than many in the national media anticipated.

  Here are some of the most noteworthy of those:

  *Saint Louis (6-0): The Billikens of Coach Rick Majerus were picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 Conference and be in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

But even those who follow that conference on a regular basis could not have anticipated the Billikens being so impressive in November.

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There’s not much that needs to be said (or written) about UNLV’s victory over North Carolina Saturday night if you watched the game via ESPN2 (or in person).

Dave Rice – even minus any head-coaching experience – was the ideal choice to become his alma mater’s head coach when Lon Kruger left for the University of Oklahoma last spring.

The last holdouts that preferred former Rebels’ and NBA standout Reggie Theus – or anyone else – over the then-Brigham Young University assistant must have become full-fledged Rice converts while watching the Rebels outplay the Tar Heels for all but six or seven minutes Saturday night.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Coach Rick Majerus’ Saint Louis basketball team is off to a 5-0 start but no one – least of all Majerus – is deluding himself about what that record might be in March.

“We’re only five games into the season – it’s early,” he said Friday afternoon after the Billikens’ decisive 80-68 victory over previously unbeaten Villanova during a semifinal of the 76 Classic in the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.

The Billikens, who will face Oklahoma in Sunday evening’s championship game, are assembling a respectable resume for an at-large bid, should that be the path they have to follow into the NCAA Tournament field on March 12.

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Well, until something better shows up (maybe next week?), it’s safe to designate the Duke-Kansas Maui Invitational championship game as the most compelling contest in the early portion of the 2011-12 season.

Both teams exceeded my expectations in Lahaina.

The Blue Devils finally prevailed, 68-61, in large part because of consecutive – and unlikely – 3-point shots by sophomore reserve guard Tyler Thornton.

But the biggest reason Mike Krzyzewski’s club prevailed over Tennessee, Michigan and, finally, the Jayhawks, was the play of its post players.

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A quick mid-Wednesday morning spin around the world of college basketball:

*I’ll be spending all of Thanksgiving in the Anaheim (CA) Convention Arena, watching the four games played in the 76 Classic.

And, yes, my wife (Julie) knew what she was signing on for when she married me more than four years ago . . .

*During the 2010, the national – and regional – perception of the Pacific 10 Conference couldn’t have been more trampled upon.

The only teams to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament were the regular-season champion California Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies.

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