As December dawns, I thought I’d rank the big schools around here in our favorite sport. Which, bowl eligibility notwithstanding, is college hoops.

#1.Notre Dame. The Irish look feisty. They can shoot, which covers up a lot of flaws, not many of which they have anyway.

#2. Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers have beaten Southern Illinois, U of L and Georgia consecutively. Which means the 28 point loss — ouch — to, um, Murray State is an aberration.This McDonald fella can coach.

#3. UK. The Cats throw it away a lot, but keep playing hard. That goes a long way. Consecutive wins over K State and West Virginia are nothing to sneeze at.

#4. Louisville. The Cards effort against Western Ky was its most disappointing in years. Missing shots is no sin. It happens. Playing half speed without focus is a sin. There should be no panic, but this team has to prove it’s worthy of all the preseason accolades. That’s a long climb from where it is.

#5. Indiana. Simply stated, this is a throw away season for the Hoosiers. Any conference victories will be worthy of celebration.

– Seedy K