Why isn’t UCLA #1?

I was wondering this even before the Bruins took out a tough Washington St. team last night in Pullman. 

UCLA is 26-3, and 15-2 in Pac-10 play.  They’ve won 16 straight at home, and five straight since their loss at West Virginia.

Ohio St. is 26-3, and 14-1 in Big Ten play.  They’ve won all of their home games this year, and 13 in a row overall.

One question however, who of value has Ohio St. beaten? Why is their basketball team starting to look eerily familiar to another program from the athletic department? Let’s see, notches on their belt include two-point home win against Tennessee, and a one-point nail-biting win over Wisconsin last weekend (who lost Brian Butch to a dislocated elbow). Other than that, we’re talking wins against some lowly Big Ten opponents. 

Fact is that the Buckeyes got their world rocked with they visited North Carolina and Florida, and they lost the first meeting against the Badgers in Madison.

UCLA’s resume on the other hand crushes Ohio St.  Let’s start with wins over Kentucky and a shellacking of Georgia Tech en route to a Maui Invitational win. Fast-forward to December and you’ll find a win over one of the Big 12’s best, Texas A&M at the Wooden Classic, and a drubbing over Michigan, a slightly above average team from the Big Ten. 

The Bruins’ resume also boasts in-conference wins over ranked Washington, Arizona, Oregon, Washington St., and USC teams. UCLA’s worst loss was by eight points at Stanford.  The other two losses were by a combined seven points.  Detractors will point to a non-conference loss at West Virginia, 70-65.  I’ll point to the inactivity of point guard Darren Collison that game and ask how Ohio St. would do without Mike Conley Jr., who isn’t half of what Collison is.

I show you all this and then I ask the question, how in the world is UCLA not #1? 

Please tell me because I am searching for the answer.