THE MOST FEARSOME FINALISTS?North Melbournes win over St Kilda means the AFLs top eight is all but finalised. However, competition for the right to host finals and a coveted top-four berth is ongoing and fierce. To come up with a form guide as September approaches, AAP has ranked the contenders based on results against fellow top-eight teams (despite the protests of coaches, beating Essendon is probably less meaningful than beating Hawthorn).1. GEELONG (W:8 L:2, 126.5 per cent)2. SYDNEY (W:5 L:4, 112 per cent)3. HAWTHORN (W:5 L:3, 92.9 per cent)4. GWS (W:4 L:3, 116.5 per cent)5. ADELAIDE (W:4 L:5, 101.2 per cent)6. WESTERN BULLDOGS (W:3 L:5, 86.2 per cent)7. NORTH MELBOURNE (W:2 L:5, 83.5 per cent)8. WEST COAST (W:1 L:5, 91.8 per cent)WHAT ELSE?*Geelong are guaranteed of finishing minor premiers on this ladder. The next time they face a top-eight side will be in week one of the finals*Sydney are the only top-eight team to have tackled both Hawthorn and GWS twice. Theyre 1-1 against each premiership contender*Hawthorns defeats came in rounds one, six and nine. Two of them were at the MCG*The Giants are yet to drop a game at home against fellow top-eight sides*Discounting two defeats to Geelong, Adelaides average losing margin against fellow top-eight clubs is nine points*The Bulldogs average winning margin in their three triumphs listed here is also nine points*North have lost their past five matches against top-eight teams, a slump that started with their first defeat of the season (against Sydney in round 10)*West Coasts sole win over a fellow top-eight side was in round 16 at home against North. They face GWS, Hawthorn and the Crows in a tough run to September. Alexandre Lacazette Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. 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The teams that finished at the bottom of college basketballs power conferences in 2016 are looking for early signs this year will be different.The number of Power Five teams with at least 15 league regular-season losses has doubled from four in 2012-13 to eight last year: Boston College and Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference; the Big 12s Oklahoma State and TCU; the Big Tens Minnesota and Rutgers; Missouri in the Southeastern Conference; and the Pac-12s Washington State.That group is off to a 29-7 start through Tuesdays games and desperate to build momentum in the seasons opening month.ESPN analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas said more teams sliding so far back in their leagues -- whether due to a brief dip or long-running struggles -- illustrates how climbing the standings is harder now than its ever been after realignment created bigger and tougher conferences.If you dont make the (NCAA Tournament) in a certain number of years, the coach is getting fired in these big leagues, Bilas said. The next guy gets four or five years and they fire him. Then all of a sudden youve got a 14-year drought. Its hard.---A look at those teams:BOSTON COLLEGEInjuries, youth and what BC coach Jim Christian called a piecemeal roster led to an 0-18 ACC record and a 7-25 mark for a program with one winning season since firing Al Skinner in 2010. Picked last in the ACC again, the Eagles (3-1) lost their home opener to Nicholls State.It cant be done overnight, Christian said. So its going to have to be done by getting the right kind of guys, getting them in the system they believe in and letting them grow together.MINNESOTAIts been bumpy for Richard Pitino, whose Gophers slid from 25 wins to 18 and then eight in his three seasons. Off-court incidents have also led to several player departures.With six new players, the Gophers have started 5-0 amid pressure on Pitino to show progress.Last year was very, very difficult for everybody, Pitino said. Those returners, theyve got pride. They want to show people what were all about.MISSOURIMissouri is on shaky footing under third-year coach Kim Anderson, though it did take highly ranked Xavier to overtime last week.The Tigers (2-2) have finished 3-15 in the SEC for two straight years and sat out last years postseason due to a self-imposed ban for NCAA violations under Frank Haith. Several players have also left or were dismissed in the past year.OKLAHOMA STATEThe Cowboys appear to be more of a oone-year outlier in this group.ddddddddddddnjuries to Big 12 freshman of the year Jawun Evans and Phil Forte led to a 3-15 league mark after five NCAA trips in seven years.Under new coach Brad Underwood, Evans ranks among the nations best by averaging 27 points in an offense averaging nearly 99 points. Picked seventh in the Big 12, Oklahoma State started 4-0 and beat Connecticut in the Maui Invitational before losing to fourth-ranked North Carolina late Tuesday.RUTGERSThe Scarlet Knights havent been to the NCAAs since 1991 while their last winning record came in 2006. Now they have their seventh coach since the last NCAA trip in Steve Pikiell and a 3-33 two-year record in the Big Ten.The good news: Rutgers (4-0) entered Wednesdays game against North Texas with its best start since going 5-0 in 2001.TCUFormer Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon is increasing tempo and having success on the recruiting trail for his alma mater, which is off to a 4-0 start. Still, its going to be a long climb for the Horned Frogs, who havent been to the NCAAs since 1998, own an 8-64 Big 12 record in four seasons and are picked last again.WAKE FORESTThe Demon Deacons beat Indiana, UCLA, Arkansas and LSU in nonconference play, but their young roster couldnt stop a 2-16 freefall in ACC play -- most notably by blowing a 10-point late lead and losing on a banked-in buzzer shot to then-No. 11 Virginia.In its third year under Danny Manning, Wake Forest (4-1) entered Wednesdays game against Coastal Carolina averaging 86.4 points with their only loss coming to reigning NCAA champion Villanova.WASHINGTON STATEThe Cougars (3-2) were a Top 25 program under Tony Bennett, but they havent been to the NCAAs since Bennett left for Virginia in 2009. Now third-year coach Ernie Kent is coming off a 1-17 season in Pac-12 play.Its a year we need to make a positive step, and were well aware of that, Kent said during last weeks Paradise Jam tournament. Its not a make-or-break year for us. We know what were doing and we know where were going.---AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis; and AP freelancer Bill Kiser in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands contributed to this report.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '