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Some severe struggles have dropped the Marquette Golden Eagles from a comfortable spot in March Madness to on the bubble. They need to play better down the stretch and would be well-served to pick up a key road win next time out against the Seton Hall Pirates.... 

The Auburn Tigers have been one of the most pleasant surprises in college basketball this season and will take another step toward an SEC title with a win over the Texas A&M Aggies this week. Auburn is ranked in the top-10 nationally and has only one loss in conference play while everyone else has at least three.... 

The Purdue Boilermakers have been flawless in Big Ten play this season. If they can keep that up for another week, they will have a vice grip on the conference’s regular season title. Purdue faces two ranked teams over the next several days, beginning with Wednesday’s matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes.... 

It’s been a year to forget for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Losses to Georgia Southern, Liberty, and Drake at the start of the season heralded that this would be a rebuilding year for Danny Manning’s squad. However, it hasn’t been completely bereft of good things. Wake Forest was able to knock off both Syracuse and Florida State and will look to play spoiler again. The Miami Hurricanes will try to prevent Wake Forest from getting its 10^th win of the season.... 

Expectations around the Northwestern Wildcats’ program were at an all-time high at the beginning of the season. Coming off their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and a school-record 24 victories, the Wildcats were leaning toward becoming a force in the Big Ten. They haven’t been able to sneak up on teams this year, however, and a return to mediocrity has ensued. NU is looking to rekindle the magic from last season with a home matchup against the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday.... 

The Xavier Musketeers shook off a mid-conference lull and have played well enough of late to stay in the conversation for the regular season Big East title. If they can pull that off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is possible. The Butler Bulldogs are also jockeying for March Madness and conference positioning and get to host Xavier this week.... 

The Big East is looking like a two-team race, but the Seton Hall Pirates can thrust themselves into the conversation with a win next time out. The issue? It would need to come not just on the road, but against the No. 1 ranked Villanova Wildcats.... 

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are in a familiar position, nationally ranked and in contention once again for the West Coast Conference crown. They are a game behind Saint Mary’s in the loss column and can’t afford any more slip-ups, which is why taking care of business next time out against the Brigham Young Cougars is crucial.... 

Who says that there are no other sports on Super Bowl Sunday? Before the big game gets underway, there is some decent college basketball action to watch. The Maryland Terrapins are squarely on the bubble at this point of the season, and desperately need a win to get closer to .500 in Big Ten play. Maryland is through the worst part of its conference schedule, having played Purdue twice and Michigan State twice.... 

The West Virginia Mountaineers need to stop the bleeding, and fast. West Virginia was one of the best teams in the country a few weeks ago, having won 15 in a row. It was supposed to shift into another level with the return of Esa Ahmad, but that has failed to happen. Instead, WVU has now lost five of its last six and has seen its hopes of a Big XII Title go up in smoke.... 

If the Syracuse Orange are going to return to the NCAA Tournament this season, they need to win games like the one on Monday. Syracuse is currently 4-5 in ACC play and squarely on the bubble. The Orange have a nice win over Virginia Tech, but keep losing winnable games.... 

The Oklahoma Sooners will be looking to solve their road woes when they take on their arch-rival on Saturday evening. Winning on the road is tough, but it’s been especially so for the Sooners, who have looked like a totally different team away from Norman. Oklahoma has lost four straight road games with only the loss to Oklahoma State being close.... 

It’s been a tough season for the Oregon Ducks. Although this team was supposed to take a step back after last year’s Final Four appearance, Dana Altman didn’t think his team would struggle this much.... 

The Kentucky Wildcats’ youth has been apparent this season, as they have been up and down for much of the year. They have put together some nice displays lately and aim to keep it rolling in an SEC game this week against the Missouri Tigers.... 

The Michigan Wolverines have played really well at home this year so they should come into this weekend’s home matchup against the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a lot of confidence. The Wolverines are 15-2 at the Crisler Center and have a 7-4 record against Big Ten opponents.... 

Although the Atlantic 10 might be having a down year by the conference’s lofty standards, two teams have emerged as frontrunners and potential bracket busters come March.One of them needs no introduction. The VCU Rams are becoming a name brand nationwide after almost a decade of continued success as a mid-major. VCU has not gotten the marquee win it needs yet this season, but it hung close with Virginia and Texas.... 

It hasn’t been a great year for the St. John’s Red Storm. St. John’s is at the bottom of the standings in the Big East and has been unable to get it going all year long. At 10-13, the Red Storm know that they need to win the conference tournament to make it to the Big Dance.... 

Two of the ACC’s mid-tier teams will square off on Saturday afternoon with the winner moving to above .500 in conference play.... 

The Kansas Jayhawks are looking to continue their incredible streak of Big 12 regular season titles going. About a month ago, things looked dicey for the Jayhawks. They were struggling to beat conference foes, and even lost at home, a rarity. However, they have since righted the ship are atop the conference with a little more than a month left in the regular season. They will look to keep it that way this weekend when they play host to the Oklahoma State Cowboys.... 

The Wichita State Shockers are lurking near the top of the American Conference standings, hoping a strong finish can help them surpass Cincinnati for the regular season title. Wichita State has shaken off a recent lull with two straight wins and will aim for a third when it hits the road to face off against the Temple Owls.... 

The Missouri Tigers are fighting for their NCAA men’s basketball tournament lives, and a recent three-game skid has put an appearance there in peril. They are hoping to pick up a critical win next time out, but it won’t be easy as Missouri hits the road to face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide.... 

The Virginia Cavaliers picked up a huge road win last time out against Duke and can put a stranglehold on first place in the ACC with a win over the Louisville Cardinals next time out. Virginia is ranked No. 2 in the country and looking every bit a national title contender after knocking off the vaunted Blue Devils last time out.... 

It’s been an awful year for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Bryce Drew’s second year in Nashville has not gone as planned. It would take a miracle for this team to make the NCAA Tournament at this point, with the ‘Dores sitting at 8-13 overall. They have yet to win a home game this season and have a tall task ahead of them on Tuesday night.... 

Both the Baylor Bears and the Oklahoma Sooners had a tough time on the road in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. Each team went on the road to face an SEC foe and ended up having one of their worst offensive performances of the season.... 

The Ohio State Buckeyes suffered their first loss in Big Ten play and have fallen a game behind Purdue in the conference standings. In order to have a shot at the regular season title they can’t afford many slip-ups the rest of the way. The Buckeyes will host the Indiana Hoosiers this week in a game they should be able to win rather easily....