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The Minnesota Golden Gophers erased any doubt that they would finally make the NCAA Tournament in Richard Pitino’s fourth year. Minnesota has been on a tear since the beginning of February, winning eight in a row, solidifying its place in March. To close out its regular season, it will face a team that is no stranger to March, the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers aren’t as strong as they have been in recent seasons, but this team is seasoned and always a threat to make some noise in the postseason.... 

Dunk City is looking to make another magical run through the NCAA Tournament. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles were the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Sun conference tournament and have looked the part thus far, with double digit wins against Kennesaw State and Stetson. Their opponent for the conference’s automatic bid is a bit of a surprise as the North Florida Ospreys knocked off the Lipscomb Bison in an upset on Thursday night. FGCU will be a big favorite, but can UNF pull off the upset and go dancing for just the second time ever?... 

Playing against a ranked foe seems to get the juices of the Duke Blue Devils flowing and they’ll get another chance to topple a top squad when they visit the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels. The Dookies have won four straight over top-20 competition, including a home win over the then No. 8 Tar Heels in Durham. It’ll be a much different challenge trying to knock off their Tobacco Road rival on the road, but at least Coach K will have his club ready.... 

The Northwestern Wildcats are the Cinderella story of the college basketball season and we haven’t even reached the NCAA Tournament. In less than two seconds, decades of basketball frustration were wiped away and Wildcats all but assured themselves a first-ever trip to the Big Dance with an invigorating win over Michigan on Wednesday. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but a win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday would secure an at-large bid.... 

Can the Connecticut Huskies once again shock the world by going on a run to make the NCAA Tournament? No one would be surprised by something like that happening at this point. The Huskies under Kevin Ollie have been able to go above and beyond at the end of the season but may face their toughest uphill challenge yet. UConn first must face one of the best teams in the country to close the season, the Cincinnati Bearcats, and then needs to run the table in an AAC that is stronger than usual this season.... 

The Purdue Boilermakers are one win away from claiming an outright Big Ten regular season championship. Purdue has been solid against Big Ten opponents this season with a 13-4 mark and a 9-6-2 ATS record. They will be facing a team that is about to punch its first ever ticket to the dance, the Northwestern Wildcats. Mike Wilbon’s hopes have finally been fulfilled as Northwestern has scrapped together enough wins to leave no doubt that it will be in the tournament and Evanston is ready to show this team plenty of support on Sunday.... 

Bill Self and his Kansas Jayhawks are looking for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and barring a season-ending loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and an early exit in the Big 12 Tournament, will certainly get it. Kansas is 27-3 and has looked like one of the best teams in the country all season long, while Oklahoma State has really turned it on in the past month. Okie State definitely has a resume strong enough for a bid to the dance, but can improve its seed with a win in Stillwater.... 

Arizona has long been the dominant basketball team in the state and that isn’t any different here, as it should be a hefty favorite despite playing on the road. This is a litmus test for the Sun Devils, who have won four of their past seven in the Pac-12 and gave Oregon a scare on the road a few weeks ago.It is silly to pick against the Wildcats in this one but Arizona State has improved enough recently to consider it a plucky underdog choice against the spread.... 

One month ago it seemed inconceivable that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would be playing for a share of the ACC regular season title. But here we are, on the final weekend, and with a win over the Louisville Cardinals combined with a North Carolina loss, the Irish would share the title with the Tar Heels. One month ago Notre Dame was a middle-of-the-pack team in the rugged conference, but with six straight wins, they might be playing the best basketball of anyone when it matters most.... 

You can throw the records and stats out the window when these two collide, because that’s exactly what it is, a collision. One of the nastier rivalries in the ACC will take place on the final day of the regular season when the Miami Hurricanes look to avenge an earlier defeat to their in-state rival Florida State Seminoles. Both teams still have a shot at the double-bye in the conference tournament, so there’s something to play for besides bragging rights.... 

On paper this shouldn’t be much of a game. And if the first meeting between the teams is any indication, it won’t be. The Texas AM Aggies aren’t going to the big dance, they aren’t even on the bubble and they likely won’t be invited to any postseason tournament that doesn’t begin with an N. Still, that doesn’t mean they won’t be pumped to play this game and a win over the SEC leading Kentucky Wildcats would certainly make their season.... 

With a win over their arch-rival Oregon State Beavers on Saturday, the Oregon Ducks can clinch the PAC-12 regular season title and set themselves up for a potential No. 1 seed in March Madness. It’s been a tale of haves and have-nots in Oregon, with the Ducks atop the conference and looking like a national title contender, while the Beavers have been one of the worst teams in the country this season. An Oregon State win would be huge for a number of reasons, but is extremely unlikely.... 

It has been a frustrating season for both the Indiana Hoosiers and Ohio State Buckeyes, a pair of perennial Big Ten contenders who are closer to the cellar this season. With the NCAA tournament seemingly out of reach for either one, they will face off this week in a game low on hype.... 

The Baylor Bears have suffered through an inconsistent finish to the regular season, and with the Big 12 tournament and March Madness right around the corner, they want to get right. They will have every opportunity to find some rhythm in a matchup this week against the Texas Longhorns.... 

The Akron Zips are in the driver’s seat to make the NCAA tournament out of the MAC, but need to turn it back on to secure a bid. Akron sits atop the conference despite losses in three of its past four games and needs to gain some confidence in the regular season finale against the Kent State Golden Flashes.... 

The West Virginia Mountaineers’ last two big matchups didn’t go as planned. After beating both Kansas and Baylor earlier this season, the team lost both rematches, falling in overtime to the Jayhawks on February 14 and then succumbing to a late Bears run on Monday and losing 71-62.... 

Smaller conferences have already begun their tournaments. The big boys get started next week. The field looks to be wide open this year with no truly dominant team. That makes it all the more exciting to hit the futures market early knowing full well a team can came come from out of nowhere to make a deep run. The purpose of this article is to find some value with teams on the “Bubble”, so let’s dig in and see if we can uncork a couple squads with a deep run in them.... 

The Wisconsin Badgers are losing steam after a strong start to the season and need to get it turned around as March Madness beckons. They will aim to pick up a much-needed victory in a matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes this week.... 

The Cincinnati Bearcats lost a critical conference matchup last time out and now don’t have the inside track for the American regular season crown. They need to win both of their games down the stretch to have that chance, first up in a tough one against the Houston Cougars.... 

Can the Texas Tech Red Raiders overcome a terrible conference record in order to make the NCAA Tournament? According to Joe Lunardi, the Red Raiders are well outside of the picture right now, but wins over the Texas Longhorns and the Kansas State Wildcats in their last two would go a long way to giving the committee something to think about on Selection Sunday. However, Texas already beat Texas Tech once this season and would love nothing more than to play spoiler in this lost season of theirs.... 

The Iowa State Cyclones are likely in the dance barring anything totally bonkers happening in the conference tournaments. A road win at Kansas was probably enough, but beating Baylor at home last weekend helped seal the deal. Now, the Cyclones have two big tests in their final two games of the regular season and both will affect their positioning before the Big 12 tournament. In the last week, they must travel to Morgantown and face a tough WVU team, but before that they will host the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Tuesday.... 

It’s been a really disappointing season for Tom Crean and his Indiana Hoosiers. Fans and alumni have gotten increasingly frustrated with him this year as what started off so promising has totally run off the rails. Now, Indiana is on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament and needs as many wins as possible in order to make the Big Dance. The Hoosiers got a big win against Northwestern on Saturday to keep their hopes alive, but a win over their in-state rival, the Purdue Boilermakers, is really what they need.... 

The SEC might not have many marquis out-of-conference wins, but this conference has given us quite a few 20-game winners that have already punched their ticket to March Madness. Two of those teams will be squaring off in Gainesville on Wednesday night when the Arkansas Razorbacks visit the Florida Gators. Florida is likely to be a decent-sized favorite, but Arkansas is 8-2 in its last 10 SEC road games and looking for one more win.... 

It’s a stretch to think the Vanderbilt Commodores are a NCAA Tournament team, but they are making a late season run to be included in the conversation. The Commodores will take a season-best four game winning streak to Rupp Arena for a confrontation with the SEC’s top team Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday. A win over UK and run through the conference tournament might be enough to propel Vandy to the Big Dance, but the Commodores haven’t had much success against UK lately.... 

For as good as the Florida State Seminoles have been this season, and they still have a shot at claiming a tie for the ACC regular season title, they can look back at their road struggles and kick themselves. FSU likely would have won the title outright if not for a poor 3-5 record away from Tallahassee during conference play. Now, the Noles have to play in one of the most devastating road venues in the entire country when they take on the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday....