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The Oklahoma Sooners are dropping like a rock. They are hoping a matchup against the Iowa State Cyclones this week is their life boat. Iowa State is last in the Big 12 so there is the ability for Oklahoma to shake out of its funk, but it isn’t the easiest task on the road.... 

A long winning streak hasn’t just vaulted the Xavier Musketeers to the top spot in the Big East, but it has put them in the running for a No. 1 seed in March Madness. Xavier hopes to keep it rolling but faces a tough road matchup next time out against the Creighton Bluejays.... 

The Virginia Cavaliers are doing everything they can to take the title as the team to beat in college basketball this season. Virginia is undefeated in the tough ACC and has only one loss on the year heading into a matchup this week against the Virginia Tech Hokies.... 

The Saint Mary’s Gaels went on the road and upset the Gonzaga Bulldogs to take control of the West Coast Conference a few weeks back. They can wrap it up, for all intents and purposes, by sweeping the season series at home on Saturday.... 

The Wisconsin Badgers are generally a contender in both the Big Ten and in college basketball as a whole. Not this season. Not even close. Wisconsin has dropped into a terrible rut and will simply be playing out the string this season. They will be reduced to the role of spoiler in a matchup against the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines this week.... 

Anything can happen in the most competitive conference in college basketball, and the Kansas Jayhawks better be on upset alert for their trip to Waco on Saturday. The Jayhawks are tied atop the Big 12 standings as they go for yet another league title. But the Baylor Bears have looked like an improved team over their last two outings and they won a big game Tuesday at Oklahoma State, the same team that beat Kansas just last week.... 

The Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels aren’t quite in the upper echelon of college basketball like they are accustomed, but even in a down year they are both ranked nationally. One of the nation’s best rivalries will renew this week with plenty on the line when Duke travels to play North Carolina.... 

The Villanova Wildcats are the top-ranked team in the country, and to stay there, they need some revenge. Villanova will welcome the Butler Bulldogs to their home floor this week in a key Big East Conference matchup.... 

The Rhode Island Rams have vaulted into the national rankings and are hoping to finish with an undefeated mark in Atlantic-10 Play. They will face one of their toughest remaining tests against the Davidson Wildcats next time out.... 

A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament could very well be on the line when the third-ranked Purdue Boilermakers travel to face the No. 4 Michigan State Spartans in a titanic Big Ten matchup. While Michigan State is the more dominant program traditionally, Purdue has been fantastic this season, entering with an undefeated mark in conference play.... 

The Pac-12 can get really muddled if the UCLA Bruins pick up a key road win this week. The Arizona Wildcats are hoping that doesn’t happen. Arizona sits atop the conference but UCLA is one of several teams on its heels as the teams prepare to face off in Tucson.... 

The Arizona State Sun Devils have struggled to gain their footing in the Pac-12 after an excellent non-conference season. There is still time to turn it around, and a good place to start would be this week in a matchup against the USC Trojans.... 

The Louisville Cardinals have to play nice after a scandalous summer cost longtime coach Rick Pitino his job and put the program under a microscope. And playing nice has the team in the middle of the pack in the ACC. The Cardinals lost at home to Syracuse on Monday, dropping three straight games for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Louisville won the national championship that year, but they’ll need to play much better to beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday.... 

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....