Eighteenth-ranked Purdue concludes a five-game stretch that included four road contests when it visits in-state rival Indiana on Wednesday night. The Boilermakers rallied to win 73-72 at No. 22 Maryland on Saturday and will be facing a Hoosiers team trying to get back to the .500 mark in conference play while also improving it's NCAA Tournament at-large resume.

Seventh-ranked North Carolina has won nine of its last 10 games to surge to the top of the ACC standings, but it has a difficult road ahead - including two matchups with arch-rival Duke. The 19th-ranked Blue Devils hope to knock their rivals down a peg when they host the Tar Heels on Thursday. 

Fifth-ranked Wisconsin looks to pull away in the race for first place in the Big Ten when it travels to Lincoln to battle Nebraska on Thursday. The Badgers have won seven consecutive games, including a 65-60 victory against Indiana on Sunday, and hopes to grow their lead on No. 18 Purdue and 22nd-ranked Maryland in the conference standings by avenging a 70-58 loss to the Cornhuskers in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament last season.

With three losses in its last four outings, Utah suddenly finds itself squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a month remaining in the regular season. The Utes will look to start climbing back in the other direction Thursday when they host Washington State.

SMU quietly has won 16 of its last 17 games, with only a two-point loss to Cincinnati standing in the way of a two-month winning streak. The scorching Mustangs aim to keep the momentum going Thursday, when they visit Temple in American Athletic Conference action.

Washington features one of the nation’s elite freshmen in 6-4 guard Markelle Fultz, but that hasn’t translated into much success in the standings as the Huskies rank ahead of only winless Oregon State in the Pac-12. Washington has lost five straight and will attempt to apply the brakes on the skid Thursday night at Colorado. 

Top-ranked Gonzaga hopes to have junior point guard Nigel Williams-Goss back in the lineup when it visits Loyola Marymount on Thursday in West Coast Conference play. Williams-Goss, who is in the mix of national player of the year candidates, missed last Saturday's 90-55 trouncing of Santa Clara with a sprained ankle and is questionable to play against the Lions.

Saint Mary's can be excused if it looks past Portland, which it hosts Thursday, because next up is No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday with its West Coast Conference title hopes - and perhaps an NCAA Tournament bid - at stake. The No. 20 Gaels prepared for Thursday's final tune-up with a 71-27 victory in San Diego on Saturday, lowering the nation's second-best average in points allowed to 56.6 and maintaining focus as it mows through inferior WCC competition.

Oregon moved into a tie for the Pac-12 lead with a big victory last weekend and the No. 6 Ducks will face a similar test Thursday when they visit No. 9 UCLA. Oregon blew out then-No. 5 Arizona on Saturday to pull even with the Wildcats in the conference standings and now must go on the road to face a UCLA team that's coming off a 41-point victory at Washington.

USC will face the top three teams in the Pac-12 beginning this weekend, but the Trojans need to avoid looking ahead when they host Oregon State on Thursday night. The Beavers have yet to win a conference game and are mired in an 11-game losing streak that began with a 70-63 loss to the visiting Trojans in the Pac-12 opener Dec. 28.