Gary Parrish

Talor Battle kept Penn State's at-large hopes alive.

Xavier won another Atlantic 10 championship.

Here's Friday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Thursday: Talor Battle frantically ran the ball up the court, got to the rim, tossed a leaner off the backboard, watched it fall through and subsequently celebrated a 64-63 victory over 23rd-ranked Illinois that has Penn State in position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Nittany Lions (21-9 overall, 10-7 in the Big Ten) have now tied the school's regular-season record for wins, and they could break it Saturday at Iowa. They have six Top 50 wins, including two over Illinois (23-8 overall, 11-7 in the Big Ten).

Notable performance from Thursday: Dante Jackson opened with three 3-pointers and a two-point bucket that jumped Xavier to an 11-2 lead less than three minutes post tip-off, and though he only finished with 14 points the start was enough to propel the 17th-ranked Musketeers to a 76-59 win over Dayton that secured a third consecutive Atlantic 10 regular-season title. Jackson finished 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Musketeers, who are 24-5 overall. Dayton is 24-6.

Notable game scheduled for Friday: Creighton, the lone at-large candidate from the Missouri Valley Conference, will meet Wichita State in the quarterfinals of the league tournament. The Bluejays are 25-6 with an RPI ranking of 38. Wichita State is 16-15. Tip-off is set for 7:05 pm ET.

Oklahoma lost again (this time with a healthy Blake Griffin).

Alan Voskuil went bananas.

Here's Thursday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Wednesday: Missouri looked like anything but the team that Kansas pounded last weekend, using DeMarre Carroll's 15 points and 10 rebounds to beat Oklahoma 73-64. The outcome means the 15th-ranked Tigers and fourth-ranked Sooners are tied for second in the Big 12 standings, one game back of Kansas. More important, it marked Oklahoma's third loss in four outings, which has the Sooners on shaky ground in terms of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Notable performance from Wednesday: Alan Voskuil had a pretty ridiculous Senior Night. He took 14 3-pointers, made nine and finished with a career-high 35 points in Texas Tech's 84-65 win over No. 9 Kansas. Voskuil was 10-of-17 overall from the field. Amazingly, his nine 3-pointers were more than twice as many as the number made by the Jayhawks, who were just 4-of-24 from 3-point range as a team.

Notable game scheduled for Thursday: A Dayton win at Xavier would create a three-way tie for first in the Atlantic 10 standings between the Flyers, Musketeers and Rhode Island Rams heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Problem is, Dayton hasn't won on the road in this series in 23 games, meaning the more likely scenario has 17th-ranked Xavier securing a share of the A-10 title, although it should be noted that the Flyers won this season's first meeting, 71-58 at Dayton. Xavier is 23-5 overall. Dayton is 24-5 overall. Tip-off is set for 9 pm ET.

Maryland put itself in a bad spot.

Gerald Henderson showed he's a bad man.

Here's Wednesday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Tuesday: Maryland missed a nice opportunity to enhance its body of work when it lost 65-63 to Wake Forest  despite owning a seven-point lead at halftime. The Terrapins dropped to 18-11 overall, 7-8 in the ACC. They must now win at Virginia this weekend to avoid a losing league record. Even then, making the NCAA tournament could require multiple wins in the ACC tournament, primarly because Maryland is just 4-10 against the top 50.

Notable performance from Tuesday: Gerald Henderson scored nine of his 21 points in the final 101 seconds to help Duke come from behind late and beat Florida State 84-81. He finished 6-of-17 from the field, hit seven of nine free throw attempts, and got 10 rebounds to boot. The effort helped the Blue Devils improve to 25-5 overall, 11-4 in the ACC. They will play at North Carolina on Sunday for at least a share of the ACC title.

Notable game scheduled for Wednesday: Marquette has dropped two straight to Connecticut and Louisville, and its brutal close to the season continues with a game at Pittsburgh. The Golden Eagles are 23-6 overall, 12-4 in the Big East. Pitt is 26-3 overall, 13-3 in the Big East. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm ET.

Notre Dame took its 10th Big East loss.

Baylor lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

Here's Tuesday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Monday: The common opinion was that Notre Dame needed to beat Villanova to keep its at-large hopes alive, which is why the 77-60 loss at home was so damaging. Now the Irish are 16-13 overall, 7-10 in the Big East and guaranteed to finish with a losing league record. Scottie Reynolds led Villanova with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Wildcats are 24-6 overall, 12-5 in the Big East.

Notable performance from Monday: Dexter Pittman took eight shots, made seven and finished with 16 points in Texas' 73-57 victory over Baylor. Pittman also had seven rebounds and a steal, all in just 23 minutes on the court that helped the Longhorns beat Baylor for the 24th consecutive time.

Notable game scheduled for Tuesday: Leonard Hamilton's Florida State Seminoles can jump into a tie for second in the ACC standings if they can somehow upset Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The No. 24 Seminoles are 22-7 overall, 9-5 in the ACC. The No. 7 Blue Devils are 24-5 overall, 10-4 in the ACC. Tip-off is set for 8 pm ET

Michigan State clinched a share of the Big Ten title.

Kansas got closer to a Big 12 title.

Here's Monday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Sunday: Michigan State clinched a share of the Big Ten title with a 74-66 victory at Illinois. The Spartans now have a two-game lead over Purdue in the Big Ten standings, meaning as long as they win this week at Indiana, which is highly likely, they will take the championship outright. Kalin Lucas had 18 points and four assists against the Illini.

Notable performance from Sunday: Sherron Collins took 14 shots, made eight and finished with 25 points in Kansas' 90-65 victory over Missouri. The junior guard also had six assists and five rebounds. He's now scored at least 22 points in four consecutive games, which has the Jayhawks (24-5 overall, 13-1 in the Big 12) on the verge of winning their fifth straight league title.

Notable game scheduled for Monday: If Notre Dame wants to finish .500 in the Big East, it must win this home game against Villanova. So the Irish are very much in a must-win situation as the calendar turns to March, at least in terms of keeping their slim at-large hopes alive. Notre Dame is 16-12 overall, 7-9 in the Big East. Villanova is 23-6 overall, 11-6 in the Big East. Tip-off is set for 7 pm ET.

Washington won in overtime.

Robert Vaden missed 17 shots.

Here's Friday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Thursday: It's hard to win in overtime (or anytime, really) when your best player is fouled out, which is something Arizona State learned in a 73-70 loss at Washington. After forcing overtime with a steal and dunk in the final 15 seconds, James Harden fouled out early in the extra period, leaving the Sun Devils without their All-American guard who supplied 19 points before exiting. The Huskies scored the subsequent three points and were never tied or behind again. They moved to 21-7 overall and atop the Pac-10 standings with a 12-4 league record. ASU is 21-6 overall, 10-5 in the Pac-10.

Notable performance from Thursday: Antonio Anderson has never been better than the third-leading scorer on any Memphis team, and yet he's led the Tigers in minutes played each of the past four seasons. Why? Because he's a defensive monster, that's why. And the latest to learn that lesson is UAB's Robert Vaden, who matched-up with Anderson at Bartow Arena and missed all 17 shots he took in a 71-60 loss to the fifth-ranked Tigers. UAB's leading scorer was 0-of-5 inside the arc and 0-of-12 outside of it with zero free throw attempts, and if Anderson didn't already have the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award locked-up, well, that should probably do it.

Notable game(s) scheduled for the weekend: I'm heading to the state of Kentucky for a pair of nice games. On Saturday, I've got LSU at Kentucky at Rupp Arena. On Sunday, I've got Marquette at Louisville at Freedom Hall. So I'll see three top 20 teams (No. 6 Louisville, No. 8 Marquette and No. 18 LSU) two probable league champions (LSU in the SEC and Louisville in the Big East), at least two All-American candidates (Kentucky's Jodie Meeks and Marquette's Jerel McNeal) and a pair of Coach of the Year candidates in their respective leagues (Marquette's Buzz Williams and LSU's Trent Johnson) all in a matter of less than 24 hours. Should be a good trip.

Rhode Island won at the buzzer.

Dominic James broke his left foot.

Here's Thursday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Wednesday: A last-second layup from Marquis Jones gave Rhode Island a 93-91 victory over Dayton that tightened the Atlantic 10 race. The Rams are now 21-8 overall, 10-4 in the league and a mere game behind Xavier in the standings. They've won five straight heading into Sunday's tilt at Duquesne, and are just a two-point loss to Xavier last month from leading the A-10 and being a serious at-large candidate for the NCAA tournament.

Notable performance from Wednesday: A.J. Price took 20 shots, made 12 and finished with a career-high 36 points in UConn's 93-82 victory at Marquette. Still, somehow, he wasn't the story of the game, not with UConn coach Jim Calhoun earning his 800th career victory and Marquette senior Dominic James suffering a broken foot that ended his college career, the latter development nothing less than cruel. James finishes with 1,749 career points, and now the Golden Eagles must move forward without him, which should make a deep run in the NCAA tournament tough to achieve.

Notable game scheduled for Thursday: Memphis will put its Conference USA winning streak -- it's at 54 games, by the way -- on the line when it plays at UAB for the first time since Pierre Henderson-Niles slapped a fan last season, and boy this should be fun. The Tigers enter with a 24-3 record that has them ranked fifth nationally. UAB is 19-8 overall and on a six-game winning streak. Tip-off is set for 9 pm ET.

Another No. 1 went down.

Florida did, too.

Here's Wednesday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Tuesday: Providence jumped to a comfortable halftime lead, then withstood a rally and fouled out DeJuan Blair en route to an 81-73 victory over top-ranked Pittsburgh that should give us our seventh new No. 1 when the polls are updated next week. Weyinmi Efejuku got 16 points for the Friars, who were coming off a 103-84 loss to Notre Dame. They are now 17-11 overall, 9-7 in the Big East. Pitt is 25-3 overall, 12-3 in the Big East.

Notable performance from Tuesday: Marcus Thornton took 15 shots, made eight and finished with 32 points in LSU's 81-75 victory over Florida that clinched a share of the SEC title. Also, it might've launched Thornton to the top of the race for SEC Player of the Year given that the in-state product has now scored at least 30 points six times this season. LSU is 23-4 overall, 11-1 in the SEC and ranked 18th nationally. Florida is 21-6 overall 8-4 in the SEC.

Notable game scheduled for Wednesday: First-place in the Big East will be at stake when No. 2 Connecticut plays at No. 8 Marquette in a match-up featuring two of the better guards in the country, namely A.J. Price (UConn) and Jerel McNeal (Marquette). UConn enters 25-2 overall, 13-2 in the Big East. Marquette is 23-4 overall, 12-2 in the Big East.  Tip-off is set for 7 pm ET.

Georgetown lost again.

So did Oklahoma.

Here's Tuesday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Monday: Louisville pulled into a first-place tie atop the Big East standings with a 76-58 victory at Georgetown that probably ended any realistic hope the Hoyas have of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. John Thompson III's team has now dropped nine of their past 11 to fall to 14-12 overall, 5-10 in the Big East. So even if the Hoyas somehow win at Villanova this weekend, they still can't finish any better than 8-10 in the league. And considering they have more losses (four) outside the top 50 of CBSSports.com's RPI than wins (three) inside the top 50 of CBSSports.com's RPI, it's hard to imagine a scenario under which this season ends anywhere other than the NIT. Meantime, the sixth-ranked Cardinals are 22-5 overall and 13-2 in the Big East heading into Sunday's showdown with eighth-ranked Marquette.

Notable performance from Monday: Cole Aldrich took advantage of the hole in the middle because of the absence of Blake Griffin, and finished with 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in Kansas' 87-78 victory at Oklahoma. Aldrich grabbed the same amount of rebounds as OU's starting line-up; he had the same number of offensive boards (five) as OU's entire roster. The 15th-ranked Jayhawks are now 23-5 overall, 12-1 in the Big 12 and alone atop the league standings. The second-ranked Sooners are 25-3 overall, 11-2 in the Big 12, and they should get Griffin back in time for Saturday's game at Texas Tech.

Notable game scheduled for Tuesday: The two SEC teams with the highest overall win totals -- LSU and Florida -- will battle in Baton Rouge in a game that offers the Gators a chance to get the type of impressive road win that has so far eluded them. Heading in, Florida is 2-5 in road games with its best win coming at Auburn last month. The Gators are 21-6 overall, 8-4 in the SEC. LSU is 23-4 overall, 11-1 in the SEC and on an eight-game winning streak. Tip-off is set for 9 pm ET.

Arizona State held on for a nice win.

Gerald Henderson had a career-high performance.

Here's Monday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Sunday: Arizona State squandered a 17-point lead, but still recorded a 70-68 victory over Arizona in a match-up of Pac-10 rivals. The Sun Devils got two late 3-pointers from Rihards Kuksiks to help seal the win. They are now 21-5 overall and second in the Pac-10 standings. Arizona dropped to 18-9 overall and into fifth place in the league standings.

Notable performance from Sunday: Gerald Henderson reached double-figures for the 18th straight time, and in a big way. The Duke junior scored a career-high 35 points in a 101-91 victory over Wake Forest, making 11 of 15 field goal attempts to help the Blue Devils shoot 54.1 percent for the game. He was also 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Duke is now in a three-way tie for second with Clemson and Florida State in the ACC standings.

Notable game scheduled for Monday: First place in the Big 12 will be at stake when Kansas (22-5 overall, 11-1 in the Big 12) plays at Oklahoma (25-2 overall, 11-1 in the Big 12) in a game set to tip at 9 pm ET. OU star Blake Griffin, who was concussed in Saturday's loss at Texas, will probably be a game-time decision. If he plays, that's 22.0 points and 13.8 rebounds the Sooners won't have to find elsewhere.

UCLA beat Washington.

Xavier lost again.

Here's Friday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Thursday: UCLA avoided its worst losing streak in more than four years by beating Washington 85-76 at Pauley Pavilion. Josh Shipp scored 20 points for the Bruins, who are now 20-6 overall, 9-4 in the Pac-10. Washington is 19-7 overall, 10-4 in the Pac-10. Arizona State and California also each have four Pac-10 losses, meaning there is a four-way tie in the loss column atop the league standings.

Notable performance from Thursday: Lamont Mack scored nine consecutive points for Charlotte to take the 49ers from down three to up three in the final seven minutes, which led to their 65-60 upset of 16th-ranked Xavier. The senior forward finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes. Xavier lost for the third time in four games.

Notable game scheduled for Friday: The annual BracketBuster event gets underway with a pair of games today, one of which is Virginia Commonwealth at Nevada. VCU (19-8 overall, 12-4 in the Colonial) sits atop the Colonial standings while Nevada (15-10 overall, 8-4 in the WAC) is second in the WAC standings. Tip-off is set for 9 pm ET.

Penn State scored 38 points and won.

Marcus Thornton got 28 all by himself.

Here's Thursday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Wednesday: Give Penn State coach Ed DeChellis credit for being honest. "Naismith probably rolled over several times," he said after the Nittany Lions' 38-33 -- seriously, 38-33 -- victory at Illinois. The 71 points scored were the lowest total for a Division I men's basketball game since Monmouth beat Princeton 41-21 in 2005. Combined, Penn State and Illinois missed 68 of 96 field goal attempts, including 27 of 33 3-point attempts. Only one player on either roster reached double-figures. It was Talor Battle. He got 11 points on 11 shots.

Notable performance from Wednesday: Marcus Thornton missed more shots than he made, sure, but the LSU standout still got 28 points, seven steals and six rebounds in the Tigers' 72-69 victory at Arkansas. LSU trailed by 18 early and by six at the break. But the 23rd-ranked Tigers came back and won their seventh consecutive game thanks to Thornton's huge effort, which included a key defensive play in the final minute. LSU is now 21-4 overall, 9-1 in the SEC.

Notable game scheduled for Thursday: A Pac-10 showdown highlights the schedule, specifically Washington at UCLA. If the Bruins win, there could be a four-way tie for first in the loss column in what is one of the more interesting conference races. Washington is 19-6 overall, 10-3 in the Pac-10 and ranked 22nd. UCLA is 19-6 overall, 8-4 in the Pac-10 and ranked 20th. The Huskies won the first meeting last month. Tip-off is set for 11 pm ET.

Purdue got a huge win.

Kentucky took another loss.

Here's Wednesday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Tuesday: Purdue forced 22 turnovers and held Michigan State to 32.7 percent shooting in a 72-54 win over the Spartans that tightened the Big Ten race and gave the Boilermakers the type of marquee win they had been lacking. It was their first victory over a team currently ranked in the AP Top 25, bringing their record to 1-4 (losses to Oklahoma, Duke and two to Illinois) in such contests. JaJuan Johnson led the way with 17 points.

Notable performance from Tuesday: Jermaine Beal missed six of nine shots but still finished with 17 points in Vanderbilt's 77-64 victory over Kentucky thanks to a 10-of-10 effort from the free throw line. Beal added three assists and two rebounds, which helped Vandy deal UK its fourth loss in six games.

Notable game scheduled for Wednesday: Tyler Zeller is expected to play for the first time in nearly three months when North Carolina hosts N.C. State at the Dean Smith Center. Zeller broke his left wrist in a win over Kentucky back on Nov. 18. At the time, it appeared he would miss the season. But with a national title at stake and Marcus Ginyard gone for the year, Roy Williams has decided to use the McDonald's All-American during this stretch run, primarily because it seems unlikely Zeller will play four years of college basketball anyway. The freshman forward was averaging 10.0 points through two games before the injury. Tip-off against N.C. State is set for 8 pm ET.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- DeJuan Blair was awesome.

Texas was not.

Here's Tuesday's What You Need To Know :

Notable game from Monday: Pittsburgh out-muscled, out-rebounded and out-played Connecticut, all of which led to the fourth-ranked Panthers beating the top-ranked Huskies at the XL Center here in Hartford. Final score: Pitt 76, UConn 68. So we'll have a new No. 1 next Monday, either Oklahoma, North Carolina or Pittsburgh. For that, the country can thank DeJuan Blair, Pitt's 6-foot-7 center who dominated Hasheem Thabeet and finished with 22 points and 23 rebounds on a 10-of-17 shooting effort. Pitt is now 24-2 overall, 11-2 in the Big East. UConn is 24-2 overall, 12-2 in the Big East.

Notable performance from Monday: Bryan Davis took 10 shots, made six and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Texas A&M's 81-66 victory over Texas. It was the fifth time in sixth games that Davis has reached double-figures in points. It was the fourth time in six games that Texas has lost. The Longhorns are now tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings.

Notable game scheduled for Tuesday: The two teams picked at the top of the Big Ten preseason poll will meet when Michigan State visits Purdue. The Spartans are 20-4 overall, 10-2 in the Big Ten and ranked sixth in the AP poll. The Boilermakers are 19-6 overall, 8-4 in the Big Ten and ranked 19th in the AP poll. Tip-off is set for 7 pm ET.