Temple hopes to get a sour taste out of its mouth - and impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee - before the American Athletic Conference Tournament begins. The Owls have suffered disheartening losses - each of a different variety - in their last two games and eye a better effort Thursday against visiting Houston. This is the first meeting this season between the teams, as each AAC squad plays every other team in the league twice with the exception of one team that it only plays once.

Michigan State is trying to lock up a bye in the Big Ten tournament and is surging toward the end of the regular season with wins in four straight and six of the last seven. The Spartans will attempt to keep rolling when they host struggling Minnesota on Thursday. The Golden Gophers looked like they were heading for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament until three straight losses shoved them right off the bubble.

Ohio State is slipping in the wrong direction and will try to get back on track when it hosts a Nebraska squad lacking any direction in Thursday’s Big Ten action. The Buckeyes lost back-to-back games to Michigan State and Michigan and suddenly find themselves close to the NCAA Tournament bubble as opposed to securely in the field. Nebraska has lost five straight games, including a humiliating 74-46 home loss to Iowa.

Tennessee and Vanderbilt were two teams heading in opposite directions in mid-January, but the Commodores have turned their season around while the Volunteers have nosedived. One rare highlight for Tennessee was a 76-73 overtime victory at Vanderbilt on Feb. 11, and the Volunteers host their in-state rival Thursday looking to end a three-game tailspin. Vanderbilt has won four of six since ending a seven-game skid, while Tennessee has dropped seven of nine.

Seventh-ranked Arizona is showing it can win in a variety of ways as the Wildcats continue their quest for the Pac-12 regular-season title and a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed with Thursday’s game at Colorado. The latest evidence was presented last Saturday when Arizona’s top four scorers shot a combined 7-of-33 from the field and scored 25 points. However, the Wildcats’ bench – led by Gabe York (13 points) and Dusan Ristic (12) – stepped up to outscore the UCLA reserves 27-0 in a 57-47 victory.

Center A.J. Hammons has set the tone for Purdue lately, helping the Boilermakers win seven of their last eight heading into Thursday's home game against Rutgers. Hammons, the Big Ten Player of the Week, is averaging 11.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and three blocks and has been more productive since Purdue's loss to Illinois on Jan. 21. "(Hammons has) done a better job of being patient and not getting frustrated when things don't go his way and continuing to make plays," coach Matt Painter said.

SMU goes after its seventh consecutive road victory when it takes on Memphis in American Athletic Conference play on Thursday. The No. 21 Mustangs have been hot no matter where the venue with wins in 20 of their last 22 games, including their last four contests. The Tigers have strung together three consecutive wins in an effort to save their season but a lot more work is needed to land an NCAA Tournament berth.

Nestled between Utah’s 69-58 loss Sunday at Oregon and Saturday’s rematch against Pac-12-leading Arizona is Thursday’s home game against Arizona State. It sets up as the perfect look-ahead contest for his 12th-ranked Utes, but coach Larry Krystkowiak is having none of it. “We aren't concerned with (this) being a trap game,” Krystkowiak told reporters. “Nothing has changed with our approach, and that may be the story for you, the media, but our coaches and players aren't wired that way.”

Gonzaga is closing in on a potential top seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, but the No. 2 Bulldogs have shown a couple recent dings in their armor heading into their West Coast Conference game Thursday night against visiting San Diego. Gonzaga had to rally from 17 points down to beat Saint Mary’s on Saturday and extend its winning streak to 21 games. The Bulldogs have won their last three games by an average of 10 points after winning their first 13 conference matchups by an average of 18.8.

After appearing to be a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament a month ago, Stanford is squarely on the bubble heading into Thursday’s contest against visiting Oregon State. The Cardinal have lost four of their last six and suffer from a lack of any quality wins outside of an overtime victory over then-No. 9 Texas on Dec. 23. Coach Johnny Dawkins’ squad can ill afford a loss to the Beavers, who snapped a three-game losing streak with last Saturday’s 72-58 win over Colorado.