Wednesday's Pregame Beat

6:30 pm: Purdue @ Ohio State: Ohio State and Purdue are two of the three teams tied (in the loss column) atop the Big Ten standings. Just a month ago, Purdue and Ohio State locked horns in one of the best games of the season. Robbie Hummel scored 29 points in the first half as the Boilermakers built a big lead, only to see Evan Turner take the game over in the second half, going on a personal 14-0 run to give the Buckeyes a win in Mackey.

If Purdue is to return the favor, they are going to have to do the obvious - slow down Evan Turner. The problem there is that Turner is a fantastic 1-on-1 player, but you cannot help when he drives, because guys like Jon Diebler, William Buford, and Jeremie Simmons can kill you from the perimeter, while Dallas Lauderdale sits under the rim waiting for a dunk to come his way.

Well, the key may actually be Purdue's biggest strength. You want to make Ohio State work for their buckets. The Buckeyes are pretty good in transition because Turner is a great rebounder, which means that he can get off to the races without needing an outlet pass. He's an excellent passer as well, which means that OSU gets quite a few easy layups and open threes simply because they run the floor well. Keep the Buckeyes from getting those opportunities - whether it be by taking good shots or leaving two or three guys back - will be the key for Purdue tonight.

9:00 pm: Texas @ Missouri: Big game for both teams. Missouri still needs to add some wins to their resume to keep from getting a bad seed in the dance. Texas, on the other hand, was struggling mightily up until their last game against Nebraska, who is the bottom feeder of the Big XII. Can the Longhorns turn it around? This is a good matchup for them, as the Tigers don't have any size inside. Texas will be able to take advantage of that so long as they don't turn the ball over against that Mizzou press.

Bubble Watch

• 7:00 pm: Notre Dame @ Louisville: Notre Dame is basically on their last legs. A loss tonight may seal their fate as a bubble team, and it isn't even clear if they will have Luke Harangody, who is still dealing with a knee injury. Louisville looks to be in much better shape after beating Syracuse on the road, but still needs some wins to bolster what is a relatively soft resume.
  
• 7:00 pm: Florida State @ Virginia: Virginia really needs to start putting together some quality wins if they have any shot of dancing, while FSU could stand to show the committee they can win on the road.
• 7:00 pm: Tulsa @ Marshall: It may be too late for Tulsa, but at the very least you can be sure there will be quite a few NBA scouts in attendance tonight.
• 7:00 pm: Fordham @ Richmond; Duquesne @ Charlotte; Memphis @ Tulane: Memphis, Charlotte, and Richmond all cannot afford a loss tonight.
  
• 7:30 pm: St. Joe's @ Xavier; 8:00 pm: UAB @ USM: Ditto for UAB and Xavier.
• 9:00 pm: Rhode Island @ St. Louis: We tried warning Dayton. Maybe URI will heed out advice. St. Louis is a tough place to win.
  
• 10:00 pm: UNLV @ Utah: The Rebels are in a bit of a precarious position after losing two in a row. Utah is a tough place to win. A three game losing streak at this time of the season is not a good thing for bubble teams.

Other notable games

• 7:00 pm: Temple @ St. Bonaventure
• 7:00 pm: Nebraska @ Kansas State
• 7:00 pm: Duke @ Miami
• 7:00 pm: Illinois-Chicago @ Butler
• 7:00 pm: West Virginia @ Providence
• 8:00 pm: BYU @ Colorado State
• 8:00 pm: Oklahoma State @ Iowa State
• 8:00 pm: Georgia @ Tennessee
• 8:30 pm: Penn State @ Northwestern
• 9:00 pm: South Carolina @ Arkansas
• 9:00 pm: Oklahoma @ Colorado
• 9:00 pm: Maryland @ NC State
• 9:00 pm: Wyoming @ New Mexico