Overtime

As we continue through the final week of regular season play, there are a number of games on tap tonight with major implications for berths and seeding in the NCAA Tournament:

— UConn at Notre Dame: Both teams are riding this year’s weak bubble. The Huskies lost some margin for error with Sunday’s loss to Louisville and need a strong finish to avoid being relegated to the NIT. The Irish have been playing their best ball without leading scorer Luke Harangody, who now could be out for the remainder of the season. A critical game for both teams.

— Duke at Maryland: The Blue Devils are looking to wrap up the ACC title and position themselves for a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Duke is more a product of a weak conference than a strong team, and depending on the draw have to be viewed as a potential early upset victim. Maryland is one of the hardest teams to get a read on. It has been surging of late, but again that may have more to do with the league. Are the Terps an NCAA sleeper? I still can’t figure them out.

— Kansas State at Kansas: Barring a collapse, the Jayhawks will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas State has been one of the surprise teams in the country and is in the hunt for a No. 1 seed as well. It will be helped immensely with a win tonight. This is one of the top games of the week.

— There are several other important contests, including two with teams from the Mountain West Conference that I think could make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico, one of the best teams people know little about, host TCU, while BYU, a team with Elite Eight potential, travel to Utah.

A few people have asked me about the Pac-10 and whether this is a one-team conference this season. I would have said yes a week ago, but I think California has already played itself in.