Three-Seed in Big Ten Tourney on the line in Bruins at Purdue

With just three games remaining in conference play, the Bruins’ trip to West Lafayette on Friday evening becomes that much more meaningful.

The loser will almost be certain of playing a Thursday game in Indianapolis and with Northwestern at the tail end of the Midwest swing, the Bruins have a chance to do some damage.

UCLA looked to be in trouble the first two weeks of January and sat near the bottom of the Big Ten standings.

Since falling at Rutgers on January 13, UCLA has shot 48.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range, going 9-2 over that stretch.

The one thing UCLA does not have going for them is tiebreakers.

UCLA does not own the tiebreaker with any team in front of them in the standings, which makes the upcoming showdown with Purdue even more important.

Red-Hot Ducks Angling for Opening-Round Bye in Tournament

The hottest team in the Big Ten now outside of Maryland is the Oregon Ducks. Dana Altman’s charges have now won four in a row.

The most recent win in the streak came on the road against the then-11th-ranked team in the country and saw the Ducks erase a 12-point deficit.

The win at Wisconsin improved Oregon to 20-8 overall, marking the 15th time Altman has won 20 games or more in his 15 seasons in Eugene.

The win also put Oregon, now in eighth place, back in position for an opening-round bye in the conference tournament.

The Ducks’ three remaining games are all against teams below them in the standings and two of the three are in Eugene.

So far in its first year in the Big Ten, however, UO has gone 5-4 on the road and just 4-4 inside Matthew Knight Arena.

USC Suffering from Expected First-Year Growing Pains in League

One of those three remaining games for the Ducks brings the Trojans to town. USC’s struggles this season in conference play are not a huge shock as SC was poised for some growing pains this season, given a complete roster overhaul from last season.

It’s surprising, however, that the Trojans are on the verge of being left out of the conference tournament—especially considering how their early wins positioned them in February.

Over the next week, the Trojans will travel to Oregon and host Washington. USC can’t afford a misstep with the Huskies and could really use an upset over the Ducks.

UW Likely Needs to Win Out to Make Conference Tournament

Washington will need to pick up wins in the next week against Indiana at home and on the road at USC to have any hope of extending their season in the Big Ten Tournament.

UW is currently in last place in the conference at 4-13, and with three games remaining,  the Huskies are two games out of the 15th spot in the league.

To qualify for the conference tournament at this point, Washington would most likely need Washington to win out.

SuperWest Player of the Week: Nate Bittle, Oregon

In a pair of wins last week he averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots as the Ducks swept their road trip to Iowa and Wisconsin.

During the four-game winning streak, he has averaged 18.3 points, 8.3 boards, and 3.3 blocked shots per outing.

Bittle is one of four players nationwide to total at least 370 points, 195 rebounds, and 55 blocks.

SuperWest Freshman of the Week: Dylan Harper, Rutgers

In wins over Washington and USC, Harper averaged 29.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game.

In the win over the Trojans, he totaled 25 points, 9 assists, and six steals.

In doing so, he became the first player in the nation this season to put up as many in those categories and is just the third freshman since 2005 to register at least 25 points, nine assists, and six steals in a single game.