College Basketball Games This Week with Major 2015 NCAA Tournament Implications

We're down to the final week of the regular season in college basketball, the last chance before the conference tournaments for teams to build their resumes. Regular-season titles are on the line, while everyone is looking to build momentum as we move into March.

It seems like every game on the schedule is capable of shifting what the NCAA tournament field will look like, but some stand out more than others.

We've identified the remaining regular-season games that will have the greatest impacts on the NCAA tourney, either because they pit bubble teams which can ill afford to lose again or involve teams that are getting hot at the right time.

Kentucky at Florida

James Crisp/Associated Press

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC) enters the final week tied with Texas A&M for the conference lead, while Florida (17-12, 8-8) is trying to avoid missing the NCAA tournament for a second straight season.

The Wildcats would need to win their final two games and have A&M lose at least once to claim the regular-season title, since the Aggies won their only meeting last month. A&M's remaining schedule is easier, playing at Auburn and then hosting Vanderbilt.

Florida sits at 48th in the latest RPI but is just 2-8 against top-50 teams. Since beating West Virginia at home on Jan. 30, the Gators have lost five of eight including their last three. Florida hasn't missed consecutive NCAA tournaments since 2008-09.

Indiana at Iowa

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

When: Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Indiana coach Tom Crean began this season on the hot seat, and now he's got a share of a second Big Ten regular-season title in the last four years. The Hoosiers (23-6, 13-3) have a two-game lead with two to go on four different schools, including Iowa (20-8, 11-5), and can clinch the outright title with a victory.

The Hoosiers' last league championship, in 2013, was clinched with a win at Michigan to end the regular season after they lost at home to Ohio State. Indiana is 5-4 on the road this season.

Iowa is still mathematically alive for the Big Ten title but is more interested in just trying to right the ship. The Hawkeyes slipped to 16th in the latest Associated Press poll after spending six straight weeks in the top 10, the result of three straight losses and four of their last five.

That's caused Iowa's NCAA tournament seeding to take a dive in projected brackets. BracketMatrix.com had it averaging a No. 4 seed after being in the hunt for the top line for several weeks.

Saint Joseph's at St. Bonaventure

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET

TV: None

Another year, another crowd at the top in the Atlantic 10 standings with just a few games to go. And just like last season, none of the teams battling for the league's title are locked into the NCAA tournament field.

Saint Joseph's (24-5, 13-3) is tied for first with VCU, a game ahead of Dayton and St. Bonaventure (20-7, 12-4). All four teams are ranked between 25th and 46th in the RPI.

St. Bonaventure has won eight of nine, but it's the loss that is most noticeable: Feb. 17 at last-place La Salle. A win three days later at Dayton helped the Bonnies bounce back, but claiming a piece of its first A-10 title would help even more.

Saint Joseph's has won six of seven but is just 2-4 against the RPI top 50. The Hawks last won the league in 2005.

Seton Hall at Butler

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

When: Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: FS1

Fresh off an upset of Xavier, Seton Hall (21-7, 11-5 Big East) has all but clinched its first NCAA tournament bid since 2006. But the Pirates can't take anything for granted, not when they're finishing with two on the road, including this one against another bubble team without as much wiggle room.

Butler (19-9, 8-8) is 57th in the latest RPI, and its only win over a top-50 team since January came Feb. 10 at Seton Hall. The Bulldogs were as high as ninth in the AP poll, but since Big East play began they've failed to win more than three straight.

With two home games to finish the regular season, including Saturday against Marquette, Butler can play its way into the field before the conference tournament, or it can make next week a must-win situation.

California at Arizona

Ben Margot/Associated Press

When: Thursday, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

California (21-8, 11-5 Pac-12) hasn't made it past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament since 1997, but the addition of 5-star prospects Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb to a veteran roster made it a trendy conference and Final Four contender. And now the Golden Bears are finally looking like such a team, having won seven straight to rise to third in the conference and only a game out of first place.

Included in that win streak are a pair of road victories, the Bears' first this season in Pac-12 play. They went unbeaten at home, knocking off fellow conference contenders Arizona, Oregon and Utah along the way.

Arizona (22-7, 10-6) has won the last two regular-season titles but now can do no better than tie for the top spot. With a combined 0-3 record against the teams in front of them, the Wildcats are more focused on not slipping behind Colorado—whom they're also winless against—into fifth place, thus making them have to play on the opening day of next week's Pac-12 tourney.

Ohio State at Michigan State

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

When: Saturday, noon ET

TV: ESPN

By knocking off Iowa on Sunday, Ohio State (19-11, 11-6) has kept itself alive for an NCAA tournament bid that seemed unlikely following an uneven nonconference performance. The Buckeyes beat Kentucky but had three sub-100 RPI losses, two coming in back-to-back home games.

At No. 74 in the RPI and with a 2-7 mark against top-50 teams, OSU still has a lot of work to do and will probably need to make at least the Big Ten semifinals next week to have a real shot at making the NCAA field for the eighth year in a row. However, being able to knock off Michigan State (24-5, 11-5) surely wouldn't hurt.

MSU has put itself back in the discussion for a No. 1 seed, something that seemed a given with its 13-0 start. But three straight mid-January losses pushed the Spartans down a few lines and have forced them to play uphill ever since.

The Spartans—who also play at Rutgers on Wednesday—have won eight of nine, including a 19-point win at Ohio State on Feb. 23.

Vanderbilt at Texas A&M

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

When: Saturday, noon ET

TV: ESPN2

Vanderbilt (18-11, 10-6 SEC) spent the first five weeks of the 2014-15 season in the Associated Press rankings, starting at No. 18 and actually moving up after a narrow loss to Kansas in the Maui Invitational. Then the Commodores began a spiral that was impacted by injuries but also inconsistent play, to the point that they were 13-10 in early February.

Now riding a three-game win streak, including a much-needed home victory against Kentucky, Vandy has risen to No. 49 in the RPI and averages a No. 11 seed in BracketMatrix's compilation. It also enters the final week only a game out of first place.

Assuming it doesn't slip at home against rival Tennessee—it's 7-1 in Memorial Gymnasium in SEC play—Vandy will have a say in how the SEC standings pan out. Texas A&M (22-7, 11-5) is tied for the top spot with Kentucky (it has the tiebreaker) and would be going for at least a share of the title in this regular-season finale.

Vandy handed A&M a 77-60 road loss on Feb. 4, part of a 1-5 skid for the Aggies that has since been followed by four straight wins.

Oregon at USC

Leon Bennett/Getty Images

When: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET

TV: Pac-12 Network

Oregon (23-6, 12-4 Pac-12) controls its own destiny in the quest for its first regular-season conference title since 2002. The Ducks enter the final week with a half-game lead on Utah, a one-game edge on California and a two-game gap over Arizona; they are 4-1 against those challengers. A victory Wednesday at UCLA would clinch at least a share, but a road sweep of the Los Angeles schools would ensure an outright title.

It won't be easy, but Oregon has done it in Pac-12 play this season when it won at both Arizona and Arizona State in late January.

USC (19-10, 8-8) is 15-1 at home, but that loss came in its most recent contest in the Galen Center, to Utah. That was the start of a three-game skid and part of a 1-5 slide that the Trojans take into visits from the Bay Area schools, knocking them down to a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference.

The Trojans' first NCAA bid since 2011 still looks good, but their seed doesn't. As of Monday night they were averaging a No. 8 seed, according to BracketMatrix.

North Carolina at Duke

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

When: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

There's always something big riding on the final regular-season matchup between North Carolina and Duke, and this time it's UNC's chance to win its first ACC title since 2012. But that will require the Tar Heels (24-6, 13-4) to end a four-game skid to the Blue Devils and win in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time in three years.

UNC holds a half-game lead over Miami and is a game up on Virginia, and it can still get the No. 1 seed in the ACC tourney with a loss to Duke (21-8, 10-6). But after losing at home to the Blue Devils a few weeks ago, revenge is on their minds, in addition to postseason positioning.

Duke, which is the defending national champion but hasn't won the ACC regular-season title since 2010, has more than bragging rights to play for in this one. It's currently tied for fifth with Notre Dame, but Louisville isn't eligible for the ACC tourney, and thus Duke is in a tie for fourth. Earning a top-four seed means a bye into the quarterfinals, something the undermanned Blue Devils would certainly prefer.

Additionally, Duke is trying to keep itself in line for a favorable NCAA tournament seed, one that would justify its being placed in nearby Raleigh, North Carolina, for the opening weekend.

VCU at Dayton

John Minchillo/Associated Press

When: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

TV: CBS Sports Network

The Atlantic 10 schedule-makers knew what they were doing by scheduling the only meeting of the season between Dayton and VCU for the last Saturday of the regular season. Little did they know both schools would so badly need a win in this finale.

VCU (21-8, 13-3) entered the week tied for first with Saint Joseph's, but a pair of sub-100 RPI losses in February—including Feb. 24 at George Mason—see the Rams without much room for error. Their Wednesday game against Davidson is also a must-win in order to ensure a sixth straight NCAA tourney bid.

Dayton (22-6, 12-4) ended up playing in the First Four last season, albeit on its home court, and for most of this year it looked pretty safe to avoid a similar fate. Then the Flyers dropped three of four, not only falling out of first in the A-10 but giving them almost as many bad losses as good wins.

Saturday's home loss to Rhode Island was Dayton's second sub-100 RPI setback this season, both in league play.

All RPI rankings provided by CBSSports.com.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.