Wednesday tip-off: Rising Purdue hosts No. 20 Ohio State

Setting up the day in college basketball:

Best bet: By most projections, Purdue hasn't quite played itself into the field of 68. But the Boilermakers are trending in the right direction entering the February stretch drive. They've won three in a row, with victories against Iowa and Indiana enhancing the résumé. Purdue gets another chance for a quality 'W' tonight as No. 20 Ohio State comes to Mackey Arena (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN).

In addition to balance on the score sheet, the Boilermakers have improved steadily on the defensive end. They're going to need it this evening against Buckeyes' freshman sensation D'Angelo Russell, who is not only OSU's leading scorer (19.4 ppg) but an excellent passer as well (5.2 apg).

Purdue must also keep track of Russell when he doesn't have the ball, as his backcourt mate Shannon Scott (6.6 apg) doesn't need much of an opening to find him.

Number of the day: 3.9. No. 18 Virginia Commonwealth dropped its first Atlantic-10 contest over the weekend to crosstown rival Richmond, but the more significant loss for the Rams was senior G Briante Weber's season-ending knee injury. Weber's national-best 3.9 steals a game will be hard enough to replace in VCU's pressing defense, but his leadership and team-high 4.3 assists a game at the offensive end will also be missed. The Rams look to regroup at George Mason (7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network).

Days until Selection Sunday: 39.

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