Thursday tip-off: Stay awake for Stanford-Utah

Best Bet: Paste BN Sports bracketologist Shelby Mast has Stanford hovering around the No. 10 seed line in his latest projection, safely in the field for the moment but precariously close to bubble territory. The Cardinal has a chance to improve their position tonight at No. 10 Utah (9 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks). The Utes are on much more solid ground in the upper quadrant of the bracket with serious designs on a deep March run, but they'd still like to take care of business at home and maintain their spot atop the league standings alongside Arizona.

Top 25: Thursday's schedule

Utah figures to be fresh entering the game. The Utes rode a three-point barrage to an easy victory at Colorado in their only outing last week. Top marksman Brandon Taylor can expect a bit more resistance from the Cardinal. But Stanford's top tandem of Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown are going to need scoring help against the deeper Utes.

Number of the day: 23.4. There are two things you should know about Eastern Washington junior G Tyler Harvey. First, he's the nation's scoring leader, averaging 23.4 points a game. Second, the Eagles managed without him last week, sweeping their two-game Montana road swing despite Harvey staying home to rest a bruised thigh. Those wins enabled the Eagles to maintain their share of the first place in the Big Sky Conference, but they're hopeful he can return to action tonight as EWU hosts lead co-leader Sacramento State. The Big Sky regular-season champ gets the privilege of hosting the conference tournament, raising the stakes for tonight's contest.

Days until Selection Sunday: 31.