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Big 10 Matchup in Illinois

Before Eric Gordon decided to stay close to home and play for Indiana, he was headed to Illinois.

Gordon will make his first appearance on the Champaign campus since reneging on an oral commitment to play for the Illini, as they host the 14th-ranked Hoosiers on Thursday night.

Free Falling

Pittsburgh has spent the past 42 weeks ranked in the Top 25, rising as high as No. 2 in the nation.

Losing its next game to its archrival could make that lengthy streak disappear.

The No. 22 Panthers (17-5, 5-4) look to avoid consecutive Big East losses for the first time in nearly two years on Thursday when they host West Virginia, making the 75-mile trek up I-79 from Morgantown.

Bruins Take on Cougars

The first game between No. 5 UCLA and No. 17 Washington State was a blowout, although you couldn't tell by the final score.

The Cougars hit seven 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds of the game in Los Angeles, and still managed to lose 81-74. It knocked the 14-0 Cougars from the unbeaten ranks and started a streak in which they lost four of seven games.

Back on Track at UCONN

Jim Calhoun has turned Connecticut into an annual contender for the Big East title and a regular in the Top 25. After an uncharacteristic year in which the Huskies were neither, a five-game win streak finally has Calhoun's team back on track.

Calhoun and No. 19 Connecticut look to extend their run and solidify their spot in the rankings when they visit Syracuse on Wednesday, a matchup that features two of Division I's winningest coaches in Calhoun and the Orange's Jim Boeheim - each going for his 767th career victory.

Intense Rivalry

Roy Williams went to the training room Tuesday morning to see how point guard Ty Lawson was recovering from a sprained left ankle. The answer was enough to give the North Carolina coach reason for concern.

``He walked in the trainer's room on crutches,'' Williams said, ``and I think it's awfully difficult to go from crutches one day to playing against Duke the next day.''