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Thursday’s slate and what to watch: three league titles on the line?

Stephan McCarty, Zach McCabe, Matt Gatens, Melsahn Basabe

Iowa’s Stephan McCarty, left, Zach McCabe, Matt Gatens (5) and Melsahn Basabe (1) celebrate after defeating Wisconsin 72-65 in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

AP

All times ET. Television guide via here.

Game of the Night: No. 5 Duke @ No. 15 Florida State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Do I really need to explain to you how important this game is in the ACC standings? Three teams are tied for first place in league play with four games left on the schedule. Duke and Florida State are two of those teams. The Seminoles already have wins at Duke and against UNC in their only meeting, which means that a win tonight puts them in the driver’s seat. In other words, if Florida State wins their last four games, they’ll be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. Raise your hand if you thought that was even a possibility back in November.

(I’ll wait.)

There will be a couple of interesting personnel matchups in this one. In the paint, the Plumlee have played better basketball of late, but from a physicality perspective, they will be at a disadvantage against FSU’s massive front line. On the perimeter, the Seminoles have some terrific on-ball defenders and should make life difficult for a Duke team that already has issues penetrating off the bounce. If you’ve forgotten, the last time these two teams played, this happened. The Blue Devils have been waiting for a month to run it back. In other words, this should be fun.

Who’s getting upset?: No. 16 Wisconsin @ Iowa, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

The Hawkeyes have been one of the most pesky teams in the country this season. They’ve beaten No. 11 Michigan at home. They’ve beaten No. 23 Indiana at home. And they’ve gone into the Kohl Center and knocked off Wisconsin already this season. Matt Gatens is coming off of a 30 point performance in Sunday’s upset win over the Hoosiers. Can he keep the streak going?

Also on upset alert:

- No. 14 Murray State @ Tennessee State, 8 p.m. (ESPNU): Murray State doesn’t have an undefeated season to worry about anymore, which takes a bit of luster off of their remaining schedule. I’ll watch this team play simply because I enjoy Isaiah Canaan and what he is capable of doing on the court, but most other people are not addicted to this game like I am. Who is the reason that Murray State blemish on their record? Tennessee State. Like Duke, the Racers have probably been waiting to run this back.

- No. 17 Louisville @ Cincinnati, 9 p.m. (ESPN): I’m not sure you can even technically justify this as an upset if Cincy were to win, but I’ll go with it because a) Louisville has that number to the left of their name which signifies that the top 25 polls that you should all-but disregard are think the Cardinals are better and b) NBC gave me the power to do so and you better believe I’m going to take advantage of that authority. Was I rambling? Sorry. Winner moves into a three-way tie with USF and Georgetown for the fourth double-bye in the Big East Tournament.

- St. Mary’s @ Portland, 10 p.m. (ESPNU): This is going to be a game that you will want to keep a very close eye on. The Gaels are in the midst of another late-season swoon, having lost three of their last four. They were given a gift when Gonzaga lost to San Francisco and opened the door for the Gaels to win the WCC regular season title, but for that to happen St. Mary’s has to win their last two games. On the road in league play from a team that’s struggling? Portland is just the appetizer to Saturday’s trip to San Francisco.

Mid-major matchup of the night: Bucknell @ American, 7 p.m. (CCS)

After losing to Lehigh at the buzzer last week, the Bison stumbled at Holy Cross, meaning that both the Mountain Hawks and the Eagles, who are one game behind Bucknell, will have their shot at getting even in league play with two games left. In all likelihood this is the last chance that they will have. Bucknell’s final game of the year is against Navy, who is 0-13 this season.

Bubblicious:

- Alabama @ Arkansas, 7 p.m. (ESPN2): The Crimson Tide, who are still without JaMychal Green after Tony Mitchell was booted from the team, are playing for their NCAA Tournament lives against an Arkansas team that is very, very tough to beat at home. That’s a rough combination.

- BYU @ Gonzaga, 11 p.m. (ESPN2): This isn’t quite a bubble game, but it does become important with the way the WCC standings look like they are going to shake out. Both BYU and Gonzaga at 11-3 in the league, a game behind St. Mary’s. But the Gaels are playing some poor basketball right now and have two road games left this season. The winner tonight will have the best chance of beating out St. Mary’s for the league title.

Be sure to keep an eye on:

- Elon @ Davidson, 7 p.m.: The Wildcats will win the SoCon’s regular season title with a victory.

- Belmont @ Kennesaw State, 7 p.m.: Ditto, Bruins in the Atlantic Sun.

- Middle Tennessee State @ Louisiana-Monroe, 8 p.m.: MTSU has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, but a win tonight gives them the outright league title.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.