Preview Roundups
January 11, 2015
Northwestern at Michigan St 12:00 PM ET
Michigan State looks for its third straight Big Ten win when it hosts a Northwestern team they've dominated in the past on Sunday. The Spartans erased an 11-point deficit in the second half, sinking 8-of-9 3-pointers to knock off Iowa on the road last time out. Last season, the Spartans defeated the Wildcats 54-40 in Evanston, 85-70 in East Lansing and 67-51 in Indianapolis in the Big Ten tournament and have won 27 of the last 30 matchups.
Duke at N.C. State 1:30 PM ET
No. 2 Duke looks to stay unbeaten as it makes the short trip to Raleigh to take on North Carolina State. The Blue Devils have started the season with 14 straight wins for the seventh time in school history and are coming off a hard-fought 73-65 triumph at Wake Forest on Wednesday. Duke is one of the three remaining undefeated teams in Division I - along with No. 1 Kentucky and No. 3 Virginia - and needs three more victories to hand Mike Krzyzewski the 1,000th of his coaching career.
Southern Methodist at Central Florida 2:00 PM ET
Two teams trying to build momentum by winning a second straight game will meet Sunday when SMU visits UCF for an American Athletic Conference contest. The Mustangs are coming off a 73-59 victory over Memphis on Thursday, a win they needed after a 56-50 loss at Cincinnati. SMU is looking for another big-time performance from junior forward Markus Kennedy, who scored 21 points off the bench against Memphis.
South Florida at Tulane 3:00 PM ET
Tulane looks for its third win in four tries against league opponents when it hosts USF on Sunday in American Athletic Conference play. The Green Wave are coming off a home loss to Temple after road wins over East Carolina and Memphis kicked off their AAC schedule. Following the setback to the Owls, coach Ed Conroy looked at it as a learning experience, telling reporters, "I'm very proud of our guys but shots didn't go in. We just have to find a way to win when things don't quite go our way."
Memphis at Houston 4:00 PM ET
Memphis will try to dominate Houston again when the teams meet Sunday in Texas in an American Athletic Conference contest. The Tigers cruised to a 73-54 victory over the Cougars on Dec. 31 by limiting Houston to 18.8 percent shooting from the field in the second half. Since beating Houston, Memphis has suffered two straight losses to Tulane and SMU.
Wichita St. at Loyola-Chicago 5:00 PM ET
Wichita State has a veteran team - including several players with Final Four experience - and owns a skill advantage over most teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. Now the Shockers are deeper and more talented with the emergence of freshman forward Shaquille Morris. Morris eyes his third straight quality performance Sunday when the 15th-ranked Shockers visit Loyola Chicago.
Wisconsin at Rutgers 6:00 PM ET
Fourth-ranked Wisconsin attempts to open with four straight victories in Big Ten play for the fifth time in 10 years when it visits Rutgers on Sunday. The Badgers, one of the best defensive teams in the nation, are the only unbeaten left in the league after grinding out a 62-55 victory over Purdue on Wednesday and can extend their winning streak to nine. Wisconsin allows only 54.1 points per game and faces a Rutgers squad that has struggled on the offensive end most of the season.
California at UCLA 7:30 PM ET
California has lost two in a row after scoring an upset to start Pac-12 play and the Golden Bears will try to turn it around Sunday afternoon at UCLA. The Golden Bears beat then-No. 19 Washington on Jan. 2, but have since lost to Washington State and USC, the bottom two teams in the conference last season. UCLA posted its first conference win Thursday night against Stanford, but needed to rally from 14 points down with 10 minutes left in regulation before winning in double overtime.
Florida St. at Syracuse 8:00 PM ET
It has not always been pretty, but Syracuse and Florida State are beginning to turn their seasons around. The Orange, who host the Seminoles on Sunday, have won five games in a row, including the last two wins by a total of three points. The Seminoles topped Virginia Tech their last time out and have won five of six, including a four-point home win against Stetson and a miracle last-second victory against Florida.
Illinois at Nebraska 8:30 PM ET
Illinois won its first game without leading scorer Rayvonte Rice and attempts to make it consecutive victories when it visits Nebraska in Sunday’s Big Ten action. Rice broke his left hand in practice and Malcolm Hill stepped up as an offensive force with a career-best 28 points in Wednesday’s 64-57 victory over ninth-ranked Maryland. “When something happens like what happened to Ray, it really puts it in perspective for those guys,” Fighting Illini coach John Groce told reporters.
Arizona at Oregon St. 10:00 PM ET
Sixth-ranked Arizona seems to have rebounded well from its first loss, starting out the Pac-12 season with a pair of victories by an average of 21 points. Now the Wildcats head to Corvallis on Sunday night to take on an Oregon State squad that is trying to get things together after dropping two of its last four contests. The Beavers are 9-0 at home this season, though, and could make a big statement by knocking off the Wildcats.
Stanford at Southern California 10:00 PM ET
Stanford hasn’t had much success in Los Angeles in recent years and the Cardinal will try to reverse that trend when they visit USC on Sunday night. Stanford has combined to lose 17 of its last 19 games when visiting USC and UCLA, its latest defeat coming Thursday night when the Cardinal blew a 14-point lead with 10 minutes left in regulation against the Bruins and lost in double overtime. USC, meanwhile, gained some confidence with a 71-67 road victory Wednesday night against California.