Preview Roundups
January 28, 2015
Seton Hall at Marquette 7:00 PM ET
A pair of teams mired in three-game losing streaks will square off when Seton Hall visits Marquette on Wednesday night in the first of two matchups in an 11-day span between the struggling Big East Conference rivals. Seton Hall climbed to No. 19 nationally after winning its first two conference games but has since dropped four of its last five, including a 20-point thumping at Butler on Sunday. Marquette has been a nemesis for the Pirates, winning five straight in the series.
Wake Forest at Florida St. 7:00 PM ET
A pair of struggling teams meet on Wednesday when Florida State hosts Wake Forest in an ACC showdown. Florida State battled with No. 14 North Carolina last time out before falling 78-74 for the fifth loss in the last seven games. Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton pointed to the play of freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who had a career-high 35 points, as a positive from the loss while telling reporters, "His future is very bright. He always gives great effort while he's learning and growing."
Minnesota at Penn St. 7:00 PM ET
Minnesota looks for its third victory in four games after a disappointing start to Big Ten play when it visits Penn State on Wednesday. The Golden Gophers beat Rutgers and Illinois at home, sandwiched around a three-point loss at Nebraska, as senior guard Andre Hollins poured in 80 points in three games after his team's 0-5 league start. Penn State lost its first six Big Ten games and tries to build on a 79-51 triumph over Rutgers when the conference’s lop scorer D.J. Newbill posted 23 points.
Southern Methodist at South Florida 7:00 PM ET
Even as it loses players, SMU continues to pile up the wins under head coach Larry Brown, whose team goes for its seventh straight victory Wednesday as USF. The Mustangs recently lost starting guard Keith Frazier, who was ruled academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.
South Carolina at Louisiana State 7:00 PM ET
Back-to-back road wins in conference play have LSU sliding up the standings in the SEC as it enters a stretch with four of the next five at home. The Tigers will begin that stretch when they host slumping South Carolina on Wednesday. The Gamecocks are losers of three in a row and were held to a season-low 43 points in a loss at No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday, though coach Frank Martin is happy about his team’s improved effort.
Temple at Central Florida 7:00 PM ET
Temple senior Will Cummings will enjoy a bit of a homecoming Wednesday when the Owls visit UCF in American Athletic Conference action. Cummings, a native of Jacksonville, has battled through a leg strain for most of the month as he continues to struggle through a tough senior season.
Duke at Notre Dame 7:30 PM ET
Duke’s pursuit of getting coach Mike Krzyzewski his milestone win may be over, but the chase to propel him to a 13th ACC regular-season crown is far from complete. The fourth-ranked Blue Devils begin one of their most challenging stretches of the season on Wednesday when they travel to No. 8 Notre Dame. Krzyzewski became the first men’s basketball coach to reach 1,000 career victories at Madison Square Garden on Sunday when Duke used a late 21-4 run to rally past St. John’s.
Texas Tech at Oklahoma 7:30 PM ET
Texas Tech’s play in the Big 12 has been disappointing this season, but the Red Raiders hope Saturday’s upset of Iowa State marks a turning point. Texas Tech heads to Oklahoma on Wednesday to face a Sooners’ squad that has dropped three of its past four games, all against ranked competition. Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield, the Big 12’s leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, was held to 12 points in Saturday’s 69-58 loss at Baylor.
Loyola-Chicago at Wichita St. 8:00 PM ET
Loyola Chicago will try to put two quality halves together - and even that might not be enough - in hopes of defeating No. 12 Wichita State on Wednesday. The host Shockers have won eight straight games and captured 26 consecutive contests against Missouri Valley Conference opposition. Wichita State defeated Loyola 67-53 on Jan. 11, although the Shockers needed a big second half after trailing 28-23 at the break.
Oregon St. at Arizona St. 8:00 PM ET
Oregon State has won its first 12 home games to become the Pac-12’s most surprising team, but the Beavers will need to win on the road to keep pace in the conference race. Coach Wayne Tinkle’s squad brings a three-game winning streak into Wednesday’s contest at Arizona State, which lost to the Beavers 55-47 in Corvallis earlier this month. Oregon State is off to its best start since the 1989-90 season, when the team led by Gary Payton opened with a 16-3 mark.
Rice at Houston 8:00 PM ET
The good feelings of Houston’s 5-1 start are long gone as the Cougars have dropped eight straight and 11 of their last 13 games. The latest loss was an 80-59 defeat at SMU on Saturday which kept Houston trapped in the American Athletic Conference basement at 0-8. However, the Cougars will take a break from AAC play Wednesday in hosting cross-town rival Rice in the final non-conference contest of the season for both teams.
Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois 8:05 PM ET
With a showdown against Missouri Valley Conference leader Wichita State looming on the weekend, No. 18 Northern Iowa must avoid looking ahead as it prepares to visit Southern Illinois on Wednesday. The Panthers are riding a seven-game winning streak after erasing a 12-point, second-half deficit in a 54-53 victory at Illinois State on Sunday. Northern Iowa limited the Salukis to a season-low point total in a 55-39 win over Southern Illinois on Jan. 7.
Mississippi St. at Mississippi 9:00 PM ET
Arch rivals will clash with each side looking to establish some consistency in SEC play when Ole Miss hosts Mississippi State on Wednesday. Ole Miss hasn't put together back-to-back wins since before Christmas, but after a 72-71 win over Florida last time out, the Rebels know the time is now to gain momentum. "We just need to get back on track," guard Jarvis Summers told reporters. "We'll win one and then lose one and we've got to be consistent."
Indiana at Purdue 9:00 PM ET
No. 21 Indiana looks to keep pace in the Big Ten race when it hits the road Wednesday to take on Purdue. The Hoosiers had rattled off four straight wins to climb into the national rankings before losing 82-70 at Ohio State to fall one game behind No. 5 Wisconsin atop the conference standings. "We play a very good Purdue team on Wednesday and our focus is on that," Indiana coach Tom Crean told reporters. "We have to make sure we get our team squared all the way around for how good Purdue is."
Georgia Tech at Miami-Florida 9:00 PM ET
The challenge for Miami (Fla.) as it returns to the court Wednesday at home against Georgia Tech is to stay focused, after the Hurricanes re-entered the national rankings this week. “It’s very exciting to be there, but we can’t lose the edge like we did earlier in the season,” guard Sheldon McClellan told reporters Monday after Miami re-appeared at No. 23 in the rankings. The Hurricanes were ranked in late November but lost three of four games to drop from the top 25.
Clemson at N.C. State 9:00 PM ET
Clemson tries to win back-to-back games for the first time since December when it visits North Carolina State on Wednesday. The Tigers improved to 4-4 in contests decided by five or fewer points after a 59-57 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday when Josh Smith tipped in Rod Hall's miss with one-half second left. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, are 1-5 in such close games and have lost five straight of those contests after an 81-78 setback in overtime to No. 8 Notre Dame on Sunday.
East Carolina at Memphis 9:00 PM ET
Memphis was picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference heading into the season, but the Tigers have some ground to make up as they prepare to host East Carolina on Wednesday. Memphis is fifth in the ACC, but regrouped following an 1-2 start to win four of the last five. East Carolina lost five of its last six, most recently a 66-64 setback to first-place Tulsa on Saturday, missing two chances to tie or take the lead down the stretch.
Louisville at Boston College 9:00 PM ET
Little figures to come easy for Louisville over the next two weeks, which includes finding a way to play its next game. The ninth-ranked Cardinals, who hope to avoid the blizzard that is pounding the Northeast on Wednesday when they travel to Boston College, opened a stretch in which they play four of five on the road with Sunday’s 80-68 win at Pittsburgh. Upon leaving Chestnut Hill, Louisville hosts No. 14 North Carolina on Saturday before visiting No. 23 Miami (Fla.) and No. 2 Virginia.
Kansas at Texas Christian 9:00 PM ET
No. 11 Kansas concludes a two-game Texas road trip when it visits TCU on Wednesday night. The Jayhawks come in off a four-game stretch against nationally ranked opponents that saw them win three times, including a 75-62 victory at then-No. 18 Texas to open the trip Saturday. Freshman forward Cliff Alexander finished with a team-high 15 points in the win and earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
St. John's at Creighton 9:01 PM ET
The post Doug McDermott era has not gone well at all for Creighton. The Bluejays, still winless in the Big East, look to break a nine-game slide when they host St. John's on Wednesday. McDermott led the nation in scoring last season at 26.7 points per game, but Austin Chatman is Creighton's top gun this season at only 10.9, and the Bluejays are shooting 41.5 percent from the field.
Oregon at Arizona 10:00 PM ET
Sixth-ranked Arizona has won four straight following a loss to Oregon State and brings a 32-game home winning streak into Wednesday’s contest against Oregon. The matchup features two of the top freshmen in the nation in Arizona phenom Stanley Johnson and Oregon forward Jordan Bell, who ranks fifth nationally at 3.4 blocks per game. Johnson is averaging a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds for Arizona, which defeated the Ducks 80-62 earlier this month in Eugene.
Stanford at Washington 11:00 PM ET
Washington dismissed shot-blocking force Robert Upshaw from the program earlier this week and attempts to move forward when it hosts Stanford on Wednesday in Pac-12 play. The 7-foot Upshaw was booted from the squad one day after the Huskies suffered a 77-56 loss at Utah on Sunday night. No reason was given for the dismissal of a player who leads the nation with 85 blocked shots and was averaging 10.9 points and 8.2 rebounds.