Preview Roundups
February 13, 2013
Wake Forest at Boston College 7:00 PM ET
Wake Forest is coming off its biggest ACC win of the season, but to maintain that momentum the Demon Deacons will have to solve their road issues as they head to Boston College on Wednesday. The Demon Deacons are 0-6 in ACC road games and 2-9 overall in games played away from home. While Wake is riding high coming off Saturday's 71-46 rout of Florida State, Boston College has to recover from Sunday's disheartening one-point loss to Duke.
Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech 7:00 PM ET
No. 16 Oklahoma State goes for its sixth straight win when it travels to Texas Tech on Wednesday night. The Cowboys have made a January span in which they lost four of six contests seem like a distant memory. Because of the hot streak, Oklahoma State has positioned itself in the thick of the Big 12 race, half a game behind co-leaders No. 13 Kansas and No. 11 Kansas State.
Nebraska at Indiana 7:00 PM ET
There is no question No. 2 Indiana is one of the top teams in the country and has an excellent chance to land one of four No. 1 seeds for the NCAA tournament. If the Hoosiers are to win their sixth national title, though, they'll need 7-foot sophomore center Cody Zeller to continue to play a large role. Indiana hosts Nebraska on Wednesday in what figures to be a lopsided affair, so the Hoosiers should have little trouble providing Zeller more of an opportunity to become the focal point of the of
Charlotte at Butler 7:00 PM ET
Charlotte will try to get back on track when it visits No. 10 Butler on Wednesday night. After starting the season as the hottest team in the Atlantic-10 by winning their first nine games and 16 of 19, the 49ers have lost four of their last six and are coming off consecutive losses for the first time this season. Charlotte lost 68-61 at home to VCU on Saturday and fell 89-88 at Temple on Feb. 6. Butler, the first A-10 team to reach 20 wins this season, has a three-game win streak.
Mississippi at Texas A&M 7:00 PM ET
Mississippi hits the road to face Texas A&M as the Rebels try to reverse a losing trend that has dropped them out of the top SEC spot. Mississippi won its first six SEC games but has dropped three of its past four, including Saturday’s 98-79 defeat at Missouri. The Rebels are tied for third in the conference, two games behind SEC leader Florida and one game behind second-place Kentucky.
Miami-Florida at Florida St. 7:00 PM ET
Miami continues to roll along, winning by more than 20 points four times in the last three weeks to take control of the ACC race. The fourth-ranked Hurricanes will be challenged with four road games in the next six, starting with a trip to inconsistent Florida State on Wednesday. Miami can become the first ACC team to start 11-0 in the league since North Carolina in 2000-01 and win 12 straight for the first time since 2007-08.
DePaul at Notre Dame 7:00 PM ET
On the heels of winning the longest regular-season game in Big East history over the weekend, No. 21 Notre Dame will host another team on Wednesday that stretched it into overtime this month in DePaul. The Fighting Irish overcame an eight-point deficit with 50 seconds left in regulation and survived five overtimes before toppling Louisville on Saturday.
Syracuse at Connecticut 7:00 PM ET
No.7 Syracuse looks for its third straight Big East win when the Orange travels to Connecticut for a Big East rivalry game Wednesday. Syracuse cruised past St. John’s 77-58 on Sunday in senior swingman James Southerland’s return from a six-game, academic-related suspension. Six days earlier, the Orange responded from back-to-back conference losses with a 63-47 rout of No. 21 Notre Dame. Syracuse is still without freshman forward DaJuan Coleman, who underwent minor knee surgery on Jan. 29.
Arizona St. at Utah 8:00 PM ET
Arizona State will try to right itself and stay in a suddenly tight Pac-12 race when it travels to Utah on Wednesday night. The Sun Devils have lost two of their last three and began the week a game behind conference leaders Oregon, Arizona and UCLA. For the second consecutive season, the Utes will have to play the role of spoiler down the stretch. They’ve lost four of five to fall into a tie for last with Oregon State and Washington State.
Creighton at Northern Iowa 8:00 PM ET
No. 23 Creighton looks to bounce back from back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference losses when the Bluejays travel to Northern Iowa Wednesday night. Creighton, the top shooting team in the nation at 51 percent, is coming off losses to Indiana State and Illinois State and will likely lose a share of first place in the conference with a third straight defeat.
Missouri at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM ET
Missouri’s woes away from home finally caused it to drop out of the top 25, but the Tigers could not ask for a better team to end its road struggles against than Wednesday’s opponent, Mississippi State. After maintaining ranked status all season long, the Tigers fell to 0-5 in true road games with Thursday’s last-minute loss to Texas A&M. Staying true to its season-long form, Missouri returned home Saturday to pound Mississippi, improving to 14-0 in Columbia, Mo.
Central Florida at Memphis 8:00 PM ET
No. 25 Memphis looks to extend its 14-game win streak and stay perfect in Conference USA play when it hosts Central Florida on Wednesday. The Tigers have quietly been one of the hottest teams in the country, their only losses on the season coming to VCU, Minnesota and Louisville. The Knights are hoping to pull closer to Memphis in the league standings, with Southern Miss and Central Florida sitting two games behind the Tigers heading into this contest.
Iowa St. at Texas 8:00 PM ET
Iowa State had a chance to nose closer to the Big 12 lead but could not keep up with Kansas State on Saturday. Texas comes along as the right time for the Cyclones, who visit Austin to face a Longhorns’ team Iowa State beat by 20 points last month. The Cyclones had won six of eight conference games before falling 79-70 to Kansas State.
Tennessee at Vanderbilt 8:00 PM ET
Tennessee goes for a season sweep of in-state foe Vanderbilt on Wednesday when the Volunteers visit the Commodores. Tennessee staved off a last-minute Vanderbilt rally to win 58-57 at home on Jan. 29 as Jarnell Stokes had 19 points and 11 rebounds. A sophomore power forward, Stokes is the reigning SEC Player of the Week. He’s posted double-doubles in five straight games, six out of seven, and nine this season. That’s tied for the most with LSU’s Johnny O’Bryant III and Ole Miss’ Murphy Holloway.
West Virginia at Baylor 9:00 PM ET
West Virginia will try to win four in a row for the first time since December 2011 when it travels to Baylor for a Big 12 game Wednesday. The Mountaineers don’t have a player who averages double figures in scoring. Juwan Staten was above that mark, but has averaged 6.8 points in the eight games since he was benched by coach Bob Huggins for disciplinary reasons.
Arkansas at Auburn 9:00 PM ET
Arkansas, which is 0-5 in SEC road games, tries to break that trend Wednesday when it visits Auburn. As dominant as the Razorbacks have been at home, they’ve been that poor on the road. Last week they shocked then-No. 2 Florida 80-69 at home and lost 67-49 at struggling Vanderbilt on Saturday, shooting 30.8 percent. The Razorbacks continue to lead the SEC in turnover margin and rank No. 2 in the league in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio.
North Carolina at Duke 9:00 PM ET
Duke looks to extend its winning streak to six when the top-ranked Blue Devils and Tar Heels renew the Tobacco Road rivalry on Wednesday in Durham. Duke enters the contest in sole possession of second in the ACC, two games behind first-place Miami. Senior forward Mason Plumlee is the reigning ACC player of the week after averaging 24.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in wins over North Carolina State and Boston College.
Purdue at Illinois 9:00 PM ET
Illinois ended its downward cycle with huge victories over Indiana and Minnesota, and the next objective is to climb back to the .500 mark in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini looks to start that quest by ending an eight-game losing streak against visiting Purdue on Wednesday. Illinois has not beaten the Boilermakers at home since 2009 and lost at Purdue 68-61 on Jan. 2 to start the conference season.
Providence at South Florida 9:00 PM ET
Providence looks for its third straight win as it visits South Florida in Big East play Wednesday. The Friars are coming off of a 54-50 upset of then-No. 17 Cincinnati in their last outing - their second consecutive single-digit victory after three straight losses. Junior forward Kadeem Batts led Providence over the Bearcats with 25 points and nine rebounds, helping him lock down Big East Player of the Week honors. South Florida has lost six straight.
Oregon St. at Washington St. 10:00 PM ET
Washington State returns home looking to snap a four-game slide when it faces Oregon State in a Pac-12 contest Wednesday. The Cougars have lost nine of their last 11 games to fall into a three-way tie with the Beavers and Utah in the Pac-12 cellar, but they've beaten Oregon State six of the last seven times they've met. Oregon State split last weekend's pair of conference games beating Utah and dropping a narrow decision to Colorado.
San Diego St. at Colorado St. 10:00 PM ET
Colorado State is nationally ranked for the first time since 1954 and puts its 26-game homecourt winning streak on the line when it meets No. 22 San Diego State on Wednesday. The No. 24 Rams have a rising program under first-year coach Larry Eustachy and are in second place in the Mountain West Conference, a half-game ahead of the Aztecs. San Diego State defeated the Rams 79-72 in overtime on Jan. 12 in San Diego.
New Mexico at Fresno St. 10:00 PM ET
Just when it looked like New Mexico was ready to pull away in the Mountain West race, the Lobos were tripped up by UNLV on Saturday. New Mexico will try to get back on track Wednesday at last-place Fresno State, which has lost of five of its last six games. The Bulldogs are hoping for a better outcome than the first meeting, when the Lobos cruised to a 72-45 victory in the Pit on Jan. 12.
Oregon at Washington 11:00 PM ET
Oregon has a share of the Pac-12 lead and Washington is trying to maneuver out of a horrible stretch when the two schools meet in Seattle on Wednesday. The Ducks are tied for first place with Arizona and UCLA and ended a three-game skid by defeating Utah on Saturday. The Huskies have lost six of seven games after a 4-0 conference start. The Ducks defeated Washington 81-76 on Jan. 26 behind 18 points from senior forward E.J. Singler.