Preview Roundups
February 21, 2015
South Florida at East Carolina 11:00 AM ET
East Carolina will look to avoid a third consecutive loss when it hosts USF in American Athletic Conference play on Saturday. The Pirates had rolled off three wins in four games prior to stumbling in road tilts against Temple and Tulsa. In each of its latest two losses, East Carolina shot barely north of 35 percent and was unable to overcome significant halftime deficits following slow starts.
Pittsburgh at Syracuse 12:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh looks to snap out of its season-long road funk when it hooks up with Syracuse in an ACC clash on Saturday. The Panthers are 1-7 away from home and that lone win came in overtime against Boston College, which currently resides in last place in the league. They now must contend with an Orange squad coming off its best win of the season - a 10-point home victory against No. 12 Louisville on Wednesday.
Oklahoma at Texas Tech 12:00 PM ET
Oklahoma continues its pursuit of a Big 12 Conference title when its visits Texas Tech on Saturday. The No. 17 Sooners go into the weekend a half-game behind second-place Iowa State and 1 1/2 games behind first-place Kansas), but have back-to-back games against conference bottom feeders starting with the last place Red Raiders. Oklahoma then hosts TCU before traveling to Iowa State and finishing the season with a sold-out home game against the Jayhawks.
Texas A&M at South Carolina 12:00 PM ET
Texas A&M looks to continue its winning ways when it hits the road to face South Carolina on Saturday. The Aggies have won nine of their last 11 games, including a 68-62 triumph over LSU on Tuesday, and are on track to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011. Texas A&M has surrendered 62 points or less in its last seven victories and has won four of its last five road games as it sets its sights on avenging an 80-52 loss to the Gamecocks in Columbia on Jan. 29, 2014.
Minnesota at Wisconsin 12:00 PM ET
Fourth-ranked Wisconsin continues to roll along and will attempt to extend its winning streak to 10 games when it hosts desperate Minnesota on Saturday in a Big Ten tussle. The Badgers are off to the best start in school history, boasting three players that average at least 12 points and shoot 52.9 percent or better. Minnesota has lost two in a row after turning its season around with a 5-2 run and has to face Wisconsin twice over the last four games of the regular season.
Seton Hall at St. John's 12:00 PM ET
St. John’s is eyeing its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011. And to get there, making the most of three straight home games – beginning with Saturday’s date with visiting Seton Hall at Carnesecca Arena in Queens – is a must for the Red Storm, who saw their three-game win streak snapped Tuesday with a 79-57 loss at Georgetown. The Pirates, meanwhile, have lost five straight and eight of their last 10, and will have to make do the next two games without suspended leading scorer Sterling Gibbs.
Georgia Tech at North Carolina 12:00 PM ET
North Carolina’s inability to close out its hated rival will sting for some time, but the 16th-ranked Tar Heels must put their 92-90 overtime loss to Duke behind them in preparing to host Georgia Tech on Saturday. North Carolina needs more than it got from its backcourt against the Blue Devils, as starting guards Marcus Paige and Justin Jackson combined for seven points on 3-of-19 shooting. The struggling Yellow Jackets beat Clemson 63-52 Monday and have found a better offensive rhythm of late.
Kansas St. at Baylor 1:00 PM ET
Taurean Prince might be the Big 12's best sixth man but the Baylor forward isn't worried about those kind of titles as the No. 20 Bears prepare to host Kansas State on Saturday. "I don't try to say 'Give me the ball so I can do it' or none of that," Prince told the media after Tuesday's 54-49 victory at Texas Tech. "I just play. I'm an instinct type guy. I just go off what the defense gives me." Prince has scored in double digits in 10 straight games - including a season-high 22 points Tuesday.
Florida at Louisiana State 1:00 PM ET
After narrowly avoiding a fifth straight loss last time out, Florida visits SEC rival LSU with a chance to pull even with the Tigers in the conference standings. The Gators survived a visit from Vanderbilt on Wednesday, prevailing 50-47 with a dunk from freshman Devin Robinson serving as the deciding bucket. Despite the win, the struggle for Florida of late is not lost on coach Billy Donovan, who told reporters, "Even when we're getting fairly decent looks, we're not making shots."
West Virginia at Oklahoma St. 2:00 PM ET
West Virginia bolstered its NCAA Tournament hopes with Monday’s upset of No. 8 Kansas, but the 22nd-ranked Mountaineers face a difficult road as February turns to March in the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers travel to No. 24 Oklahoma State on Saturday, the first of a five-game finish to the regular season featuring four games against ranked teams. The matchup features three of the league's top scorers in West Virginia’s Juwan Staten and Oklahoma State’s Le’Bryan Nash and Phil Forte III.
Iowa St. at Texas 2:00 PM ET
Iowa State is one game off the pace in the Big 12 standings, but winning on the road isn’t something in which the No. 14 Cyclones excel. Iowa State visits Texas on Saturday and is coming off a 70-65 victory over Oklahoma State that is just the Cyclones’ third road win all season. “You get the monkey off your back a little bit,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. “We’ve had three really good road wins: Iowa, West Virginia and now Oklahoma State.”
Miami-Florida at Louisville 2:00 PM ET
Miami (Fla.) accomplished what it needed with wins against two struggling ACC teams and looks to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume at No. 12 Louisville on Saturday. The Hurricanes beat Boston College in double overtime on Monday and knocked off Virginia Tech two days later as they were led by consecutive double-doubles from Tonye Jekiri. The 7-foot junior gets a major test against 6-8 Montrezl Harrell of Louisville, which dropped a 69-59 decision at Syracuse on Wednesday for its third loss in f
Butler at Xavier 2:00 PM ET
Butler visits Xavier on Saturday in a Big East battle, and both teams will be riding momentum from hard-fought road wins earlier this week. The 19th-ranked Bulldogs beat Creighton 58-56 on Roosevelt Jones’ driving layup with 1.9 seconds to play, and two nights later, the Musketeers repelled Cincinnati’s second-half rally to win the crosstown showdown 59-57. Butler prevailed in the earlier meeting between the teams, winning 88-76 in Indianapolis on Jan. 10.
Villanova at Marquette 2:30 PM ET
At this point, it's hard to find two Big East teams heading in more different directions than Villanova and Marquette. The sixth-ranked Wildcats enter Saturday's road game with Marquette riding a seven-game winning streak that includes an 18-point thumping in the first meeting between the teams this season. The Golden Eagles have lost eight of their last nine games, including four consecutive home defeats.
Missouri at Vanderbilt 2:30 PM ET
Missouri looks to avoid setting the longest losing streak in school history when it hits the road to face Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Tigers fell 84-69 to No. 17 Arkansas on Wednesday to drop 12 consecutive games for the first time since 1966-67. Missouri has lost all seven of its road games - including five by double digits - as it hopes to salvage some pride in a turmoil-filled season that has seen seven different players suspended by coach Kim Anderson at various points in the campaign.
Penn St. at Northwestern 3:00 PM ET
Northwestern has strung together back-to-back victories after not having won since late December and looks to continue its streak when it hosts Penn State in Saturday’s Big Ten play. The Wildcats defeated Rutgers on Dec. 30 and then lost 10 straight games before recording impressive victories over Iowa and Minnesota. The Nittany Lions are heading in the other direction with three straight losses and five in six games.
Bradley at Northern Iowa 4:00 PM ET
Having achieved its highest ranking of the season, No. 11 Northern Iowa will embark on the final three games of the regular season beginning Saturday against visiting Bradley. The Panthers dispatched Loyola Chicago on Wednesday to post their 14th straight victory and will face a Bradley team that has lost eight of 10 games since falling to Northern Iowa on Jan. 13.
Texas Christian at Kansas 4:00 PM ET
The margin for error for No. 8 Kansas got a bit smaller in its quest for an 11th straight Big 12 regular-season title with Monday’s last-second loss. Fortunately for the Jayhawks, they will begin a stretch in which they face three of the league’s four unranked teams in succession on Saturday when they host TCU. Kansas yielded the game-winning layup with 3.9 seconds left in its 62-61 defeat at West Virginia, allowing Iowa State to move within a game of the Jayhawks with five to go.
Notre Dame at Boston College 4:00 PM ET
After a stretch during which it struggled to score, Notre Dame may have rediscovered its high-powered offense. The 10th-ranked Fighting Irish will try to maintain their momentum on that end of the floor and keep alive their slim chances at a regular-season ACC crown when they visit Boston College on Saturday. Notre Dame, which was the highest-scoring team in the league for much of the season, went 2-2 while averaging 65.8 points - nearly 14 below its average - before rebounding Tuesday against W
Clemson at Duke 4:00 PM ET
Fifth-ranked Duke expects to have freshman star Jahlil Okafor on the floor when it hosts Clemson in ACC play on Saturday. Okafor sprained his left ankle during Wednesday’s overtime victory over North Carolina and will be monitored up until game time. “We’ll see what happens – sometimes you can play the night of the game because of the adrenaline and everything’s moving,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters. “We’ll see if he’s going to be ready for Saturday.”
Arkansas at Mississippi St. 4:00 PM ET
No. 17 Arkansas looks like it's hitting its stride of late, winning eight of its last nine - with the lone loss being a one-point setback at Florida. In that run also was a 20-point win over Mississippi State two weeks ago, and the Bulldogs get a chance to avenge that loss when they host the Razorbacks on Saturday. MSU comes in on short rest, having fallen to Ole Miss on Thursday for its third loss in four games.
Virginia Tech at N.C. State 6:00 PM ET
North Carolina State can’t seem to figure out what type of team it’s going to be on a consistent basis. The Wolfpack will look for their first back-to-back wins in ACC play when they host Virginia Tech on Saturday. N.C. State has a win over Duke and a triumph at Louisville on its resume but has had trouble closing out games against the rest of the ACC, with losses to North Carolina, Miami, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Virginia all coming by five or fewer points.
California at Stanford 6:30 PM ET
Stanford was enjoying one of its best stretches of the season when it beat a scuffling California squad last month, but the teams have reversed roles over the last month. The Cardinal hope to avoid a season-high three-game skid on Saturday when they host the Golden Bears. Stanford was in the midst of a 9-2 stretch when posted a 69-59 win in Berkeley on Jan. 14, but the Cardinal have dropped four of five over the last three weeks, getting their only victory over that time against Pac 12-worst USC
Auburn at Kentucky 7:00 PM ET
Top-ranked Kentucky looks to take another step at achieving a perfect regular season when it hosts Auburn on Saturday in SEC play. The Wildcats have established a school record for best start and have five regular-season games remaining. “We as players just have to know that it is going to be tough everywhere we go,” center Willie Cauley-Stein told reporters. “Especially now, we have this huge target on our back, (and) the country wants us to lose -- they want to see us lose.”
Tennessee at Mississippi 7:30 PM ET
Stefan Moody will try to maintain his hot hand from the outside on Saturday, when Ole Miss hosts Tennessee in an SEC matchup. Moody, a 5-9 guard, shot 8-for-12 from beyond the arc Thursday in a 71-65 victory at Mississippi State, which helped take the sting off a one-point loss to No. 17 Arkansas last Saturday. The Volunteers, who started 4-1 in conference play, have lost four of five - with the only win in that stretch coming in overtime against Vanderbilt.
DePaul at Georgetown 8:00 PM ET
Georgetown is in a pretty good place entering its home contest against struggling DePaul on Saturday, but coach John Thompson III isn't satisfied. "We're better. We can't get complacent,'' Thompson told reporters after the Hoyas' 79-57 victory over St. John's on Wednesday. Georgetown, which has won two straight and is tied for third with Providence in the Big East - one-half game behind No. 19 Butler and 2 1/2 back of No. 6 Villanova, was No. 21 in the RPI rankings entering Wednesday.
Georgia at Alabama 8:00 PM ET
Two SEC teams squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble meet Saturday when Georgia visits Alabama, which has won three of its last five games to move six games over .500. Georgia was considered a near-lock for a tournament berth 10 days ago, but the Bulldogs’ hopes are fading following two straight home losses to teams with a losing conference record. The Bulldogs are looking to regroup after falling behind by 21 points in the first half of Tuesday’s 64-58 loss to South Carolina.
UCLA at Arizona 9:00 PM ET
Back-to-back losses have put UCLA back on the NCAA Tournament bubble as Selection Sunday approaches. The Bruins could take a big step toward securing a bid when they visit seventh-ranked Arizona in a Pac-12 contest on Saturday. UCLA defeated the Wildcats in the conference title game last season at Las Vegas and has won 15 of the last 22 meetings in the series.
Cincinnati at Houston 9:30 PM ET
Cincinnati and Houston will try to shake off some recent tough losses when they meet Saturday night in an American Athletic Conference game in Houston. The Bearcats have lost a season-high three straight, the last two by a combined three points. Houston has dropped four in a row, the last two by two points apiece, dropping the Cougars into last place in conference play.
Gonzaga at St. Mary's 10:00 PM ET
Gonzaga's dominance in the West Coast Conference can reach new heights Saturday as it aims for the longest winning streak in school history and an another outright league crown when it visits Saint Mary's. Behind Kyle Wiltjer's 45 points - the most for a Bulldog in 54 years - No. 2 Gonzaga picked up its 20th straight win with an 86-74 triumph at Pacific on Thursday. The run ties a program record set in 2003-04 and 2005-06 and gives coach Mark Few's team at least a share of the WCC title.
San Diego St. at San Jose St. 10:00 PM ET
One game after handing New Mexico its most lopsided home loss in eight years, No. 25 San Diego State is trending upward heading into Saturday’s contest at lowly San Jose State. The Aztecs have won six of seven to move one game ahead of second-place Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference, and their offense is showing signs of catching up to their suffocating defense.
Colorado at Oregon St. 11:00 PM ET
Two weeks ago, it appeared Oregon State had a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990, but the Beavers instead limp into Saturday's contest against visiting Colorado riding a three-game losing streak. Oregon State missed an opportunity to impress the selection committee with an ugly 47-37 loss to No. 9 Utah on Thursday, which means the Beavers must win the Pac-12 tournament to end the longest NCAA drought among Pac-12 teams.