Preview Roundups
February 25, 2015
Connecticut at East Carolina 7:00 PM ET
Defending champion Connecticut is at the point where getting on track for a run in the American Athletic Conference tournament is the only option for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies will try to put together a second straight win when they visit East Carolina on Wednesday. The Pirates are a tough matchup in their own building and are aiming for a fifth consecutive home victory after knocking off USF 73-60 on Saturday.
Virginia at Wake Forest 7:00 PM ET
Virginia continues to ride the nation’s top defense to victory, even as it absorbs blows to its struggling offense. The third-ranked Cavaliers travel to Wake Forest on Wednesday, hoping guard London Perrantes will be able to play after a nasty collision with leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon in Sunday’s 51-41 victory over Florida State. The Demon Deacons put a scare into Virginia on Feb. 14, falling 61-60 when Brogdon forced a Codi Miller-McIntyre turnover in the final seconds.
Kentucky at Mississippi St. 7:00 PM ET
Kentucky looks to continue the best start in program history when the top-ranked and undefeated Wildcats travel to Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Wildcats are four wins away from a perfect regular season and can clinch at least a share of the SEC title with a win. The Bulldogs have dropped two straight and four of their last five.
Indiana at Northwestern 7:00 PM ET
Indiana looks to win back-to-back games for the first time in a month when it travels to Northwestern on Wednesday. The Hoosiers have alternated wins and losses over its past seven outings, with their last two victories coming by an average margin of 24.5 points and their last two losses by three points. Indiana snapped a four-game losing skid on the road by downing Rutgers 84-54 and hopes to stay on the winning track by beating the Wildcats for the third straight time in Evanston.
VCU at Richmond 7:00 PM ET
Richmond takes aim at a regular-season sweep of No. 24 VCU when the two Richmond-area schools meet on the Spiders’ home floor in Atlantic 10 play. Richmond posted a 64-55 win at VCU on Jan. 31 in a victory that ranks as the highlight of an up-and-down season for the Spiders. The loss was doubly painful for the Rams, who lost star guard Briante Weber (knee) for the season in the game.
Wichita St. at Indiana St. 7:05 PM ET
Wichita State is undoubtedly looking forward to Saturday's showdown with No. 10 Northern Iowa, but first the 11th-ranked Shockers must take care of business at Indiana State. Wednesday's contest becomes a dangerous one for Wichita State, which has won six straight since losing to Northern Iowa last month and cannot wait for a chance at revenge. So it becomes imperative that the Shockers stay focused as they seek a sixth straight victory in their series with the Sycamores.
Central Florida at Cincinnati 7:30 PM ET
Cincinnati kept its NCAA tournament hopes intact with a victory over the last-place team in the American Athletic Conference and will go for a season sweep of visiting UCF on Wedneday. The Bearcats halted a three-game skid by erasing a 10-point deficit in a 63-53 victory at Houston on Saturday to remain tied with Memphis for fourth place in the AAC. Cincinnati has won all five meetings against the Knights, including a 56-46 victory in Orlando one month ago.
Marquette at Butler 8:00 PM ET
Butler is still adjusting to playing without injured forward Andrew Chrabascz, and the No. 23 Bulldogs will also attempt to break out of a minor slump when they host Marquette in Wednesday’s Big East contest. Chrabascz will miss his third game since breaking his right hand, and Butler has lost two of its last three games after being routed by Xavier 73-56 last Saturday. Chrabascz is third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game.
Tulane at Tulsa 8:00 PM ET
Tulsa is squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, meaning that a loss to visiting Tulane on Wednesday could be a damaging blow to its hopes of making the Big Dance for a second straight year. The Golden Hurricane close out the season with three straight high-profile games - at least by American Athletic Conference standards - as they visit Memphis and SMU around a home date with Cincinnati. Tulsa has won the last four meetings in this series by an average of 16.5 points.
Texas Tech at Texas Christian 8:00 PM ET
Two teams that have endured their share of defeat in the Big 12 will meet Wednesday when Texas Tech visits TCU. The game plan is rather simple for the Horned Frogs - outshoot the Red Raiders and they are almost assured of winning the 125th installment in the series. "Our margin for error is pretty slim, especially in this league," TCU coach Trent Johnson told reporters after a recent loss to No. 9 Kansas.
Baylor at Iowa St. 9:00 PM ET
Kansas State’s upset of Kansas on Monday has created a window of opportunity for No. 13 Iowa State, which sits one half-game behind the Jayhawks in the Big 12 standings heading into Wednesday’s home game against 20th-ranked Baylor. The Cyclones have won three straight, including impressive road wins over Oklahoma State and Texas last week. Coach Fred Hoiberg’s squad is looking to avenge a 74-73 loss to the Bears on Jan. 14, when guard Kenny Chery scored the game-winner with 4.7 seconds left.
Duke at Virginia Tech 9:00 PM ET
Fifth-ranked Duke may be running out of time to capture another ACC regular-season title but the more immediate concern entering Wednesday's matchup at conference rival Virginia Tech is the health of standout freshman center Jahlil Okafor. The team's leading scorer and rebounder, Okafor sat out Saturday's romp over Clemson and only participated in the non-contact portion of Monday's practice. “It’s definitely improving,” associate head coach Jeff Capel told reporters.
Illinois at Iowa 9:00 PM ET
Two Big Ten NCAA Tournament bubble teams headed in different directions meet Wednesday night when Illinois visits Iowa. The host Hawkeyes shook off a pair of tough losses to Minnesota and Northwestern to rout Rutgers (81-47) and Nebraska (74-46) to climb back above .500 in conference play. The Fighting Illini entered last week riding a four-game win streak and sporting a 7-5 Big Ten record, but were unable to stand up to conference heavyweights in losses to Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Georgia at Mississippi 9:00 PM ET
Ole Miss was up and down during the nonconference schedule, started SEC play with three losses in five games and has looked like an NCAA Tournament team ever since. The Rebels hope to win their ninth game in the last 10 and reach 20 victories for the seventh time in nine seasons under coach Andy Kennedy when they host Georgia on Wednesday. The Bulldogs attempt to win their third straight road contest and sweep the season series with Ole Miss to improve their NCAA chances.
Florida St. at Miami-Florida 9:00 PM ET
After both teams saw two-game winning streaks fizzle in losses to nationally-ranked opponents last time out, Florida State visits Miami (Fla.) on Wednesday as they try to get back on track with the regular season drawing to a close. Florida State put up a fight against No. 3 Virginia on Sunday before going the final 10:32 without a field goal in a 51-41 loss. "I thought they did a tremendous job defending us," coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "We had opportunities."
Evansville at Northern Iowa 9:00 PM ET
Northern Iowa on Wednesday puts its 17-game home win streak on the line against the last team to beat them when they host Evansville. Expect an electric atmosphere at the McLeod Center because not only is it a big revenge game for the No. 10 Panthers, but also Senior Night. As if that wasn't enough, Northern Iowa, which has won 15 in a row since the 52-49 loss to the Purple Aces on New Year's Day, can also break the record for the longest win streak in school history.
Washington St. at Southern California 10:00 PM ET
A dismal season got even more distressing for USC when it sent three players home for a violation of team rules before the start of Sunday's game against Arizona State. Without the trio, the Trojans lost for the 11th time in their past 12 games, a 64-59 setback in which they blew a 10-point, second-half lead. Last in the Pac-12 standings by two full games, USC will try to rebound Wednesday when it hosts Washington State.
Washington at UCLA 11:00 PM ET
Peruse the current bubble lists of most bracketologists, and you’re likely not going to get too far before coming across UCLA. For example, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the 16-12 Bruins as one of his last four teams in the NCAA Tournament field of 68 as of Tuesday. UCLA, though, has a prime opportunity to pad its record as it closes the regular season with three home games against the Pac-12’s bottom three teams, beginning Wednesday against Washington.
Washington at UCLA 11:00 PM ET
Peruse the current bubble lists of most bracketologists, and you’re likely not going to get too far before coming across UCLA. For example, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the 16-12 Bruins as one of his last four teams in the NCAA Tournament field of 68 as of Tuesday. UCLA, though, has a prime opportunity to pad its record as it closes the regular season with three home games against the Pac-12’s bottom three teams, beginning Wednesday against Washington.
Oregon at California 11:00 PM ET
Oregon looks to build on its signature victory over Utah on Wednesday when the Ducks visit California, which has lost two straight following a five-game winning streak. The Ducks have won two in a row and six of their last seven to move into third place in the Pac-12 with three games remaining. Guard Joseph Young averages a league-high 19.8 points for Oregon, which has lost 12 straight games against Cal dating back to Feb. 9, 2008.