Preview Roundups
February 26, 2017
Syracuse at Louisville 2:00 PM ET
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and his former pupil, Louisville coach Rick Pitino, each invoked images of powers beyond this world when the Cardinals came away with an overtime win at the Carrier Dome less than two weeks ago. The two Hall-of-Fame coaches match wits for the second time in 13 days Sunday when No. 6 Louisville attempts to keep its faint hopes of claiming a share of the ACC regular-season title alive versus the Orange.
Cincinnati at Central Florida 3:00 PM ET
Even when No. 16 Cincinnati coasts to victory, coach Mick Cronin and his players have to find something they can improve upon to keep sharp for the upcoming American Athletic Conference tournament and Big Dance. The Bearcats look to improve upon a poor second-half effort last time out when they seek a 19th win in 20 games when they visit Central Florida on Sunday.
Butler at Xavier 3:30 PM ET
Xavier is in the midst of its toughest stretch of the season in terms of competition, and it is not going well. The Musketeers hope to snap a four-game losing streak Sunday when they face another strong opponent, No. 22 Butler, in their penultimate home game.
Wisconsin at Michigan St 4:00 PM ET
Michigan State looks to continue its push toward an NCAA Tournament bid when it hosts reeling No. 15 Wisconsin in a key Big Ten Conference contest on Sunday. Losers of three of their last four, the Badgers enter the matchup just one-half game behind Purdue for first place in the conference standings, while the Spartans are coming off a win on Thursday that has them within one-half game of a three-way tie for fourth in the league.
East Carolina at Tulsa 4:00 PM ET
East Carolina goes after its first winning streak in American Athletic Conference play this season on Sunday, when it visits a Tulsa team that also will be seeking its second straight win following a six-game losing streak. The Pirates, who rank 333rd in the nation in field-goal percentage (39.7), shot 58.1 percent and scored 47 points in the second half to rally past Tulane 76-73 on Tuesday, while the Golden Hurricane finished strong to beat last-place South Florida 82-68 two day
Houston at Memphis 5:00 PM ET
Houston used a big second half to cool down sizzling Connecticut last game. The Cougars, looking to improve their NCAA Tournament resume, aim for their 20th win of the season when they visit Memphis in an American Athletic Conference game Sunday.
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame 6:30 PM ET
Notre Dame has recovered from a four-game losing streak to win four in a row and enters Sunday’s home contest against Georgia Tech looking to continue surging toward a possible No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament. Ranked 17th in the nation, the Fighting Irish began the weekend tied with three other ranked squads – Louisville, Duke and Florida State – for second in the conference, two games behind first-place North Carolina.
Southern California at Arizona State 6:30 PM ET
USC is through the toughest part of its regular season schedule and the Trojans can focus on a strong finish in the Pac-12 beginning Sunday at Arizona State. USC is coming off double-digit losses in the last two weeks to No. 7 Oregon, No. 5 UCLA and No. 4 Arizona, and closes out the regular season against Arizona State, Washington State and Washington, teams in the bottom half of the conference standings.
Illinois at Nebraska 7:30 PM ET
Illinois has reached the breakeven mark in conference play only once since coach John Groce arrived in 2012-13, and a second such season appeared highly unlikely as recently as three weeks ago when it fell to 3-8 in league play. The Illini have since rebounded with three victories in their last four contests and will continue their pursuit of a .500 record in Big Ten action Sunday when they visit Nebraska.
Washington at Washington St. 8:30 PM ET
Washington has lost nine straight and figures to be a quick out in the Pac-12 tournament, but star point guard Markelle Fultz insists the Huskies aren’t about to quit. The dynamic freshman looks to get the Huskies back in the win column Sunday against host Washington State, which ended a five-game losing streak with last Saturday's 86-71 victory over Arizona State.