Preview Roundups
March 19, 2015
Northeastern at Notre Dame 12:15 PM ET
Notre Dame doesn’t lack for confidence heading into Thursday's second-round matchup with No. 14 seed Northeastern in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh. The third-seeded Irish are riding a five-game winning streak highlighted by Saturday’s 90-82 victory over North Carolina in the ACC tournament title game. “Offensively, I feel like we're the best team in the country,” guard Jerian Grant told reporters. “It’s going to take us a long way. You have to guard all five of us.”
UAB at Iowa St. 12:40 PM ET
A confident - and probably tired - Iowa State team earned its second straight No. 3 seed after winning its second straight Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones will face 14th-seeded UAB, which just won the Conference USA tournament, in a South Regional second-round game Thursday in Louisville. "Our schedule definitely helped us for what's upcoming, not only the non-conference schedule, but what we've gone through the last couple weeks," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg told the Des Moines Register.
Georgia St at Baylor 1:40 PM ET
Baylor spent the past two months slugging it out with the rest of the powerful Big 12 Conference, and now the Bears hope that their challenging slate has prepared them for the NCAA Tournament. Fourth-seeded Baylor opens play Thursday in the West Region in Jacksonville, Fla., against No. 13 seed Georgia State, the Sun Belt Conference champion. The Bears, who fell to Kansas in the Big 12 semifinals, are in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons.
Texas Southern at Arizona 2:10 PM ET
Arizona heads to Portland for Thursday’s second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament's West Region against No. 15 seed Texas Southern as one of the hottest teams in the country. The second-seeded Wildcats, who have won 11 in a row and 17 of their last 18, routed Oregon 80-52 in Saturday’s Pac-12 tournament title game. Brandon Ashley received MVP honors after averaging 19.7 points as the Wildcats became the first team in seven years to win Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles.
Texas at Butler 2:45 PM ET
Butler has become synonymous with unexpected runs in the NCAA Tournament, but the sixth-seeded Bulldogs hope to avoid their second one-and-done performance in a week when they take on No. 11 seed Texas in the Midwest Region on Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pa. Butler received a strong seed considering its quarterfinal loss to Xavier in the Big East Tournament. But the Bulldogs got a tough opening draw with the Longhorns, who pushed Iowa State to the brink in the Big 12 championship quarterfinals.
UCLA at Southern Methodist 3:10 PM ET
SMU, a No. 6 seed from the American Athletic Conference, faces UCLA, a No. 11 seed from the Pac-12 Conference, in an NCAA Tournament second-round South Region game Thursday in Louisville. The Mustangs, who won the AAC regular-season championship, are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993. SMU beat defending national champion Connecticut 62-54 on Sunday to win its first conference tournament championship since 1988, when the Mustangs won the Southwestern Conference.
Mississippi at Xavier 4:10 PM ET
Sixth-seeded Xavier makes its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 10 years when it takes on No. 11 seed Ole Miss on Thursday in the second round at Jacksonville, Fla. The balanced Musketeers won three in a row before losing to Villanova 69-52 in the Big East championship game Saturday. Xavier looks to cool off the Rebels, who shot 60 percent and scored 62 points in the second half Tuesday to rally from 17 down and defeat BYU 94-90 in the first round.
Ohio St. at VCU 4:40 PM ET
Rising sideline star Shaka Smart brings his speedy VCU team into the NCAA Tournament on the heels of a 71-65 win over Dayton in the Atlantic 10 tournament title game. Smart, who rebuffed several coaching offers to remain at the school over the past few seasons, led the Rams to the Final Four in 2011 and will face Ohio State in a second-round game on Thursday in Portland. This is seventh-seeded VCU's fifth straight year in the Big Dance in Smart's sixth season as head coach.
Lafayette at Villanova 6:50 PM ET
It's been 30 years since Villanova shocked Georgetown to win the NCAA championship and the Wildcats appear poised to make another run. Villanova, which has won 15 straight games, earned the top seed in the East Region and will face Lafayette in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a battle of Pennsylvania schools in Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Wildcats set a school record for victories while winning the Big East regular-season and conference tournament titles.
Purdue at Cincinnati 7:10 PM ET
Cincinnati and Purdue are each looking for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012 when they meet in Thursday's Midwest Regional second-round game in Louisville. The eighth-seeded Bearcats are making their fifth straight appearance in the Big Dance, but the past two have ended with four-point losses to Creighton (2013) and Harvard (2014) in the opening round. The ninth-seeded Boilermakers return to the Tournament after back-to-back losing seasons snapped a streak of six straight appearances.
Harvard at North Carolina 7:20 PM ET
After an emotional, up-and-down regular season, No. 4 seed North Carolina begins play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against No. 13 seed Harvard in Jacksonville, Fla. The Tar Heels, who won 11 of 12 before losing four of six in the middle of the season, finished strong after the death of coaching legend Dean Smith and reach the finals of the ACC tournament. Despite a 90-82 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday, there is a sense that Roy Williams' team is peaking at the right time.
Stephen F. Austin at Utah 7:27 PM ET
Under Rick Majerus, Utah was a staple of the NCAA Tournament in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and now Larry Krystkowiak has the Utes back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2009 as the fifth seed in the South Region. Utah doesn't get an easy road, though, taking on a 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin squad in Portland, Ore., that is making its second straight tourney appearance and has lost just four times all season.
Louisiana State at N.C. State 9:20 PM ET
North Carolina State rode a stellar backcourt to six victories in its final eight games, while LSU won four of its last six thanks to a strong frontcourt. Thursday’s second-round NCAA Tournament East Region matchup in Pittsburgh features the strong guard play of N.C. State’s Trevor Lacey, Anthony Barber and Ralston Turner against LSU’s inside duo of Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey. No. 8 seed N.C. State makes its fourth straight NCAA appearance while No. 9 seed LSU ends a five-year absence.
Hampton at Kentucky 9:40 PM ET
Top-seed Kentucky begins the final phase of its quest for a perfect season when it takes on Hampton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Louisville, Ky. “I think I have the best team and the best players,” Wildcats coach John Calipari told reporters. “Doesn’t mean we’re going to win. It means we have the best chance to win.” The 16th-seeded Pirates defeated Manhattan 74-64 in Tuesday's first round for their fifth straight victory.
Wofford at Arkansas 9:50 PM ET
Arkansas hopes to parlay its run to the SEC tournament title game into another postseason push when the No. 5 seed Razorbacks take on No. 12 seed Wofford in the West Region on Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla. It's the first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2008 for Arkansas, which finished second behind Kentucky in the SEC regular-season standings and lost to the unbeaten Wildcats in the title game.
Eastern Washington at Georgetown 9:57 PM ET
Eastern Washington will be in search of its first victory in the NCAA Tournament when it faces fourth-seeded Georgetown on Thursday in Portland, Ore. The 13th-seeded Eagles used a furious second-half rally to capture the Big Sky tournament title Saturday over Montana and secure their second appearance in the Big Dance. Jim Hayford's team played two tournament teams during the regular season, losing at SMU and winning by two points at Indiana.