Preview Roundups
December 30, 2014
Northwestern at Rutgers 12:00 PM ET
Northwestern looks for its fourth straight victory when it begins Big Ten play on the road against Rutgers on Tuesday. The Wildcats have won four of their last five games - including a 76-55 triumph over Northern Kentucky on Saturday - and hope to win their conference opener for the first time since the 2005-06 season. "For us to get the nine wins is a really good start to the season," Northwestern coach Chris Collins told reporters. "Now we'll get what we earn in the league."
Iowa at Ohio St. 1:00 PM ET
Ohio State has posted impressive offensive numbers through the first 13 games and looks to continue the trend when it hosts Iowa on Tuesday to start the Big Ten season. The 18th-ranked Buckeyes stand among the top 10 in the nation in scoring offense (85.3), field-goal percentage (52.6) and 3-point shooting percentage (42.0) after winning six of the last seven contests. Iowa, which shoots only 40.7 percent from the field, snapped a two-game slide with a win over North Florida on Dec. 22.
Virginia Tech at West Virginia 2:00 PM ET
Virginia Tech padded its record with four straight wins over lesser competition but will take a big jump up when it visits No. 15 West Virginia in its final tune-up before ACC play. The Mountaineers come in riding their own four-game winning streak since their lone setback and use a pressure defense to set up the high-scoring offense. West Virginia already knocked off one ACC team this month as it gears up for a two-game road trip to start Big 12 play.
Illinois at Michigan 3:00 PM ET
Michigan looks to turns its fortunes around when it hosts Illinois in the Big Ten opener for both teams Tuesday. The Wolverines dropped four of their last five games to end a disappointing non-conference slate that included stunning setbacks to NJIT and Eastern Michigan in back-to-back outings. Michigan was ranked as high as 16th before crashing out of the Top 25 and hopes to begin the defense of its Big Ten regular-season title by beating the Fighting Illini for the eighth straight time.
Cincinnati at N.C. State 4:00 PM ET
Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin confirmed late last week that his career is not in jeopardy due to an unruptured brain aneurysm, but he will miss a third straight game when his Bearcats travel to North Carolina State on Tuesday. The 43-year-old Cronin, who underwent an angiogram on Dec. 22, has been asked by his doctors to refrain from coaching while being treated. Assistant coach Larry Davis has guided the team in his absence, going 1-1 after the Bearcats pounded Wagner 72-48 last Tuesday.
Long Beach St. at Louisville 4:00 PM ET
After their offense was deconstructed by No. 1 Kentucky, Louisville will begin the process of rebuilding its confidence Tuesday against visiting Long Beach State. The sixth-ranked Cardinals shot 25.9 percent against the Wildcats in a 58-50 setback Saturday, marking their lowest shooting percentage since the 1989-90 season. "We knew that we could play good defense," Louisville coach Rick Pitino told reporters. "It was a question of whether we could score, and the answer was we didn't."
Maryland at Michigan St 5:00 PM ET
No. 11 Maryland owns five straight victories and a healthy Dez Wells is back in the Terrapins’ lineup as they begin their first Big Ten campaign at Michigan State on Tuesday. Wells returned to score 10 points in the 72-56 victory over Oakland on Saturday after missing seven games with a fractured right wrist as Maryland continued to roll. Michigan State also expects to get leading rebounder Branden Dawson back on the floor after he missed the last two games with a fractured left wrist.
Davidson at Virginia 6:00 PM ET
Third-ranked Virginia has been thriving with a stingy defense and seeks its 12th consecutive victory when it hosts Davidson on Tuesday. The Cavaliers have posted the top two defensive outings in program history, holding Rutgers to 26 points on Nov. 29 and Harvard to 27 on Dec. 21. “We love to see it,” forward Evan Nolte said in a press conference. “We take so much pride in our defense, at the end of the games we’ll say, ‘Don’t let them get ‘x’ number of points.’”
Charlotte at Georgia Tech 7:00 PM ET
Georgia Tech will face three ranked teams in its first six ACC games when it opens conference play, but first the Yellow Jackets will need to be focused on Tuesday’s opponent. Charlotte plays at Georgia Tech to conclude a non-conference slate during which the 49ers have won three games in overtime while posting single-digit losses to Miami, Georgetown and George Washington. The Yellow Jackets experienced a close contest with Charlotte last season, escaping with a 58-55 victory.
No.Carolina A&T at South Carolina 7:00 PM ET
South Carolina is flying high heading into the new year, riding a five-game winning streak leading into a home date with North Carolina A&T on Tuesday. The Gamecocks have lost just once at home this year — against Baylor — and the team's defense is revving up, holding its last four opponents to an average of 51.2 points. The Aggies come in off a victory over North Carolina Wesleyan on Sunday that snapped a 12-game losing skid.
Robert Morris at Clemson 7:00 PM ET
Jaron Blossomgame appears to be picking up steam at just the right time as Clemson prepares to play its final game out of conference Tuesday against visiting Robert Morris. The sophomore eclipsed his career-high in the first half alone en route to 26 points in a 70-60 victory over Oakland on Dec. 22 and will be counted on heavily when ACC play begins with a bang against No. 20 North Carolina and No. 4 Louisville.
Florida at Florida St. 7:00 PM ET
Florida seeks a fifth straight win Tuesday when it visits in-state rival Florida State. The Gators, ranked seventh in the preseason USA Today coaches poll, sank to 3-4 and dropped out of the rankings following consecutive losses to North Carolina and Kansas after Thanksgiving. Florida has started to put the pieces back together with four wins by an average margin of 30.3 points, including its latest victory -- 63-50 over Wake Forest on Dec. 20.
William & Mary at North Carolina 7:00 PM ET
North Carolina has a final tuneup before ACC play begins when it hosts William & Mary on Tuesday. The 20th-ranked Tar Heels are hitting their stride as the league slate nears, following up a solid win over then-No. 12 Ohio State on Dec. 20 with an 89-58 rout of UAB on Saturday, their third-largest victory margin of the season. Marcus Paige led five players in double figures with 16 points and the nation's third-ranked offensive rebounding unit grabbed 15 on that end to help control the inside.
Charleston at Miami-Florida 7:00 PM ET
The 8-0 start seems like a distant memory for Miami (Fla.), which closes out non-conference play Tuesday against visiting Charleston. Included in that run were wins over nationally ranked Florida and Illinois, and Jim Larranaga’s team found itself ranked 15th in the country during the first week of December. But three losses in four games followed – including a 72-44 home setback against a .500 Eastern Kentucky team on Dec. 19 – and each defeat has been by at least 13 points.
Hartford at Notre Dame 7:30 PM ET
Notre Dame operates the most efficient offense in the nation and has rolled to eight straight wins. The 13th-ranked Fighting Irish will try to make it nine in a row as they close out nonconference play by hosting Hartford on Tuesday. Notre Dame is first in Division I with a team field-goal percentage of 55.6 and has gone over 90 points in three of the last four games while barely being challenged.
Florida Gulf Coast at Pittsburgh 7:30 PM ET
Pittsburgh concludes a five-game homestand with its final tuneup before beginning ACC play when it hosts FGCU on Tuesday. The Panthers bring a 29-game home non-conference win streak into the contest including a 58-39 victory over Holy Cross on Dec. 23 in their last outing. Pitt then hits the road for back-to-back ACC games at North Carolina State on Saturday and Boston College on Jan. 6.
Kent St. at Kansas 8:00 PM ET
After a humbling loss eight days ago, No. 14 Kansas will attempt to rebuild its confidence Tuesday when it hosts Kent State in its final contest of 2014. The Jayhawks were feeling good after an eight-game winning streak before absorbing a 77-52 loss at Temple on Dec. 22. They shot 32.1 percent and committed 17 turnovers in that one, while veteran forward Perry Ellis endured one of his worst games as a Jayhawk.
Norfolk State at Baylor 8:00 PM ET
Baylor struggled against an inferior opponent in its last game and the No. 22 Bears will try to avoid another lapse when they host Norfolk State on Tuesday night. Baylor went the last six minutes without a field goal Dec. 22 against Southern before holding on for a four-point victory against the 3-9 Jaguars. Norfolk State’s toughest opponent thus far this season was No. 5 Virginia on Nov. 16, and the Spartans lost by 28.
McNeese St. at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM ET
Points were hard to come by during Mississippi State's recent five-game losing skid. The Bulldogs came back to score 70 in a rout of Jacksonville on Dec. 23 and seek a second straight win after ending the streak when McNeese State visits Tuesday. Mississippi State was 12th out of 14 in the SEC in scoring last season (67.7) and it was even worse during the recent five-game slump, averaging only 52.2 points.
Mercer at Texas A&M 8:00 PM ET
Texas A&M hosts Mercer on Tuesday in its first game in 10 days, but the Aggies know the Bears will not be intimidated by playing on the road against SEC competition. Mercer took Georgia to three overtimes before falling 86-77 on Saturday, five days after a 10-point loss at Tennessee. The Aggies, who have lost two of three since winning six of their first seven games, will challenge Mercer with an efficient offensive attack fronted by Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Alex Caruso.
Mississippi at Dayton 8:00 PM ET
Jarvis Summers is expected to return to the Ole Miss starting lineup Tuesday when the Rebels visit Dayton, which has won 11 straight at home back to last season. Summers, the Rebels’ starting point guard, sat out Monday’s 82-51 win over Southeast Missouri with a tight back but should be available against the Flyers. Ole Miss remained winless in five all-time meetings against Dayton with last season’s 83-80 overtime loss in Oxford.
Oklahoma St. at Missouri 9:00 PM ET
Former Big 12 Conference rivals Missouri and Oklahoma State renew their rivalry with a neutral court game Tuesday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Both teams come in off tough pre-Christmas losses. Missouri will have had 10 days to recover from a heartbreaking 62-59 loss to Illinois which won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Rayvonte Rice while Oklahoma State has had nine days to recuperate following a 73-64 home setback to No. 11 Maryland on Dec. 21.
UC Santa Barbara at Oregon St. 9:30 PM ET
Oregon State was hoping to enter Pac-12 play on a serious roll next week, but the Beavers hit a speed-bump in their last outing, losing 60-52 at Quinnipiac on Dec. 21. The loss snapped a five-game win streak and marked a season scoring low for the Beavers. After coming back from the holiday break, they must regroup for Tuesday’s home game against UC Santa Barbara.
Carroll at Utah 9:30 PM ET
Utah is taking the light-opponent approach prior to opening up Pac-12 play as the No. 12 Utes host NAIA program Carroll College (Mont.) on Tuesday. Utah will begin conference play with three consecutive home games – against USC, UCLA and Colorado – and coach Larry Krystkowiak wanted a tuneup that wouldn’t be too arduous. “We’ve played some tough teams and we’ve been going for three straight months now,” Krystkowiak told reporters. “Everybody needs a break right now.”
Vermont at Southern California 11:30 PM ET
USC has one challenge left before its begins play in the Pac-12 Conference later this week. The Trojans, off to a roller-coaster start, play host to Vermont on Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season. USC rebounded from a surprising home loss against Army to win at Boston College last time out.