Preview Roundups
January 02, 2015
Washington St. at Stanford 3:00 PM ET
Stanford is feeling good heading into Friday's Pac-12 Conference opener against visiting Washington State, but the Cardinal are still looking for the right lineup. "We've had a terrific non-conference season that included a lot of teams with different styles and tough road games, so I think we've had good preparation for our conference," coach Johnny Dawkins said after Monday's 74-39 victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. "Every night (conference play) is going to be good."
North Florida at Alabama 7:00 PM ET
Alabama is coming off an impressive win and will try to keep the momentum up heading into SEC play when it finishes out the non-conference portion of the schedule by hosting North Florida on Friday. The Crimson Tide knocked off UCLA on Sunday to record their third straight win and have not allowed an opponent to reach 60 points in any of the last five games. Jimmie Taylor anchors that defense from the middle while Levi Randolph controls the perimeter.
Florida St. at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM ET
Florida State is coming off a high note and Mississippi State just experienced a deep downer as the teams clash in a nonconference game in Starkville on Friday. The visiting Seminoles defeated in-state power Florida for the first time since 2008 and the winning points in the 65-63 contest came when Jacob Kurtz of the Gators inadvertently tipped the ball into the Florida State basket with 0.4 seconds left. The Bulldogs were routed by McNeese State 66-47 for their sixth loss in seven games.
Southern California at Utah 10:00 PM ET
Jordan Loveridge, who was sidelined for seven games with a knee injury, is back for Pac-12 play, and the Utah junior forward even got the benefit of a warm-up as he hit 5-of-6 shots and finished with a game-high 14 points in an 85-49 rout of NAIA member Carroll College on Tuesday. Loveridge and the No. 12 Utes tip off their 18-game conference slate Friday against visiting USC. “It was fun to be back out there, especially after watching all the big games,” Loveridge told the media.
Washington at California 10:00 PM ET
Washington and California suffered shocking upsets last weekend and will need to regroup when the No. 19 Huskies visit the Golden Bears in the Pac-12 opener for both teams Friday. Washington blew a 16-point lead against Stony Brook before losing by five, similar to its last game against California, when the Huskies coughed up a 12-point advantage and eventually lost by 13. California went down against Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday after going scoreless for nearly nine minutes in the first half
UCLA at Colorado 10:00 PM ET
UCLA visits Colorado on Friday in a Pac-12 opener involving teams who did not turn any heads on the NCAA Tournament selection committee after disappointing non-conference seasons. The Bruins are saddled with a three-game losing streak and dropped all five contests against teams from a major conference or ranked, including a 56-50 setback at Alabama on Sunday, while the Buffaloes have lost two straight and have coach Tad Boyle perplexed.
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