Preview Roundups
January 20, 2018
Florida State at Virginia Tech 12:00 PM ET
Florida State was on top of the world on Jan. 3 after holding off rival North Carolina for its 28th straight home win, but the Seminoles crashed back down to Earth in ensuing weeks. After three losses in the last four games, including a heartbreaking setback to Louisville to end their home winning streak, the Seminoles look to regain their confidence against Virginia Tech on Saturday and earn their first ACC road win of the season.
Purdue at Iowa 12:00 PM ET
Third-ranked Purdue looks to continue its impressive run when it battles Iowa on the road Saturday. The Boilermakers cruised past Wisconsin 78-50 on Tuesday to extend their winning streak to 14 games, which is the longest active streak in the nation, and hope to improve to 8-0 in Big Ten play by beating the Hawkeyes in Iowa City for the first time since Dec. 28, 2011.
Ohio St. at Minnesota 12:00 PM ET
No. 22 Ohio State looks to stay undefeated in Big Ten play when it takes on Minnesota as part of Super Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Buckeyes have won six consecutive games, including a 71-65 victory against Northwestern on Wednesday, to help Chris Holtmann become the first coach in 95 years to win the first seven games of his Big Ten career, and they hope to keep rolling by toppling the Gophers for the sixth time in seven meetings.
Villanova at Connecticut 12:00 PM ET
Based on their most recent games, No. 1 Villanova and Connecticut must be in very different moods heading into Saturday's showdown. The visiting Wildcats are coming off a 32-point win over Georgetown, while the Huskies were trounced by 24 against Memphis their last time out.
Wichita St. at Houston 12:00 PM ET
Fourth-ranked Wichita State looks to bounce back from a shocking home loss to SMU when it tries for a season sweep of host Houston on Saturday. The Shockers, who had won seven straight since a 91-83 setback to No. 6 Oklahoma on Dec. 16, had their 27-game winning streak at Koch Arena snapped with an 83-78 decision to the Mustangs.
St. John's at Georgetown 12:00 PM ET
Following its worst defeat in a Big East game in program history, Georgetown has nowhere to go but up in Saturday's conference game against visiting St. John's. The Hoyas fell by 32 points to No. 1 Villanova on Wednesday, a margin that would have been greater had the Hoyas not scored the final 12 points, but can earn a season sweep with a victory over the Red Storm.
Louisiana State at Vanderbilt 1:00 PM ET
Vanderbilt looks to snap a four-game losing streak as it hosts slumping LSU on Saturday afternoon. The Commodores haven't won since defeating Alabama in their conference opener, while the Tigers have lost two straight for the first time since November.
Temple at Pennsylvania 2:00 PM ET
Temple certainly is getting plenty of practice handling close games - a trend that should continue to help the team as the season goes on. The Owls visit Pennsylvania on Saturday in their final Big 5 game of the year.
Georgia Tech at North Carolina 2:00 PM ET
North Carolina hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday looking for its fourth consecutive victory after a 1-2 start in ACC play, and Cameron Johnson’s rediscovery of his outside shooting gives the 14th-ranked Tar Heels hope better days are ahead. Johnson shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range in Tuesday’s 87-79 victory over Clemson, after going 9-of-29 from long range in his first seven games in a North Carolina uniform after transferring from Pittsburgh.
Penn St. at Northwestern 2:00 PM ET
Northwestern looks to snap a two-game losing streak for the second time this month when it hosts Penn State in a Big Ten clash between two underachieving teams Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats dropped their first two conference games in January - including a 78-63 setback to Penn State on the road - and have dropped two more since a win over Minnesota last week.
Butler at DePaul 2:00 PM ET
Butler has been unable to build upon its upset win over Villanova earlier this season but a favorable stretch in the schedule could allow it to rise back up the Big East standings. The Bulldogs will try to get a much-needed win and return to .500 in conference play when they visit DePaul on Saturday afternoon.
Texas Tech at Iowa State 2:00 PM ET
Despite Iowa State coming off its most disappointing effort of the season Wednesday at TCU, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard thinks the struggling Cyclones are a dangerous and talented team. The eighth-ranked Red Raiders, who are coming off a loss at Texas themselves, look to get back on the right track when they visit Iowa State on Saturday.
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State 2:00 PM ET
Freshman sensation Trae Young aims to bounce back from his second-lowest scoring output of the season when No. 6 Oklahoma visits Oklahoma State on Saturday for a Big 12 showdown. Young leads the nation in scoring (29.5 points) and assists (9.8) but was held to 20 points and six assists while committing an astounding 12 turnovers in Tuesday's 87-69 loss to Kansas State.
Texas at West Virginia 2:00 PM ET
No. 7 West Virginia will look to snap a two-game skid when it hosts Texas - its only unranked opponent in a five-game stretch - on Saturday. The Longhorns have beaten a pair of ranked teams in the past 10 days already to exceed last year's win total of 11.
Xavier at Seton Hall 2:30 PM ET
Desi Rodriguez, benched during Wednesday's loss at Creighton, will look to get his game back on track Saturday when No. 19 Seton Hall plays visiting No. 12 Xavier in a Big East showdown. Rodriguez logged only six minutes - the fewest in his career - for the Pirates against Creighton, but has a history of playing well against the Musketeers.
Creighton at Providence 3:00 PM ET
Splitting a pair of games against nationally ranked teams has Creighton feeling good - and the Bluejays need all the good juju they can get ahead of their Feb. 1 encounter with powerhouse Villanova. Creighton will look to build upon a statement win over Seton Hall as it kicks off a two-game road trip Saturday afternoon against Providence.
Mississippi at Arkansas 3:30 PM ET
Coach Mike Anderson has a list of things he wants Arkansas to work on when it hosts Ole Miss on Saturday. Defense is at the top of the list, especially against a balanced team like the Rebels.
Notre Dame at Clemson 4:00 PM ET
Clemson looks to get back in the win column as it hosts Notre Dame in a marquee ACC matchup on Saturday afternoon. The No. 18 Tigers will try to bounce back from their 87-79 loss at No. 14 North Carolina on Tuesday, while the Fighting Irish are looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
Pittsburgh at Duke 4:00 PM ET
Gary Trent Jr. came to Duke with a reputation of being a great shooter after averaging 31.8 points per game in his senior year of high school in 2016-17. After struggling earlier this season, Trent picked up his game at Miami (Fla.) to spearhead a comeback against the 23rd-ranked Hurricanes, and the fifth-ranked Blue Devils hope to ride that momentum when struggling Pittsburgh visits on Saturday.
Missouri at Texas A&M 4:00 PM ET
Two of the strongest frontcourts in the SEC – if not the nation – go head to head when Texas A&M hosts Missouri on Saturday. The Aggies have won the last six meetings between the former Big 12 rivals and haven’t lost to the Tigers since the 2014 SEC tournament.
East Carolina at Cincinnati 4:00 PM ET
As good as East Carolina looked in its most lopsided win of the season, the Pirates will need some sort of divine intervention if they hope for a repeat performance Saturday afternoon against No. 11 Cincinnati. The host Bearcats own the No. 2 scoring defense in the nation and are coming off a truly impressive defensive effort, limiting host Central Florida to just 38 points.
Arizona at Stanford 4:00 PM ET
All eyes figure to be on the frontcourt Saturday as No. 17 Arizona visits Stanford in a battle for sole possession of first place in the Pac-12. Stanford is riding a five-game winning streak and boasts the size inside to contend with Arizona’s 7-1 freshman Deandre Ayton, who is averaging 20.2 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 63.9 percent from the field.
Texas Christian at Kansas State 4:00 PM ET
For the first time since Big 12 play started at the end of December, TCU displayed the dominant form in its last contest that allowed it to put together the longest winning streak in the nation. The 25th-ranked Horned Frogs may be hard-pressed to cruise by their next opponent, however, as they travel to Kansas State on Saturday to face a team coming off a blowout victory of sixth-ranked Oklahoma.
Tennessee at South Carolina 6:00 PM ET
South Carolina will try to take down its second ranked opponent of the week when it hosts No. 21 Tennessee on Saturday. The Volunteers hope to avoid back-to-back losses, which would drop them below .500 in the crowded SEC standings.
Georgia at Auburn 6:00 PM ET
No. 20 Auburn hosts Georgia on Saturday after experiencing something the Tigers have not endured since Nov. 17: a loss. The Tigers’ 14-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a 76-71 road defeat at shorthanded Alabama - the team's first setback since falling to Temple in the season’s third game - and it was a disappointing performance considering the Tigers gave up 46 points in the second half to a Crimson Tide team missing its leading scorer.
Central Florida at South Florida 6:00 PM ET
Central Florida hopes to regain some confidence after two straight losses when it takes a ride down Interstate-4 to face struggling South Florida in an American Athletic Conference battle on Saturday night. The Knights suffered a loss at Connecticut on Jan. 10 and followed that up with a 49-38 setback against 11th-ranked Cincinnati on Tuesday after leading by four points at halftime.
Tulane at Southern Methodist 6:00 PM ET
SMU returns home hoping to follow up a big road victory over No. 4 Wichita State when it hosts Tulane in an American Athletic Conference contest Saturday. The Mustangs upset the Shockers to snap a three-game losing streak while the Green Wave are also coming off a big road victory at Houston on Wednesday to snap its two-game losing skid.
Washington at Colorado 6:00 PM ET
After going 0-2 on its Pac-12-opening road trip,
Colorado has emerged as one of the conference’s hottest teams, winning four of
its last five. The Buffaloes will look to add to their momentum Saturday
afternoon when they welcome Washington to the Coors Events Center.
Baylor at Kansas 6:00 PM ET
While Kansas may hold its customary place atop the Big 12 standings six games into the conference schedule, the home-court dominance that has defined Bill Self's tenure at the school has taken a bit of a hit. Although they have won each of their last two contests at Allen Fieldhouse, the 10th-ranked Jayhawks hope to avoid losing three home games in the same season for the first time since 1998-99 on Sunday when they host Baylor.
Gonzaga at Santa Clara 8:00 PM ET
Gonzaga, which has won 16 of the last 17 West Coast Conference regular season championships, finds itself in second place after suffering a rare 74-71 home loss to Saint Mary's on Thursday night. The 13th-ranked Bulldogs now will try to rebound and keep pace with the Gaels when they travel to Santa Clara on Saturday.
Memphis at Tulsa 8:00 PM ET
Two American Athletic Conference teams trending
in opposite directions meet Saturday night when Memphis visits Tulsa. The
Tigers bring a four-game win streak into the contest while the Golden Hurricane
have been headed the other way in dropping four straight.
Southern California at Oregon St. 8:00 PM ET
Oregon State continued its dramatic turnaround from a dreadful 5-27 season with a 69-63 victory over visiting UCLA on Thursday night. The Beavers will now try to complete a home sweep of the Los Angeles schools for the second time in four years when they host USC on Saturday.
Florida at Kentucky 8:15 PM ET
After playing four of the last five on the road, No. 16 Kentucky returns home after blowing a 14-point second-half lead en route to a disappointing 76-68 loss at South Carolina to face SEC rival Florida on Saturday. The Gators rebounded from their only conference loss and moved back on top in the conference Wednesday with their 88-73 rout of Arkansas.
Mississippi State at Alabama 8:30 PM ET
Alabama looks to extend its current three-game winning streak when it hosts Mississippi State in an SEC contest Saturday night. The Crimson Tide are coming off a victory over No. 17 Auburn on Wednesday while the Bulldogs snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
UCLA at Oregon 10:15 PM ET
Two teams accustomed to being near the top of the Pac-12 standings will try to avoid dropping further down when Oregon hosts UCLA on Saturday night. The Ducks have lost two in a row to fall into ninth in the conference standings, and the Bruins have also lost two straight to drop into a tie for fourth.
Arizona State at California 10:30 PM ET
Ranked as high as No. 3 in the country just last month, 14th-ranked Arizona State suddenly finds itself battling to keep pace in the Pac-12 race. The Sun Devils have lost three of their last four conference road games heading into Saturday’s matchup against host California, which has dropped five straight games by a combined 97 points.
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