Preview Roundups
February 13, 2016
Kentucky at South Carolina 12:00 PM ET
Kentucky is used to the big stage, but it’s a relatively new experience for upstart South Carolina. The 20th-ranked Gamecocks find themselves in unfamiliar territory as they prepare to host the 21st-ranked Wildcats on Saturday with the top spot in the Southeastern Conference standings on the line.
Texas Christian at West Virginia 12:00 PM ET
Every game in the Big 12 seems like a big game lately, and even a team at the bottom of the standings like TCU will have a chance to impact the final results. The Horned Frogs will try to pull off the upset and wreak some havoc at the top of the conference when they visit No. 10 West Virginia on Saturday.
Wake Forest at N.C. State 12:00 PM ET
Due in part to playing the toughest schedule in college basketball, Danny Manning’s second season at Wake Forest has been very trying. The Demon Deacons’ hope to end their longest ACC losing streak in five years when they visit North Carolina State on Saturday.
Georgetown at Providence 12:00 PM ET
Less than a month ago, both Georgetown and Providence had reason to dream of challenging for first place in the Big East. Both teams are now just trying to keep their heads above water as they prepare to meet Saturday in Rhode Island.
Northern Iowa at Wichita St. 12:00 PM ET
Wichita State puts the nation's longest active home-court winning streak of 43 games on the line and tries to match a school record with its 25th consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular-season home victory when it meets Northern Iowa on Saturday. The No. 24 Shockers bounced back from their first MVC loss of the season - a 58-53 setback at Illinois State on Feb. 6 - with a 74-48 trouncing at Drake on Wednesday for their 13th victory in 14 games.
Texas A&M at Louisiana State 1:00 PM ET
No. 13 Texas A&M is sliding in the wrong direction and has fallen
into a tie for fourth place in the SEC as it visits LSU on Saturday. The
Aggies have lost three straight games and four of their past five and
are one game behind the three co-leaders - South Carolina, Kentucky and
the Tigers.
Kansas St. at Oklahoma St. 1:00 PM ET
Two Big 12 programs struggling to find some
late-season traction meet Saturday when Kansas State visits Oklahoma State. The
Wildcats have lost three of their last five games while Oklahoma State has dropped
three straight and five of their last six.
Memphis at Tulane 2:00 PM ET
The time for Memphis to make a move in the American Athletic Conference and build some momentum for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament may have already come and gone. The Tigers still have a shot at 20 wins with a strong finish and will try to bounce back when they visit Tulane on Saturday.
Arkansas at Mississippi 2:00 PM ET
Ole Miss is in a must-win situation to enhance its NCAA Tournament hopes when Arkansas pays a visit for an SEC contest on Saturday afternoon. The Rebels dropped a 77-72 decision against Florida after two straight wins and need a strong finish to get to 20 victories while Arkansas is looking to rebound from perhaps its worst performance of the season.
Purdue at Michigan 2:00 PM ET
No. 16 Purdue looks to build on its biggest win of the season when it travels to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Saturday. The Boilermakers pulled out an 82-81 overtime victory over ninth-ranked Michigan State to beat a top-10 team for the first time since 2011 and move back into contention for the Big Ten title.
Georgia Tech at Clemson 2:00 PM ET
Clemson has lost back-to-back games for the first time since December, but it plays five of its final six ACC games against teams near the bottom of the conference standings, starting with Saturday’s home contest against Georgia Tech. And Tigers coach Brad Brownell acknowledged to reporters after Tuesday’s 89-83 loss to Notre Dame that his team needs to catch its breath.
Washington at Colorado 2:00 PM ET
Colorado survived Thursday night without leading
scorer and rebounder Josh Scott, outdueling Washington State in double
overtime. Repeating the feat Saturday against visiting Washington in another Pac-12 contest will be much
tougher if Scott still can’t give it a go on a sprained ankle.
Kansas at Oklahoma 2:30 PM ET
If the first matchup between Oklahoma and Kansas was a sign of things to come, Saturday's matchup will be must-see TV. The third-ranked Sooners and sixth-ranked Jayhawks will break a first-place tie in the Big 12 and one of the teams will take a big step toward a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the squads collide in Norman.
Xavier at Butler 2:30 PM ET
Xavier began the week with the highest rating in school history. But the fourth-ranked Musketeers now head to Butler for a Big East contest on Saturday trying to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since last February after getting upset at Creighton on Tuesday night.
Tennessee at Missouri 3:00 PM ET
Missouri’s best remaining chance to find the win column might come Saturday, when the woeful club hosts a Tennessee team that has struggled on the road. Missouri has lost nine straight games but hopes to stop the skid by preying on the Volunteers, who are 1-10 away from home and have lost three straight road contests.
Central Florida at Houston 3:00 PM ET
Houston looks to keep pace with the top of the American Athletic Conference when it hosts UCF on Saturday. The Cougars start the weekend two games back of league leading Temple and SMU - which is ineligible for the postseason - and in line for a first-round bye at the conference tournament.
Louisville at Notre Dame 4:00 PM ET
Louisville and Notre Dame squared off in the longest game in Big East history the last time they met at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. One conference change, three years and a self-imposed postseason ban later, the ACC rivals return to the scene of the most grueling games in recent memory Saturday when the Fighting Irish host the Cardinals.
East Carolina at Cincinnati 4:00 PM ET
If Cincinnati is going to make any noise down the stretch and compete for an NCAA Tournament bid, it will need more performances like Tuesday's from senior Octavius Ellis, starting with the Bearcats’ home contest against struggling East Carolina on Saturday. The 6-10 forward scored 10 points and matched a career high with 14 rebounds - six on the offensive end - against UCF to spearhead an attack that held a 43-30 edge on the boards and held the Knights to 38 percent shooting in a 69-51 thrashin
Ohio St. at Rutgers 4:00 PM ET
Ohio State looks to complete the season sweep of Rutgers when it travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday. The Buckeyes cruised to a 94-68 victory in the first match-up on Jan. 13 and try to work their way back into the NCAA Tournament picture after snapping a two-game losing streak with a 71-63 win over Northwestern.
Oregon at Stanford 4:00 PM ET
Just days after being touted as a possible Final Four team by several prominent experts, No. 12 Oregon looks to regain its swagger Saturday as the Ducks continue their Bay Area swing against struggling Stanford. The Ducks saw their six-game winning streak come to an end Thursday as California led wire-to-wire and cruised to an impressive 83-63 victory.
Virginia at Duke 4:30 PM ET
Despite a rocky start in ACC play, Virginia is once again near the top of the league standings due to the same defense that has been its trademark under coach Tony Bennett. The seventh-ranked Cavaliers eye an eighth straight victory Saturday when they hit the road to face Duke for the only regular-season meeting between the conference powerhouses this season.
Alabama at Florida 5:30 PM ET
Florida will look to continue its home dominance on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Alabama, which is coming off an upset win over No 13 Texas A&M. The Gators, who are only one game out of first place in the SEC standings, are 12-1 at the O'Connell Center and 6-0 in conference games.
Vanderbilt at Auburn 6:00 PM ET
Vanderbilt travels to Auburn on Saturday with plans to sweep the shorthanded Tigers. Auburn leading scorer Kareem Canty has left the team for personal reasons and will enter the NBA draft, coach Bruce Pearl announced Friday.
Penn St. at Nebraska 6:00 PM ET
Penn
State was in the throes of a four-game losing streak when the Nittany Lions
upset then-No. 21 Indiana last Saturday. The Nittany Lions have had a week to
bask in the spotlight, but now have to get back to work as they travel to
Nebraska for a Saturday game against a Cornhuskers team that has lost four of
five games and will not have second-leading scorer Shavon Shields for a second
straight game.
Wisconsin at Maryland 6:30 PM ET
Maryland has won five games in a row to ascend to No. 2 in the country and the top of the Big Ten. The Terrapins will play five of their last six regular-season games against unranked teams, starting by hosting Wisconsin on Saturday.
Oregon St. at California 6:30 PM ET
It took longer than expected, but California is finally playing like the team that was picked to make a deep run in next month’s NCAA Tournament. The Bears head into Saturday’s matchup against visiting Oregon State riding high after improving to 15-0 at home this season with Thursday’s dominant 83-63 win over No. 12 Oregon.
Georgia at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM ET
Defense has been an issue for Mississippi State during a disappointing season, but the SEC's last-place team hosts Georgia on Saturday after producing its best performance of the season in Tuesday’s 78-46 rout of Arkansas. As senior forward Gavin Ware told reporters after Mississippi State's biggest conference win in 11 years, limiting the Razorbacks to 22.2 percent shooting from the field and only three assists is the type of performance they need more often.
Texas Tech at Baylor 8:00 PM ET
No. 19 Baylor knows it can't overlook anyone in the Big 12, including the Texas Tech squad that visits Saturday. The Red Raiders nearly upset three ranked league opponents - including Baylor in January - before knocking off No. 15 Iowa State on Wednesday.
Tulsa at Connecticut 8:00 PM ET
Connecticut looks to rebound from a potentially devastating loss when it hosts Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference game Saturday. "We do our best work in the dark and it's definitely a dark time right now," Huskies coach Kevin Ollie said after watching his team blow a 12-point lead in the final minutes of Thursday's loss to Temple.
Illinois at Northwestern 8:00 PM ET
Northwestern is hoping to turn things around and make a run for a postseason berth when its hosts Illinois in a Big Ten Conference contest Saturday. The Wildcats started the season 13-1 but have gone 3-8 since, dropping six of their last seven.
Creighton at Marquette 8:00 PM ET
Maurice Watson Jr. will try to come up big again as Creighton plays another meaningful February game in the Big East on Saturday at Marquette. The junior transfer from Boston University lit up No. 4 Xavier for a career-high 32 points Wednesday as the Bluejays defeated a top 10 team for the third time in as many seasons.
St. John's at Villanova 8:00 PM ET
After a strong opening statement in defense of its No. 1 ranking, Villanova takes aim at its 14th win in 15 games Saturday against visiting St. John's. The Wildcats were facing high expectations against DePaul on Tuesday as they played as a No. 1 team for the first time, but Jay Wright's crew had no issues whatsoever.
Texas at Iowa St. 8:30 PM ET
Both teams look to rebound from heartbreaking losses when No. 25 Texas visits 15th-ranked Iowa State on Saturday night in a critical Big 12 contest. The Longhorns fell by three points at No. 3 Oklahoma on Monday to end a four-game winning streak, and Iowa State lost at Texas Tech in overtime Wednesday for its third defeat in four outings.
Gonzaga at Southern Methodist 10:00 PM ET
SMU suffered a rare home loss in its last contest and attempts to make sure it doesn't happen again when Gonzaga visits in a non-conference tilt on Saturday. The Mustangs were defeated 82-77 by Tulsa on Wednesday for their first home loss this season and just their fourth in 50 games since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign.
For more information,
© Sports Direct Inc. All Rights Reserved