Preview Roundups
November 20, 2015
Minnesota at Missouri St. 10:30 AM ET
Minnesota looks to recover, in less than 24 hours, from an inconsistent performance when it takes on Missouri State in the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Friday in San Juan. The Golden Gophers put together a big run to take a six-point lead with eight minutes left before Temple battled back for 75-70 victory in the first round.
Ohio at Tulsa 1:00 PM ET
Tulsa turned heads with its win over No. 11 Wichita State on Tuesday. The undefeated Golden Hurricanes look to keep up the momentum when they face Ohio in the opening round of the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands on Friday afternoon.
Temple at Butler 1:00 PM ET
Butler has not had any problems on the offensive end over the first two games and the 20th-ranked Bulldogs look to continue that when they take on talented Temple in Friday’s semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan. Butler scored a school-record 144 points in its opener before shooting 60 percent from the field to beat Missouri State 93-59 on Thursday in the first round.
George Mason at Oklahoma St. 1:00 PM ET
Oklahoma State won its Charleston (S.C.) Classic
opener Thursday, but lost two of its top three scorers to possible injuries. Starting
guards Phil Forte and Jeff Newberry left early with arm issues, and their
status - particularly the former’s - is in question for Friday’s semifinal
matchup against George Mason at TD Arena.
Hofstra at Florida St. 3:30 PM ET
Sitting just outside of the Top 25, high-scoring Florida State enters the Paradise Jam as one of the title favorites. The Seminoles, off to a 2-0 start, begin tourney play against Hofstra at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday afternoon.
Mississippi at Towson 3:30 PM ET
Ole Miss encountered its first cold streak of the
young season Thursday, and it resulted in the Rebels’ first loss. Andy
Kennedy’s team tries to bounce back Friday against Towson in the
consolation bracket of the Charleston (S.C.) Classic.
Wisconsin at Georgetown 5:00 PM ET
Georgetown has gotten off to a rough start this season, but the road doesn't appear as if it's getting smoother any time soon. The winless Hoyas will try to get into the win column Friday against Wisconsin at the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Mississippi St. at Texas Tech 5:00 PM ET
Two teams looking for reasons to believe things will be different in 2015-16 meet when Mississippi State takes on Texas Tech in the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Friday. Both teams finished with 13-19 records a season ago and boast experienced players to go along with talented newcomers as they attempt to become more competitive.
DePaul at South Carolina 6:00 PM ET
A pair of big men from Lithuania have paced South Carolina to 2-0 start. The duo will be the focal point again when the Gamecocks face DePaul in the first round of the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands on Friday.
Texas-Arlington at Ohio St. 7:00 PM ET
Ohio State's defense has been stellar, giving up 54 and 55 points in its first two games - easy wins over Mount St. Mary's and Grambling State. The Buckeyes will try to keep up the defensive pressure Friday when they host UT Arlington as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational.
Penn St. at Duquesne 7:00 PM ET
It will be high-powered offense versus tenacious defense Friday when Duquesne plays the first of two home games this season at CONSOL Energy Center when Penn State drops by for a battle of unbeaten teams. The Dukes have averaged 95.5 points on 57.8 percent shooting – 40.8 percent beyond there arc – in 20-point wins over Seton Hall and New Orleans, while the Nittany Lions have yielded an average of 56 points in their victories over Virginia Military Institute and DePaul.
Rider at Maryland 7:00 PM ET
Having narrowly escaped Georgetown's upset bid earlier this week, No. 3 Maryland takes on winless Rider at the XFINITY Center on Friday night. Despite their high ranking, the Terrapins still need to build their chemistry with three new starters - transfers Robert Carter Jr. and Rasheed Sulaimon and freshman Diamond Stone - in the lineup.
East Tennessee St. at Villanova 7:00 PM ET
Villanova was the Big East’s top scoring defense in 2014-15 and hasn’t given any indication that is about to change through two games this season. The eighth-ranked Wildcats figure to get tested in that regard on Friday, however, when they host a preliminary game of the NIT Season Tip-Off against high-scoring ETSU.
Murray St. at Georgia 7:00 PM ET
The Georgia Bulldogs realize last week’s season-opening loss to Chattanooga is just one game in a long season, but the Bulldogs host Murray State on Friday looking to wash away the taste of that disappointing performance. “It was certainly not the way we wanted to start the season,” coach Mark Fox told reporters after Georgia fell 92-90 in overtime despite shooting 54 percent from the field.
Stetson at West Virginia 7:00 PM ET
A pair of high-powered offenses should keep this non-conference matchup entertaining, when No. 22 West Virgina hosts Stetson on Friday in the Las Vegas Invitational. The Mountaineers are averaging 96.5 points in a pair of wins, while Stetson has averaged 89 in two losses.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Michigan St 7:00 PM ET
Denzel Valentine might be off to the best start in college basketball this season and the senior guard for No. 13 Michigan State will look to continue that roll when the Spartans host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday night. Valentine is coming off a 29-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance in a 79-73 win Tuesday against No. 5 Kansas in the finale of the Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago, becoming the fourth player in school history to record a triple-double.
Miami-Florida at Utah 7:00 PM ET
Miami (Fla.) gets its first major test after three impressive outings when the Hurricanes take on No. 16 Utah in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Friday in San Juan. The Hurricanes placed seven players in double figures to beat Mississippi State 105-79 in the first round Thursday and will need to be just as good on the other end of the court going forward.
Seton Hall at Bradley 7:00 PM ET
A spirited second-half rally fell short Thursday night, sending Seton Hall to its first defeat. The
80-77 loss to Long Beach State also knocked the Pirates into the Charleston
(S.C.) Classic consolation bracket, where they’ll face Bradley on Friday.
Duke at VCU 7:30 PM ET
Duke's freshmen - and some of its veterans, for that matter - struggled mightily in the Blue Devils' first big test of 2015-16. The road to redemption for the nation's fourth-ranked team begins Friday against VCU in the 2K Sports semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
Charleston Southern at Arkansas 8:00 PM ET
Arkansas fifth-year coach Mike Anderson knew he had a rebuilding season in front of him this season after losing four of his five leading scorers from a team that won more games than any other in school history over the past 20 years. After a loss to mid-major Akron earlier this week halted any thoughts of a quick turnaround, the Razorbacks continue the process of putting the pieces together on Friday against visiting Charleston Southern in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
South Dakota at Kansas St. 8:00 PM ET
Coming off its worst season in over a decade, Kansas State will try to improve to 3-0 when it hosts South Dakota on Friday night. The Wildcats, who return just five players and 16.4 points from a squad that finished 15-17, have opened with impressive victories over Maryland-Eastern Shore (80-53) and Columbia (81-71), which is expected to battle for the Ivy League title.
Wright St. at Kentucky 8:00 PM ET
Kentucky passed its first test of the season with flying colors, using its speed and athleticism to race past defending national champion Duke earlier this week. The second-ranked Wildcats look to run their regular-season winning streak to 35 games on Friday when they host Wright State.
McNeese St. at Oklahoma 8:00 PM ET
Eighth-ranked Oklahoma, which opened its season with a hard-fought 84-78 victory at Memphis on Tuesday, faces McNeese State in its home opener on Friday night to kick off a four-game homestand. The Sooners have won 22 consecutive home openers and 35 of their last 36 with the only loss in that span by one point, 84-83, to Marcus Camby-led Massachusetts in 1993, a team that was guided by current Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Columbia at Northwestern 8:00 PM ET
Northwestern can’t afford to look ahead to a Nov. 23 matchup with No. 1 North Carolina, not against healthy and improved Columbia on Friday. The Wildcats face their toughest test as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic when they take on the Tigers.
Louisiana-Lafayette at Alabama 8:00 PM ET
The honeymoon already appears to be over for Alabama coach Avery Johnson after his team suffered a 32-point loss at Dayton on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide return home hoping to bounce back from the ugly loss when they host Louisiana in a non-conference matchup Friday.
Jackson State at Baylor 8:00 PM ET
No. 21 Baylor will look to learn from its early-season mistakes when it hosts Jackson State on Friday. The Bears had 18 turnovers - which led to 28 points - in Monday's road loss to Oregon.
Detroit at Pittsburgh 8:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh will look to build off its defensive domination of St. Joseph's (Ind.) as it hosts Detroit on Friday night. The Panthers held the Pumas to 20.8 percent shooting, the second-lowest percentage allowed in the program's history.
Xavier at Michigan 9:00 PM ET
No. 25 Michigan looks to pass its first true test of the young season when it hosts Xavier as part of the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games on Friday. The Wolverines opened the new campaign with a 70-44 win over Division II Northern Michigan before running past Elon 88-68, but face a step up in competition in the new college basketball challenge named after Dave Gavitt, the legendary founder of the Big East.
Portland at Colorado 9:00 PM ET
It appeared Colorado would struggle offensively this season without two of its top three scorers from 2014-15, but 6-6 sophomore guard George King has stepped up and hopes to continue his fast start when the Buffaloes host Portland on Friday. King did not play last season in an effort to improve his strength and skills after averaging 5.5 minutes in 27 games as a freshman, and has responded by averaging 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds this season.
Georgia Southern at Auburn 9:30 PM ET
Through two games, it's clear that Auburn's newcomers are making a significant impact as the Tigers look to earn their second victory of the season Friday against visiting Georgia Southern. Transfers Kareem Canty, Tyler Harris and T.J. Dunans lead the Tigers in scoring, combining for 70.8 percent of Auburn’s offensive output so far after a narrow season-opening victory to UAB followed by Tuesday’s disappointing 91-84 home defeat to Colorado.
Long Beach St. at Virginia 9:30 PM ET
Virginia notched a needed bounce-back blowout win
following Monday’s stunning loss to George Washington. The No. 6 Cavaliers, though, will have to keep their guard up against undefeated Long
Beach State on Friday night in the Charleston (S.C.) Classic semifinals.
Savannah State at Oregon 11:00 PM ET
One game after recording an early statement win over Baylor, Oregon looks to avoid a letdown Friday against visiting Savannah State, which has opened with three straight victories. With two starters missing due to injury, Oregon relied on a six-man rotation in Monday’s 74-67 win over the No. 21 Bears at Matthew Knight Arena.
Idaho State at Washington St. 11:00 PM ET
Washington State seeks a 2-0 start against the Big Sky conference as Idaho State visits Pullman on Friday night. The Cougars defeated Northern Arizona 82-70 to open the season in the first of four games against Big Sky teams.
East Carolina at California 11:00 PM ET
Freshmen forwards Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb have made an instant impact for No. 14 California, which opened with dominant wins over Rice and UC Santa Barbara. The talented duo should continue their strong play Friday against visiting East Carolina, which lacks depth in the frontcourt and was picked to finish eighth in the 11-team American Athletic Conference.
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