Preview Roundups
November 21, 2014
Texas A&M at Charleston 12:00 PM ET
Texas A&M let a victory slip out of its fingers in the quarterfinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and must come right back to start play in the consolation round Friday against Charleston. The Aggies dominated the backboards 47-26, but gave up Devon Scott’s put back with one second left as Dayton earned a 55-53 victory on Thursday in the first round. “We need to execute better, especially in special situations like (Thursday),” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy told reporters after the contest.
Southern California at Drexel 12:00 PM ET
Drexel is having trouble scoring in the early season and is still searching for its first win after opening the Charleston Classic with a 20-point loss. The Dragons will take their shot against a similarly struggling team when they face USC in Friday's second round. The Trojans also fell by 20 points in the opening round and like Drexel, failed to reach 50 points in the process.
Clemson at Gardner-Webb 1:30 PM ET
After a pair of Jekyll and Hyde performances to start the season, the question of which Clemson team will show up for its first-round matchup Friday against Gardner-Webb in the Paradise Jam is anyone’s guess. The Tigers pounced on Florida A&M, 86-41, in their season opener but shot badly overall and from the free-throw line in a mildly surprising 77-74 loss at home to Winthrop.
Dayton at Connecticut 2:30 PM ET
Ryan Boatright is taking over as the leader for defending national champion Connecticut and it has shown clearly in the season’s opening two games. The senior guard has totaled 43 points in a pair of victories and looks to add to that when the No. 17 Huskies meet Dayton on Friday in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. “We want to keep focusing on having (Boatright) be the person that’s driving the bus,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie told reporters after a 65-57 over Charleston on Thursday.
Akron at Miami-Florida 2:30 PM ET
Angel Rodriguez is just the spark that Miami needed, and the transfer guard is quickly pulling together a team full of spare parts. The Hurricanes will try to make it four straight to open the season when they face Akron on Friday in the Charleston Classic. Rodriguez is one of nine new players for Miami this season and is proving to be a go-to scorer in the clutch with his second-half performances.
Seton Hall at Nevada 4:00 PM ET
As debuts go, Seton Hall’s Isaiah Whitehead would like to forget about his and turn the page quickly when the Pirates take on Nevada in a first-round matchup of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands on Friday. The Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year, Whitehead was just 1-for-10 from the field for two points with four turnovers in a season-opening victory over Mercer.
Iowa at Syracuse 5:00 PM ET
Iowa was dominated in the second half Thursday in a loss to No. 10 Texas, but things don't get much easier for the No. 25 Hawkeyes on Friday as they face No. 24 Syracuse in the consolation game of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Hawkeyes received 23 points and eight rebounds from Aaron White against the Longhorns, but Adam Woodbury (10 points) and Jarrod Uthoff (eight) were the only other Iowa players to muster more than five points.
Boston College at West Virginia 5:00 PM ET
A pair of former Big East members square off in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off when Boston College plays West Virginia on Friday. The Mountaineers cruised in their opener, leading by as many as 31 points in routing George Mason. Boston College led most of the way in its first-round victory over New Mexico, though the Lobos made the Eagles sweat a little down the stretch.
Louisiana State at Old Dominion 6:30 PM ET
As LSU heads to the Virgin Islands for its first-round matchup Friday against Old Dominion in the Paradise Jam, the Tigers have already proven they can find different ways to win. Against Gardner-Webb in the season opener, offense carried the Tigers to a 93-82 win but needed to crank up the defense to beat Texas Tech. LSU went through extended offensive shortcomings and ended up shooting just 36.6 percent from field and a wretched 2-for-19 from 3-point range in a 69-64 victory.
Boston U at Kentucky 7:00 PM ET
Kentucky is a prohibitive favorite to win its second national championship in four years, and has done little to diminish that rating. The top-ranked Wildcats, who have won their first three games by an average of 30 points, host Boston University on Friday. Kentucky flexed its muscles with an impressive 72-40 win over No. 5 Kansas on Tuesday in Indianapolis as it slowly gets rid of the bad taste which lingers from last season's loss to Connecticut in the national championship game.
Toledo at Oregon 7:00 PM ET
Oregon figures to get a tough test when it takes on visiting Toledo in the Legends Classic on Friday in Eugene. The Ducks are anchored by the Pac-12’s top returning scorer in Joseph Young, who is averaging 27 points a game after finishing last season at 18.9. Freshman Dillon Brooks is also making a big impression, averaging 14 points, four rebounds and two assists for Oregon.
Prairie View A&M at Baylor 7:00 PM ET
Baylor aced its first road test Tuesday in South Carolina, holding off the late-charging Gamecocks 69-65. The Bears return home for a pair of games against in-state foes, starting with Friday night’s date with Prairie View A&M. The Panthers have dropped their first three contests and are in the middle of a rugged five-game road stretch to open the season.
IUPU - Ft. Wayne at Georgia Tech 7:00 PM ET
Georgia Tech looks to move to 3-0 for the third straight season when it hosts IPFW on Friday. The Yellow Jackets knocked off rival Georgia to kick off the new campaign and followed that up with a win over Alabama A&M on Tuesday. After seeing a big lead whittled down in the second half, however, coach Brian Gregory hoped his players learned a lesson, saying: "You get up 25 points and you battle the human nature of being undisciplined. It takes maturity and it takes strong leadership."
Troy at Georgia 7:00 PM ET
A preseason illness has hindered the play of guard Kenny Gaines but he hopes to take another positive step when Georgia plays host to Troy on Friday. Gaines contracted mononucleosis and missed significant practice time so because of his absence, he missed the Bulldogs’ exhibition game against Georgia Southwestern and has not started in either of the team’s games against Georgia Tech or Stony Brook.
Loyola-Chicago at Michigan St 7:00 PM ET
No. 19 Michigan State will be taking a huge drop in class when it plays its home opener Friday against Loyola Chicago. After opening their season with a road win over Navy, the Spartans matched up with No. 3 Duke in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis, where they suffered an 81-71 defeat that didn't seem to worry head coach Tom Izzo too much. "It's hard to judge my team until I get my guards back, but I'll probably take away more positive than negative," Izzo told the media.
George Washington at Virginia 7:00 PM ET
A week into the season, give credit to No. 9 Virginia for doing what Top Ten teams need to do early on by finishing off inferior opponents. The Cavaliers have done that and more, and as this season of high expectations takes a turn toward more difficult roads, coach Tony Bennett has to like what he sees. George Washington is off to an impressive start in its own right and has an opportunity to slow down that symmetry when it meets Virginia on Friday.
UNLV at Stanford 7:00 PM ET
Stanford has a proven track record of success in early-season tournaments, posting three runner-up finishes in the past five seasons. The Cardinal look for another strong November showing when they play UNLV on Friday in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Both teams enter the matchup unbeaten through two games, although UNLV survived last-second shots to hold off Morehead State by one point and Sam Houston State by two.
Charlotte at South Carolina 7:00 PM ET
South Carolina is in the midst of a stretch in which it will play four games in six days, but may be the fresher of the two teams on the court Friday when it meets Charlotte in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic. The Gamecocks entered this event following Tuesday’s 69-65 home loss to Baylor, but held up well in Thursday’s 69-45 opening-round rout of Cornell. South Carolina controlled the action throughout, allowing coach Frank Martin to keep all of his players to less than 26 minutes.
Texas at California 7:30 PM ET
Only three games into the season, the defense for No. 10 Texas is already in midseason form. The Longhorns hope to continue their suffocating start to the campaign Friday when they take on California in the championship game of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden. Texas defeated Iowa 71-57 in Thursday's first semifinal as it held the Hawkeyes to 29.6 percent shooting - the third straight game in which the Longhorns' opponent shot below 30 percent.
Delaware State at Arkansas 8:00 PM ET
Arkansas has ridden depth and defense to a fifth straight 2-0 start and will be expecting more of the same Friday night when it hosts Delaware State. The Razorbacks have had eight different players score in double figures in double-digit wins over Alabama State (97-79) and Wake Forest (83-53). They’ve also lived up to their #Fastest40 social-media moniker, recording 27 steals and forcing 43 turnovers in the two triumphs.
Louisiana-Monroe at Florida 8:00 PM ET
Looking to shake off a stunning loss at the hands of an in-state rival its last time out, No. 7 Florida hosts ULM on Friday. The Gators led by as many as 15 points in the second half before Miami (Fla.) stormed back to pull off the upset, leaving coach Billy Donovan upset but appreciative of the lesson at hand. "Not that I want to see our guys lose, but they need to learn what really goes into winning," Donovan told reporters, adding, "As hard as it is to say, they just don't have a clue."
Austin Peay at Illinois 8:00 PM ET
Illinois has been making long-range shots at a high rate of success and will look to keep the 3-pointers falling when it hosts Austin Peay on Friday. The Fighting Illini made 15 3-pointers – one shy of the school record – while rolling to a 114-56 victory over Coppin State on Sunday. Transfers Aaron Cosby (Seton Hall) and Ahmad Starks (Oregon State) combined for nine of the 3s with Cosby tying his career high of five.
Wis.-Milwaukee at Oklahoma St. 8:00 PM ET
After opening the season with three lopsided wins against underwhelming opponents, Oklahoma State could receive its first test on Friday against visiting Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Senior wing Le’Bryan Nash is averaging 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Cowboys, who have defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Prairie View A&M and Northwestern Oklahoma by an average of 32 points. Milwaukee is playing its fourth game in eight days and coming off a 70-68 loss to IUPUI on Wednesday.
Stephen F. Austin at Xavier 8:00 PM ET
Xavier coach Chris Mack knew he needed to focus on offense this offseason, after the Musketeers stumbled out of the 2013-14 season. In a bounce-back year the Musketeers faltered down the stretch, lost four of their final five games, and averaged 56.1 points along the way. Using that for motivation has been a great igniter as Xavier has raced out of the box averaging 95 points per game, a pace it will try to maintain on Friday versus Stephen F. Austin.
Iona at Wake Forest 8:30 PM ET
Wake Forest plays host to Iona on Friday in a game between teams looking to rebound from a loss. The Demon Deacons suffered an embarrassing 83-53 defeat at Arkansas and the Gaels came up short, 86-73, at Wofford their last time out. Friday’s game is part of the Roundball Showcase.
Marshall at Louisville 9:00 PM ET
So far, so good in the month of November for No. 8 Louisville, which can move to 3-0 when it faces visiting Marshall on Friday. After knocking off Minnesota in a father-son match-up between Rick Pitino and Minnesota's Richard Pitino, the Cardinals demolished Jacksonville State by 49 points in their first of four games against lesser opponents. "The best part about the game was the passing in the first half. It was as good as I have seen in quite some time," Rick Pitino told the media.
UC Riverside at Utah 9:00 PM ET
Utah’s defensive play is ahead of its offense. That much was evident in Tuesday’s road test at San Diego State in which the Utes held the 16th-ranked Aztecs to a 32.7 percent success rate from the field but still lost 53-49, thanks largely to a pair of field-goal droughts that totaled more than 16 minutes. Utah will try to get its attack up to speed Friday night when it welcomes UC Riverside to the Huntsman Center.
Oral Roberts at Oregon St. 9:00 PM ET
Oregon State used its first two games of the season to work on fundamentals - and while the results were strong, the execution is still a work in progress. The Beavers will look to keep improving Friday as they host Oral Roberts in a nonconference matchup. Oregon State had little trouble in an 86-62 win over Corban University on Tuesday, behind 16 points apiece from Langston Morris-Walker and Gary Payton II.
Idaho State at Washington St. 9:00 PM ET
If there were any questions about the major rebuilding job facing Washington State first-year head coach Ernie Kent, they were quickly answered in losses to UTEP and TCU. The Cougars should receive a much-needed confidence boost in their home opener Friday against Idaho State, which was picked to finish 10th in the 12-team Big Sky Conference. After committing 22 turnovers in a season-opening 65-52 loss at UTEP, the Cougars shot 35.2 percent and lost by 27 at TCU on Monday.
Louisiana-Lafayette at Auburn 9:00 PM ET
Adversity is nothing new to Bruce Pearl, the controversial first-year coach at Auburn who is back in the game after scandal ended his run at Tennessee in 2011. So a tough-to-swallow 31-point loss to Colorado in the second game of his Tigers tenure likely isn’t going to affect his performance moving forward. What his team does after the 90-59 defeat, starting with a home date against Louisiana on Friday, might be a different story.
Penn St. at Cornell 9:00 PM ET
D.J. Newbill may have celebrated a milestone in a memorable way in Penn State’s last game, but his 100th career start turned out to be more bitter than sweet. His Nittany Lions hope to bounce back from a gut-wrenching double-overtime loss Friday when they meet Cornell in a consolation game of the Charleston Classic. Newbill – a former Southern Miss transfer who played in his 67th game with Penn State on Thursday – exploded for a career-high 35 points, but Penn State fell 106-97 to Charlotte.
Duke at Temple 9:30 PM ET
Jahlil Okafor certainly has lived up to the hype through three games of his freshman season, but he is not the only impact freshman for the third-ranked Blue Devils. Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow both have complemented Okafor’s white-hot start for Duke, which plays Temple in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Friday in Brooklyn, N.Y. Jones leads the Blue Devils in assists through three games, while Winslow is third on the team in scoring and rebounding.
Washington at Seattle 10:00 PM ET
Washington begins a grueling stretch when it visits the KeyArena for a game against city rival Seattle. It is the first of five straight road games for the Huskies, who cruised out of the gate with an easy win over overmatched South Carolina State in their opener. The Huskies are 25-4 all-time against Seattle, including an 88-78 win last season.
Kansas St. at Long Beach St. 10:30 PM ET
Kansas State heads out on the road for the first time Friday when the Wildcats visit Long Beach State, which is in the midst of playing three games in six days against Xavier, Kansas State and UCLA. The 49ers lost 97-74 at Xavier despite shooting 54.7 percent from the field, and they’ll need another strong shooting night to keep pace with the Wildcats. Forward Thomas Gipson is averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds for Kansas State, which travels to Maui for three games next week.
Pittsburgh at Hawaii 11:59 PM ET
After opening with two games in chilly Pittsburgh, the Panthers get away from it all by traveling to Hawaii to face the Rainbow Warriors on Friday in advance of their appearance in the Maui Invitational. After a season-opening 78-45 victory over Niagara, the Panthers warmed up for their trip with a hard-fought 63-56 victory over Samford on Sunday. Sophomore Michael Young, a 6-9 forward, scored a career-high 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting and impressed coach Jamie Dixon.
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