Preview Roundups
November 26, 2014
North Carolina at Butler 12:00 PM ET
Talented point guard Marcus Paige looks to raise his game in the next three days as sixth-ranked North Carolina begins play in the Battle 4 Atlantis against unbeaten Butler on Wednesday in the Bahamas. The ACC preseason Player of the Year shot 37.9 percent from the field while averaging 12 points in three easy victories to open the season and the competition gets much tougher for the Tar Heels. The Bulldogs have won three games by an average of 35 points and are giving up 48 per contest.
Oklahoma at UCLA 2:30 PM ET
Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield looks to put together a strong showing during his homecoming as the No. 21 Sooners start play in the Battle 4 Atlantis against No. 23 UCLA on Wednesday in the Bahamas. Hield, who averages 20.7 points to lead Oklahoma, was born in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama and lived there before moving to Kansas his junior year in high school. Hield and the Sooners must raise their game against the Bruins, who are averaging 95.3 points in four season-opening wins.
Missouri at Chaminade 2:30 PM ET
Chaminade has been pounded on the boards and lit up by the 3-point shot in the first two games of the Maui Invitational. Now it’s up to Missouri to see what it can do against the Silverswords in Wednesday’s seventh-place game. Pittsburgh owned a 51-17 edge in rebounding in their first-round win against Chaminade and BYU came back the next day and sank a school-record 17 3-pointers in an even bigger blowout.
East Carolina at Hawaii 2:30 PM ET
East Carolina looks to build off a strong effort when it tackles Hawaii on Wednesday in the fifth-place game at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. The Pirates shook off a 17-point loss only 24 hours earlier by holding off Fresno State 58-52 on Tuesday as freshman B.J. Tyson matched his season high with 22 points -- including eight in the final 1:09. East Carolina faces a Hawaii squad which will be playing its eighth game in 12 days after edging Marist 62-55 on Tuesday.
Furman at Duke 5:00 PM ET
Duke's 111-game winning streak in non-conference home games isn't likely to be challenged when the No. 2 Blue Devils host Furman on Wednesday. The Blue Devils have trailed for only 29 seconds through their first five games — all double-digit wins — and claimed the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic title with wins over Temple and Stanford. The Paladins are making their first road trip of the season and have dropped two of their first three contests, including a 58-55 loss to UC Davis on Saturday.
Purdue at Brigham Young 5:00 PM ET
Two teams that have taken different approaches to winning games at the Maui Invitational will pit their styles Wednesday when BYU and Purdue meet in the fifth-place game. Chase Fischer broke the BYU record for 3-pointers in a game when he sank 10-of-13 in Tuesday’s victory against tournament host Chaminade as the Cougars made a school record 17-of-29 overall. A couple hours earlier, Purdue put a lockdown on Missouri in the first half, holding them to 20 points before eventually winning 82-61.
Davidson at Central Florida 7:00 PM ET
UCF looks to keep its early season hot streak going when it hosts Davidson on Wednesday. The Knights have rolled off three straight wins to kick off the campaign, taking advantage of an opportunity to build confidence against opponents such as Stetson, Eckerd and USC Upstate. Coach Donnie Jones is pleased with his young team thus far, telling UCFKnights.com, "To see our young team grow up this early in the season has been impressive to me."
Cleveland St. at Louisville 7:00 PM ET
Louisville put together one of the more impressive defensive showings in recent memory Monday, but coach Rick Pitino said he will not take much from that 61-point victory over Savannah State as the Cardinals prepare for Wednesday’s home game with Cleveland State in the Global Sports Showcase. “You get nothing out of this, and you feel bad for the other team more than anything else,” Pitino said after fifth-ranked Louisville did not allow a point for the first 15 minutes, 58 seconds.
Campbell at Ohio St. 7:00 PM ET
Ohio State is cruising through the early part of its schedule with an efficient offense led by guard Shannon Scott. The 17th-ranked Buckeyes will try to improve to 4-0 when they host Campbell in the Buckeye Classic on Wednesday. Scott is averaging a nation-best 13.7 assists, and Ohio State leads the nation with a 60.8 field-goal percentage behind freshman sensation D’Angelo Russell and senior Sam Thompson.
Mount St. Mary's at Wake Forest 7:00 PM ET
After a promising start, the Danny Manny era at Wake Forest hit a bit of a bump in the road heading into Wednesday's game with visiting Mount St. Mary's. The Demon Deacons and their new head coach delivered wins against UNC Asheville and Tulane to open the season, but then fell flat in a 30-point loss to Arkansas before falling to Iona at home.
Richmond at N.C. State 7:00 PM ET
While North Carolina State is unbeaten on the young season, it stumbled to the finish line the last time out. The Wolfpack seeks a more complete effort Wednesday night when it continues a six-game homestand to begin the season against Richmond. Trevor Lacey scored 21 points in N.C. State's 68-65 win over South Florida on Sunday, when Mark Gottfried's team nearly blew all of an 11-point lead in the final three minutes before surviving to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2009.
Grambling State at Notre Dame 7:00 PM ET
Notre Dame looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it hosts offensively challenged Grambling State on Wednesday night. The Fighting Irish come in off a bitter 75-74 loss to Providence on Sunday in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn. They figure to take their frustrations out on a Grambling State team that ranks dead last in the nation in scoring with an average of 42.8 points per game.
UAB at Wisconsin 7:00 PM ET
As Wisconsin prepares for its first-round matchup at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas against UAB on Wednesday, center Frank Kaminsky will certainly draw plenty of attention. It’s hard to ignore a man averaging 19.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while shooting 63.3 percent overall and 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
St. John's at Minnesota 7:00 PM ET
If there is one coach in the country who understands the magnitude of Madison Square Garden, it's Steve Lavin of St. John's. The Red Storm play a lot of their home games at "The World's Most Famous Arena" and occasionally they visit MSG for a tournament, as will be the case Wednesday when they take on Minnesota. "Being a part of the NIT Season Tip-Off over the Thanksgiving break in New York City is as good as gets," Lavin said. "This is what you come to college for."
Miami (OH) at Virginia Tech 7:00 PM ET
A promising start has turned into a two-game losing streak, and Virginia Tech is looking to right the ship. The Hokies get that chance Wednesday when they face Miami (Ohio) in the Cancun Challenge consolation game at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. The opposing RedHawks have the same goal in mind, having lost two of their last three contests by at least nine points.
VMI at West Virginia 7:30 PM ET
After handing defending champion Connecticut its first loss of the season, No. 24 West Virginia returns home Wednesday to face Virginia Military Institute of the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers entered the national rankings for the first time in three years after leading from start to finish in a 78-68 win over the Huskies in Sunday’s championship game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Point guard Juwan Staten scored 21 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Pittsburgh at Kansas St. 7:30 PM ET
The Maui Invitational produced some outstanding long-distance shooting performances the first two days and Kansas State guard Marcus Foster has been right in the middle. He’ll try to finish off his strong showing when the Wildcats meet Pittsburgh in the third-place game Wednesday. Foster is 11-for-17 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first two games, a higher percentage than the two-day total by Chase Fischer of BYU, who set a tournament record with 10 3-pointers Tuesday.
Radford at Texas Christian 8:00 PM ET
TCU, off to its first 4-0 start since the 2007-08 season, hosts Radford on Wednesday night in the on-campus portion of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic. Both teams head south for semifinal games Friday night, with the Horned Frogs facing Bradley and the Highlanders taking on North Carolina A&T. The trip marks the first time in 28 years that Radford, one of the favorites in the Big South Conference, has played in Texas.
Lehigh at DePaul 8:00 PM ET
Though just two games into the new season, DePaul appears to be trending in the right direction as it prepares to face visiting Lehigh on Wednesday. The Blue Demons can start 3-0 for the first time under fifth-year head coach Oliver Purnell, whose 44-85 record at the Chicago school belies the success he enjoyed at both Dayton and Clemson, which he took to the NCAA Tournament three straight years.
N.C. Asheville at South Carolina 8:00 PM ET
South Carolina played three games in four days last week, going 1-2 to finish fourth at the Charleston Classic, but coach Frank Martin was encouraged by what he saw. The Gamecocks return home to face UNC Asheville on Wednesday, and Martin told reporters after his team’s 68-63 loss to Akron on Sunday that his team is evolving. “We understand that we’re that close and we have some problems we need to fix,” Martin said. “If we fix them, we’ll be OK.”
Texas Southern at Southern Methodist 8:00 PM ET
With expectations raised in Year 3 under coach Larry Brown, SMU looks to right the ship after losing three of its last four when it hosts Texas Southern on Wednesday. The Mustangs fell to No. 23 Arkansas at home Tuesday, falling below .500 and snapping a five-game home winning streak. The Tigers are wrapping up a five-game, season-opening road swing and looking to avoid their first five-game losing streak to start a season since opening the 2008-09 campaign 0-14.
Texas-Pan American at Utah 8:00 PM ET
A loss to No. 15 San Diego State may have knocked Utah out of the Top 25, but it didn't dishearten the Running Utes, who host Texas-Pan American in the first round of the Utah Thanksgiving Tournament on Wednesday. Utah bounced back from its loss to the Aztecs by hammering Cal-Riverside by 46 points last time out. Kyle Kuzma scored 19 points and Delon Wright had 13 in the rout.
Northern Illinois at Iowa 8:30 PM ET
Iowa responded to a two-game losing streak against ranked teams with a victory over visiting Pepperdine and plays host to Northern Illinois on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes, who received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, rebounded from losses to No. 10 Texas and No. 23 Syracuse with the 72-61 win over the Waves on Monday. Aaron White leads the team in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (8.8).
Auburn at Oregon St. 9:00 PM ET
If its first few games are any indication, Auburn could be one of this season’s most unpredictable teams. The Tigers face Oregon State on Wednesday in the consolation game of the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas, and there’s no telling which Auburn team will appear. One game after scoring 105 points in a 25-point win over Louisiana, the Tigers were held to six field goals in the second half of Monday's 53-35 loss to Tulsa.
Gonzaga at Georgia 9:30 PM ET
Perhaps no team in the nation has been more impressive this season than No. 11 Gonzaga, which takes on Georgia on Wednesday at the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. The Bulldogs have played three unranked teams, defeating them by a combined 152 points, and also met a ranked team in SMU in a game they won by 16. Entering the week, Gonzaga ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring (seventh), field-goal percentage (ninth) and assists (third).
Georgetown at Florida 9:30 PM ET
Florida coach Billy Donovan expects to be shorthanded when the Gators open against Georgetown at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas on Wednesday. Guard Eli Carter sprained his left foot during practice last week and missed the Gators last game against Louisiana-Monroe, while Dorian Finney-Smith has missed the last two games with a hand injury leaving Florida with six scholarship players.
Northwestern at Northern Iowa 9:30 PM ET
The Cancun Challenge got the perfect matchup for its championship game. Northwestern and Northern Iowa put their 5-0 records on the line Wednesday at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya after travelling diverse routes through Tuesday’s Riviera Division semifinals. The Panthers tipped things off with a fairly easy 73-54 victory over Virginia Tech, and the Wildcats followed with a sometimes-ragged 55-46 win over Miami (Ohio).
Cal Poly SLO at California 10:00 PM ET
California looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it hosts Cal Poly on Wednesday. The Golden Bears won their first three games under first-year coach Cuonzo Martin before suffering a 71-55 loss to Texas in the championship game of the 2K Classic on Friday. The Mustangs have won two straight games – beating San Francisco State and Delaware – since opening the season with a 65-49 loss to Nevada.
San Diego St. at Arizona 10:00 PM ET
Two teams that have become quite familiar with each other in recent years will collide again Wednesday when No. 4 Arizona meets No. 15 San Diego State in the final of the Maui Invitational. The teams have met four times in the previous three seasons, including the Sweet 16 last March in Anaheim. The only victory the Aztecs can claim in that span was three years ago, when they ended Arizona’s 22-game home-winning streak.
Tulsa at Oklahoma St. 11:30 PM ET
Oklahoma State looks to remain unbeaten on Wednesday when the Cowboys face Tulsa in the championship game of the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas. Both teams leaned on their defense in Monday’s semifinals as the Cowboys limited Oregon State to 33 percent shooting in a 66-53 victory. Tulsa, which has won three straight since dropping its season opener at Oral Roberts, allowed 14 second-half points in a 53-35 win over Auburn.
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