Preview Roundups
December 06, 2014
Rutgers at Seton Hall 12:00 PM ET
Former Big East and longtime New Jersey rivals will hook up when Rutgers visits Seton Hall on Saturday. The schools ensured the rivalry would continue when the Scarlet Knights left for the Big Ten by entering in an eight-year pact with alternating sites, and this season will be playing the first Garden State Hardwood Classic. The Pirates are off to a better start than their Garden State counterparts and will be trying to earn their seventh straight win to begin the season.
La Salle at Temple 12:00 PM ET
A Big 5 matchup of two rivals at the Palestra in Philadelphia is on tap as Temple and La Salle get together for the 115th time on Saturday. The Owls are coming off a tough loss to another Big 5 member, Saint Joseph's, in their last outing and will be looking to get back on the winning track. The Explorers hung tough against Villanova before dropping their third straight on Wednesday, with two of the losses coming against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally (the Wildcats and Virginia).
New Jersey Tech at Michigan 12:00 PM ET
Michigan looks to continue its winning ways when it hosts NJIT on Saturday. The No. 16 Wolverines have won six of their first seven games - including a 68-65 victory over Syracuse on Tuesday as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge - and are undefeated at Crisler Center this season. "December wins are really good for your resume later on," coach John Beilein told reporters. "We have another game on Saturday and we'll see what we can do."
South Carolina Upstate at Georgia Tech 12:00 PM ET
Georgia Tech is off to its best start in five years, and while the Yellow Jackets played their best basketball of the season in the opening minutes of Wednesday’s victory at Northwestern, they cannot afford the inconsistency that saw an 18-point lead dwindle to one in that contest. Georgia Tech hosts USC Upstate on Saturday after holding off the Wildcats 66-58, a game in which a 20-2 start evaporated in the second half. Sophomore Josh Heath came off the bench with 12 points and five assists.
Oklahoma St. at South Carolina 12:00 PM ET
Oklahoma State can start 8-0 for the first time in eight years if it wins its first true road game of the season Saturday at South Carolina in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Cowboys won a pair of neutral-site games in Las Vegas in late November and can surpass last year's 7-0 record by defeating the Gamecocks, but still would have more work to do to match the 2006-07 squad's 11-0 start.
Wisconsin at Marquette 12:30 PM ET
Wisconsin is dealing with something new as it prepares to visit Marquette on Saturday - regrouping after a loss. Fourth-ranked Wisconsin fell to hot-shooting No. 2 Duke 80-70 in Madison on Wednesday night to suffer its first setback of the season and only its ninth in 46 games since the start of 2013-14. “It’s early in the season, and we have a lot to work on,” Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky told reporters afterward.
St. Joseph's at Villanova 1:00 PM ET
The No. 9 Villanova Wildcats look to remain undefeated when Saint Joseph's visits the Pavilion on Saturday for a Big 5 matchup. The Wildcats are an incredibly-balanced team with seven players averaging between 8.4 and 12.9 points per game and nobody scoring 20 in a game yet. The Hawks graduated three 1,000-point career scorers from last season's NCAA Tournament squad and have understandably struggled in the early going, scoring 58.6 points per game and shooting 37.7 percent.
MD Baltimore Cty at Iowa 1:07 PM ET
Iowa is coming off arguably its biggest victory in the Fran McCaffery-era as it prepares to face visiting UMBC on Saturday. The Hawkeyes love to play uptempo and score in the 70s, but their 60-55 road win over No. 12 North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge was about playing solid defense. Iowa limited All-American Marcus Paige to 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting, and the Tar Heels went 19-of-68 thanks to the defensive effort.
Arizona St. at Texas A&M 2:00 PM ET
The NCAA didn't get around to clearing Danuel House to play for Texas A&M until after the Aggies split their first two games, but it was worth the wait. Texas A&M tries for its fifth straight victory with the Houston transfer in the lineup when it hosts Arizona State on Saturday. House, a 6-7 junior guard, leads the Aggies in scoring at 13.7 points per game and has a flair for the dramatic as his 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left lifted Texas A&M to a 66-63 victory over Sam Houston on Wednesday.
Mississippi St. at Tulane 2:00 PM ET
Mississippi State has had plenty of time to absorb the sting of its first defeat, while Tulane's only setback is a distant memory. The two one-loss squads will try to stay that way when they square off Saturday at Tulane in the first meeting since 2003 between the old SEC and Southern Conference foes. After defeating their first five opponents by an average of 15.4 points, the Bulldogs shot 36.5 percent in falling to TCU 61-52 on Saturday in the title game of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic.
Virginia at VCU 2:00 PM ET
No. 6 Virginia puts an unbeaten record on the line when it visits state-rival VCU on Saturday. After outlasting former ACC rival and No. 22 Maryland Wednesday, the Cavaliers turn their attention to unranked VCU, which should pose a significant challenge. "They pride themselves on causing a lot of havoc and I think it's going to be a very interesting game this year," Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon told reporters. "I think it's going to be a lot different than last year."
North Florida at Purdue 2:00 PM ET
While a few other Big Ten teams garner the attention, Purdue has quietly put together a solid 6-1 record for coach Matt Painter, a mark the Boilermakers will look to improve on when they host North Florida on Saturday afternoon. The visit from the Ospreys of the Atlantic Sun may not look like a matchup to fear for Purdue, but North Florida has won four straight coming into the contest.
Central Florida at Florida St. 2:00 PM ET
Florida State aims to stay perfect against in-state rival UCF when the Seminoles host the Knights on Saturday. The Seminoles have claimed all 10 meetings including an 80-68 victory last season at UCF. The Knights are off to a 5-1 start but are making their first road trip and facing their first opponent from a major conference.
American U. at Illinois 2:00 PM ET
Illinois will try to avoid getting caught looking ahead — or behind — when the No. 25 Fighting Illini host American in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon. Illinois is coming off an overtime loss to No. 15 Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday and awaits a matchup next Tuesday against No. 9 Villanova in Champaign. The Eagles won’t be a pushover, as they have three of their top four scorers back from a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Winthrop at Maryland 2:00 PM ET
Maryland is ranked for the first time since the 2009-10 season, but its stay in the Top 25 will certainly be a short one if the Terrapins cannot defeat visiting Winthrop on Saturday. Maryland's No. 22 ranking is somewhat tenuous to begin with as they absorbed a 76-65 defeat at No. 6 Virginia on Wednesday. Freshman Melo Trimble scored 16 points and Jake Layman had 14, but Mark Turgeon's team was unable to overcome a 40 percent shooting performance.
Green Bay at Miami-Florida 2:00 PM ET
At 8-0, Miami is off to best start in five years and at No. 15 in the nation, it has its highest December ranking in program history. To get there, the Hurricanes have beaten a pair of ranked teams in Florida and Illinois and won the Charleston (S.C.) Classic title late last month on the strength of three double-digit victories. But point guard Angel Rodriguez is trying to keep everything in perspective as Miami heads into Saturday’s home date with Green Bay.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Michigan St 2:15 PM ET
The No. 18 Michigan State Spartans return home to begin a much-needed seven-game homestand when Arkansas-Pine Bluff visits Saturday. The Spartans have played more road games than any ranked team and coach Tom Izzo places part of the blame on himself for the uncustomary 5-3 start. "The idiot for a coach, the six road games has worn on us," Izzo told reporters. "So I'm looking forward to getting home, getting a game under and take off for finals week, then maybe getting on track a little bit."
South Florida at Detroit 3:00 PM ET
Turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds has been an issue all season for USF first-year coach Orlando Antigua and really surfaced in the team’s most recent setback. The Bulls look to get back on track Saturday when they to travel to Detroit to avenge last year’s loss to the Titans. USF committed 21 turnovers and yielded 15 offensive boards in the Bulls’ 82-71 defeat in Alabama on Tuesday, leading to 26 points off their giveaways and a 17-5 disadvantage in second-chance points.
Texas-San Antonio at Washington St. 3:00 PM ET
Saturday’s game against visiting UTSA would be a fine time for Washington State to find its shooting touch. The Cougars connected on 5-for-30 3-point shots in their 77-71 loss to Idaho, and DaVonte Lacy and Dexter Kernich-Drew, Washington State's best shooters, were 4-of-19.
Kansas St. at Tennessee 3:15 PM ET
After showing earlier this week that it could bounce back from a pair of tough defeats, Kansas State will try to notch its first road victory of the season Saturday when it pays a visit to Tennessee as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Wildcats absorbed a four-point defeat to Arizona in the Maui Invitational and followed that up with an ugly 23-point setback against Pittsburgh before returning home on Tuesday to defeat Omaha 84-66.
Colgate at Ohio St. 4:30 PM ET
Ohio State looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season and wrap up a perfect run through the Buckeye Classic when the 13th-ranked Buckeyes host Colgate on Saturday. Ohio State is coming off a 64-55 loss at No. 5 Louisville on Tuesday in which the Buckeyes carved a 19-point deficit to four before falling short. The Raiders are off to a 1-6 start, but all of their losses have come by seven points or fewer.
Northwestern at Butler 4:30 PM ET
After a mostly positive stretch away from home, Butler returns to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday for the first time in two weeks when it hosts Northwestern. The Bulldogs followed up an impressive third-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis event in the Bahamas - capped by a win over Big East rival Georgetown - with a 77-54 triumph at Indiana State on Wednesday. Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham led five players in double figures with 14 points apiece as the Bulldogs shot 53.8 percent.
St. John's at Syracuse 5:15 PM ET
St. John's has arguably played its two best games against the two best teams it has faced this season - Minnesota and Gonzaga. The Red Storm split those two contests as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden and will head upstate with an eye on bolstering their nonconference resume when they visit Syracuse on Saturday. St. John's defeated the Gophers and suffered a hard-fought loss to the Bulldogs before bouncing back with a 13-point win over Niagara on Tuesday.
Gonzaga at Arizona 5:15 PM ET
Arizona hasn’t tasted defeat in the nonconference part of its schedule in nearly three years and will get a chance to avenge that loss Saturday when it hosts No. 8 Gonzaga. The third-ranked Wildcats rolled to their 25th consecutive home win Tuesday, improving to 7-0 for the third straight season. The victory also continued Arizona’s incredible regular-season success outside of the Pac 12, extending its streak in such games to 34.
Saint Louis at Wichita St. 6:00 PM ET
No. 10 Wichita State had its 35-game regular-season winning streak snapped by Utah on Wednesday as the Shockers fell 69-68 in overtime - their first regular season loss since March 2, 2013. Wichita State will look to get back to its winning ways on Saturday when it hosts St. Louis at INTRUST Bank Arena - an in-town venue where the Shockers have played a game annually since 2010.
Penn St. at Marshall 6:00 PM ET
Penn State seeks its longest winning streak in seven years when it visits Marshall on Saturday. The Nittany Lions have had several five-game runs since a seven-gamer in 2007-08, with the latest being a streak that involves five straight single-digit wins, including a 61-58 victory over Virginia Tech in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday. D.J. Newbill continued his strong start with 11 of his 18 points down the stretch as Penn State tied its best seven-game start under coach Patrick Chambers.
Savannah State at Indiana 7:30 PM ET
Indiana looks to build off its 81-69 win over Pittsburgh in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge when it hosts Savannah State on Saturday. The high-scoring Hoosiers have reeled off two straight victories since their disappointing 88-86 loss to Eastern Washington on Nov. 24 and have topped 80 points in six of their first seven games. "I'm proud of our team and the way they have responded," coach Tom Crean told reporters. "We have to come out as prepared for Savannah State as we were for Pittsburgh."
Wake Forest at N.C. State 7:30 PM ET
North Carolina State's Trevor Lacey may not be able to completely replace the scoring void created when T.J. Warren left early for the NBA, but adds another element to the Wolfpack attack. "He's probably one of the most cerebral, coach-like players that I've ever had,'' N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried told Pack Pride as Lacey and the Wolfpack prepare to host Wake Forest on Saturday in the ACC opener for both teams.
Abilene Christian at Houston 8:00 PM ET
Kelvin Sampson knows his Houston team has some catching up to do heading into Saturday's game against visiting Abilene Christian. While most teams have played seven or eight games, the Cougars have played four, including Thursday's 72-58 victory over Texas Pan American. "You could tell that we played three games in a month," Sampson told the media. "We have eight new players, so we need to play more games. When we play seven games we will be a lot better."
Alabama at Xavier 8:00 PM ET
Alabama is scoring at a rate not seen in 10 years and the Crimson Tide will try to continue that trend when they visit Xavier in a nonconference game Saturday night. Alabama has scored at least 70 points in each of its first six games for the first time since hitting that mark in its first 11 in 2004-05. Xavier didn’t score less than 80 in its first five games but was held in the low 70s while losing its final two games last weekend at the Wooden Legacy tournament in Anaheim, Calif.
Fairleigh Dickinson at Notre Dame 8:00 PM ET
Notre Dame aims for its fourth straight victory when it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. The Fighting Irish are coming off an impressive 79-78 overtime win over No. 18 Michigan State on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Notre Dame, which has outscored opponents by an average of 25.9 points, shouldn't have much trouble with the Knights, who are the first of back-to-back opponents from the Northeast Conference before the Irish start ACC play next Saturday against Florida State.
Bradley at Memphis 9:30 PM ET
After posting a 2-2 mark in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, Memphis will host Bradley on Saturday in the first of a nine-game homestand - the program's longest since the 1979-80 season. The Tigers will be facing a third Missouri Valley conference team after suffering a 71-56 defeat to then-No. 11 Wichita State to start the year followed by a 72-62 victory over Indiana State in Las Vegas.
Oregon St. at Portland 10:00 PM ET
Gary Payton II is adjusting to major-college basketball just fine and the junior-college transfer strives for another stellar performance when Oregon State visits Portland on Saturday. Payton, the son of former Beavers’ All-American and NBA star Gary Payton, recorded his second consecutive double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds in Wednesday’s 74-50 victory over Mississippi Valley State. The Pilots are off to a strong 6-1 start with their lone loss coming against Valparaiso.
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