Preview Roundups
December 21, 2016
Morgan St. at Penn St. 5:00 PM ET
Penn State coach Patrick Chambers had wanted to pick up the pace of the offense this season and after a week off to clean up some issues, his young Nittany Lions squad streaked past St. John’s on Sunday. Before heading into Big Ten play after Christmas, Penn State looks to close out its non-conference slate with another impressive performance when Morgan State visits Wednesday.
Longwood at Texas Tech 5:00 PM ET
Texas Tech coach Chris Beard believes that young players can learn more from winning than they can from losing and, if that's true, his Red Raiders are getting an awful lot of valuable lessons early in the season. Texas Tech goes for its eighth consecutive victory Wednesday as it hosts Longwood.
Fairfield at Boston College 6:00 PM ET
Jerome Robinson scored a career-high 32 points as Boston College trimmed Sacred Heart in its latest outing. Robinson, who averages 20.5 points, guides the Eagles against Fairfield in a non-conference game at Uncasville, Conn., on Wednesday night.
Elon University at Duke 6:00 PM ET
Duke looks to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on a positive note when it takes on in-state rival Elon on Wednesday at the Greensboro Coliseum. The fourth-ranked Blue Devils have won seven straight in the series dating to the Phoenix’s last win in 1922, including victories in each of the last four seasons.
American U. at Villanova 6:30 PM ET
Villanova has accomplished just about everything a team would want in 2016 - a national championship, an 11-0 start this season, a No. 1 ranking at the moment, and a talented roster that seems to be maximizing its potential. All of that spells bad news for American, which visits Villanova on Wednesday evening.
Arkansas-Little Rock at Florida 7:00 PM ET
Florida finally will make its home debut on Wednesday against Little Rock after playing its first 11 games at seven different venues while renovations were completed in the Exactech Arena at the O'Connell Center. The Gators survived the grind, with their only losses coming against three ranked teams - No. 4 Duke, No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 22 Florida State, who are a combined 32-2 this season.
Missouri at Illinois 7:00 PM ET
Much of the luster has been lost from the Braggin’ Rights matchup between Missouri and Illinois, but the annual clash between the border rivals almost always is competitive. The Tigers and Fighting Illini square off again Wednesday in St. Louis, with the latter searching for its fourth straight win in the series.
Vanderbilt at Dayton 7:00 PM ET
Luke Kornet snapped out of his shooting slump just in time for Vanderbilt to avoid a second consecutive defeat, and looks to build on that success in Wednesday’s non-conference matchup at Dayton. The senior forward made two critical 3-pointers down the stretch in Saturday’s 76-74 victory over Chattanooga, finishing 3-of-6 from long range and hitting the game winner with 2.9 seconds to go after making 2-of-12 during his three previous games.
Kentucky at Louisville 7:00 PM ET
Despite being separated by only 90 miles in a basketball-crazy state, No. 5 Kentucky and No. 11 Louisville couldn't be much more different in their approaches. The defensive-minded Cardinals hope to end their recent struggles against their in-state rival Wednesday when they host one of college basketball's most explosive offenses in the Wildcats.
Nebraska Omaha at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM ET
Jamel Artis is used to taking a backseat to fellow senior star Michael Young, but despite 31 points Saturday against Rice, Artist was overlooked again by coach Kevin Stallings. Artis seeks to gain top billing once and for all as the Panthers play the second of a season-long five-game homestand Wednesday against Omaha.
St. John's at Syracuse 7:00 PM ET
Syracuse showed the ability to bounce back its last time out, but consistency is still a long-term goal for the Orange. Jim Boeheim's squad looks to post rare back-to-back victories when it hosts St. John's on Wednesday.
Bethune-Cookman at Central Florida 7:00 PM ET
Central Florida hosts Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday in its final game before opening American Athletic Conference play looking to find someone other than Tacko Fall who consistently can knock down shots. The 7-6 sophomore leads the nation in field-goal percentage (83) and is coming off a career-best 31-point performance in an 80-73 overtime win over Miami (Ohio), but the rest of the Knights are hitting only 37.1 percent, and their inconsistency proved costly in two losses prior to the triumph.
Oakland at Michigan St 7:00 PM ET
Michigan State looks to bounce back from its first home loss of the season when it hosts Oakland in a non-conference clash on Wednesday. The Spartans were upset by Northeastern on Sunday, while the Golden Grizzlies also fell to the Huskies in their last outing on Tuesday night.
Norfolk State at Purdue 7:00 PM ET
Purdue's Caleb Swanigan was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday afternoon, then looked every bit the part when he took the court later that night. The sophomore forward will look to continue his reign of terror on opposing frontcourts Wednesday when the 15th-ranked Boilermakers complete their non-conference schedule at home against Norfolk State.
Vermont at Butler 7:00 PM ET
Fresh off back-to-back wins over
nationally-ranked foes, No. 13 Butler returns home Wednesday to close out its
non-conference schedule. The opponent at Hinkle Fieldhouse will be America East Conference preseason favorite Vermont, which has alternated wins and
losses since a 5-1 start.
Texas Southern at Baylor 7:30 PM ET
Baylor is one of six unbeaten teams in the nation and the No. 6 Bears figure to remain that way when they host Texas Southern on Wednesday. Baylor's 11-0 start is the fourth best in program history and the Bears also have won 42 consecutive nonconference home games, the second-longest streak behind Duke (132).
St. Francis (PA) at Texas A&M 8:00 PM ET
After an encouraging showing against Arizona, Texas A&M plays its final non-conference game Wednesday against visiting St. Francis (Pa.), which has dropped five in a row, including Monday’s 78-65 loss at Marquette. Texas A&M fell to its third Pac-12 opponent this season on Saturday as Arizona withstood a furious rally by the Aggies and held on for a 67-63 win.
UAB at Texas 8:00 PM ET
Texas looks to avoid falling below .500 for the first time in over 12 months when it hosts UAB on Wednesday. The Longhorns were ranked 21st in the USA Today Coaches Poll in late November but failed to live up to their ranking as they dropped five of their next seven games, including a 77-74 setback to Arkansas in the Lone Star Shootout on Dec. 17.
Incarnate Word at Memphis 8:00 PM ET
Memphis looks to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since November when it hosts Incarnate Word in a non-conference contest on Wednesday. The Tigers are coming off an overtime victory over host Oklahoma on Saturday in which they led for just 4:48 of the contest.
Northern Iowa at North Carolina 8:00 PM ET
Eighth-ranked North Carolina gets a chance to avenge a shocking upset from last season when it hosts Northern Iowa on Wednesday night. The Tar Heels were No. 1 when they visited Cedar Falls, Iowa almost 13 months ago and coughed up a nine-point halftime lead before suffering a 71-67 setback against the Panthers – one of only two losses they endured before February.
Liberty at Houston 8:00 PM ET
Kelvin Sampson looks to get more out of senior Danrad Knowles when Houston goes for its sixth home victory Wednesday against Liberty. Knowles produced 39 points in the last two games, but Sampson is in search of more rebounds from the 6-10 forward from the Bahamas.
Gardner-Webb at Kansas St. 8:00 PM ET
Kansas State continues its quest to move into the Top 25 when it hosts Gardner-Webb on Wednesday. The streaking Wildcats have won five consecutive games, including an impressive 89-70 victory over Colorado State on Dec. 17, but failed to earn a single vote in the latest USA Today Coaches' Poll; they hope to get the nation's attention by notching their sixth straight win at Bramlage Coliseum.
Auburn at Oklahoma 8:30 PM ET
Auburn and Oklahoma will square off in less than two weeks on the Sugar Bowl gridiron, but up first is a hardwood date Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It will be the second game of a doubleheader, following Boston College and Fairfield, as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s 125th Birthday of Basketball cele
SIU - Edwardsville at Marquette 8:30 PM ET
After showing glimpses of his scoring potential, Andrew Rowsey is finally stringing solid games together for Marquette, which plays its final non-conference game Wednesday against visiting SIU Edwardsville. Rowsey had a season-high 22 points in Monday's victory over St. Francis, but more importantly, the junior has three straight games of 10 or more points.
Arkansas St. at Alabama 9:00 PM ET
Alabama head coach Avery Johnson is doing plenty of talking - and he hopes his young roster starts listening by the time conference play kicks off next week. The Crimson Tide look to put an ugly loss to Clemson behind them as they face Arkansas State in the Rocket City Classic at Huntsville, Ala., in their second-last non-conference tuneup game.
Clemson at South Carolina 9:00 PM ET
No. 20 South Carolina has powered through the first 10 games of its schedule based on one of the nation’s strongest defenses, but will face a solid defensive unit in its own right when it hosts Clemson on Wednesday. The Gamecocks rank fourth in the country in opponent scoring at 57.7 points per game, but the Tigers come to town allowing just 63.6 points per contest and riding a six-game winning streak.
South Dakota at Gonzaga 9:00 PM ET
Gonzaga strives to stretch the country's third-longest winning streak to 12 games when the No. 7 Bulldogs host South Dakota on Wednesday. Only top-ranked Villanova (17) and second-ranked UCLA (12) have longer winning streaks than Gonzaga, which is one of six remaining unbeaten teams.
Sacramento State at Washington St. 9:00 PM ET
Washington State coach Ernie Kent is trying to change the meaning of "Cougin' it'' as his club hosts Sacramento State on Wednesday. The term was originally coined to describe various disappointing outcomes in Washington State sports history, but Saturday's 69-68 come-from-behind victory over Santa Clara prompted Kent to tell reporters: “We’ve got to change that around, make it a positive thing. We are going to be in a lot of games like this where we have to pull the game out.”
Bradley at Texas Christian 9:00 PM ET
TCU has shown remarkable scoring balance from its rotation and the Horned Frogs will try to maintain that characteristic heading into their final nonconference game Wednesday against visiting Bradley. Six players average from 8.4 to 11.5 points for TCU, led by freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who's scored from 10 to 15 points in the last six games, while two additional Horned Frogs have reached double figures in three games apiece.
Virginia at California 10:00 PM ET
California senior wing Jabari Bird is heating up just in time for Wednesday’s key non-conference home game against No. 10 Virginia, which leads the nation in scoring defense at 46.7 points per game. Bird missed six early-season games due to back spasms but dazzled in Saturday’s 81-55 rout of Cal Poly with four 3-pointers and a career-high 25 points.
Kent St. at Oregon St. 11:00 PM ET
Oregon State basketball coach Wayne Tinkle is the ultimate optimist as the Beavers try to snap a five-game losing streak when they host Kent State on Wednesday. Oregon State entered the week 344th in the RPI rankings among the 351 teams on the list and its only victory in the last 10 games came against NAIA member Southern Oregon, but Tinkle told reporters after Sunday's 53-45 loss to Portland: "I do know this: it is going to turn. It's going to turn."
Western Michigan at UCLA 11:00 PM ET
UCLA will try to finish the nonconference portion of its schedule with a perfect record for the first time since the 1994-95 season when the No. 2 Bruins host Western Michigan on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA showed last weekend it can still win games against good teams even when not at its best, pulling away from Ohio State late to win 86-73 in Las Vegas, only the fourth time the Bruins have been held under 90 points this season.
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