Preview Roundups
February 03, 2018
Notre Dame at NC State 12:00 PM ET
Notre Dame will be in tough to snap a six-game losing streak as it visits North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon. The Wolfpack have won three of four and are fresh off yet another marquee road victory, 95-91 in overtime over No. 17 North Carolina.
Duke at St. John's 12:00 PM ET
No. 5 Duke can clinch its 22nd straight 20-win season Saturday when it visits St. John's in non-league action. The Blue Devils have won nine of their last 10 meetings with the Red Storm, including coach Mike Krzyzewski's 1,000th career win in their last visit to Madison Square Garden.
Cincinnati at Connecticut 12:00 PM ET
No. 8 Cincinnati has all but locked up top spot in the American Athletic Conference with more than a month left - but there's plenty of work left to do, beginning with Saturday afternoon's encounter with host Connecticut. The Bearcats extended their home winning streak to 38 games and their overall run to 13 with an 80-70 victory over Houston last time out.
Houston at Central Florida 12:00 PM ET
Defense-minded Central Florida has improved offensively the past few games with return of junior guard B.J. Taylor from a foot injury. The Knights will need it Saturday when they host a balanced Houston squad that has won four of its past six games.
DePaul at Butler 12:00 PM ET
Butler will get another opportunity to play the role of bottom-feeder when it takes on visiting DePaul on Saturday in a Big East game. The Bulldogs can make it four straight wins against teams beneath them in the conference standings with a win over the Blue Demons before it must deal with the class of the Big East next week in the form of in No. 6 Xavier and No. 1 Villanova.
Oklahoma State at Kansas 12:00 PM ET
If the last two games are any indication, the rest of the Big 12's window of opportunity to keep Kansas from winning a NCAA-record 14th straight regular-season conference title may be closing. Coming off their largest margin of victory in league play, the seventh-ranked Jayhawks eye a third straight win Saturday when they host Oklahoma State.
Miami-Florida at Virginia Tech 2:00 PM ET
Virginia Tech closed out the first month of 2018 with its third straight victory, an 85-80 overtime triumph over Boston College that made it the most successful January (.625, 5-3 record) in the four-year Buzz Williams era. The Hokies now look to keep the momentum for the stretch run, and their first challenge will be getting past a Miami team sporting the same 5-4 ACC mark on the heels of its 69-57 victory over downtrodden Pittsburgh.
Clemson at Wake Forest 2:00 PM ET
No. 20 Clemson responded to a humbling road setback along with the loss of an important player for the season with two straight victories and can move into second place alone in the ACC with a win at Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers dropped a 61-36 decision at No. 2 Virginia on Jan. 23 in the first game without second-leading scorer Donte Grantham (knee), but have knocked off Georgia Tech and No. 17 North Carolina since.
South Carolina at Texas A&M 2:00 PM ET
South Carolina aims for its third straight road victory when it visits Texas A&M on Saturday. The Aggies are 10-2 at home and have won three straight on their own court.
Kentucky at Missouri 2:00 PM ET
Two teams leaning heavily on talented freshmen square off Saturday, when Missouri hosts No. 22 Kentucky. The Wildcats have won each of their 10 all-time meetings with the Tigers.
Memphis at East Carolina 2:00 PM ET
Memphis looks to capitalize on the momentum from a big road win when it travels to face East Carolina in an American Athletic Conference contest Saturday. The Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak with an easy victory over South Florida Wednesday, while the Pirates have dropped three straight, including a two-point overtime loss at home to Tulane on Wednesday.
Texas Tech at Texas Christian 2:00 PM ET
TCU's defense is improving just in time for a visit from No. 10 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have won three straight and start the weekend tied for second in the Big 12 standings.
Minnesota at Michigan 2:30 PM ET
No. 25 Michigan looks to continue its dominance at home when it welcomes Minnesota to Ann Arbor on Saturday. The Wolverines have won 12 of their 13 home games this season, including a 58-47 victory against Northwestern on Monday, and hope to climb up the national rankings by toppling the Gophers at Crisler Center for the fifth consecutive time.
Providence at Marquette 2:30 PM ET
Marquette and visiting Providence each come into Saturday's Big East game licking their wounds after suffering lopsided defeats earlier this week. The Friars fell by 16 points Wednesday at Seton Hall and the Golden Eagles, who pushed No. 1 Villanova to the final minute Sunday, suffered their third straight loss in a 20-point defeat at home at the hands of Butler.
Arkansas at Louisiana State 3:30 PM ET
Arkansas looks to stay in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid when it faces LSU on the road Saturday. The Razorbacks saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with an 80-66 setback to Texas A&M on Tuesday, and they hope to climb back to .500 in SEC play by avoiding another resume-crippling defeat to the Tigers following a 75-54 loss on Jan. 10.
Virginia at Syracuse 4:00 PM ET
No. 2 Virginia has won 13 straight games and, perhaps more impressively, has not given up 65 points in any of those contests. The nation's best defensive team visits Syracuse looking to extend both of those streaks on Saturday afternoon.
Purdue at Rutgers 4:00 PM ET
No. 3 Purdue was not on top of its game Wednesday but found a way to extend its school-record winning streak anyway. The Boilermakers seek a 19th straight victory when they visit struggling Rutgers on Saturday.
Florida State at Louisville 4:00 PM ET
Louisville hosts Florida State in a key ACC matchup Saturday afternoon as the two teams meet for the second time this season. The Cardinals edged the Seminoles 73-69 on Jan. 10, snapping Florida State's 28-game home winning streak in the process.
Alabama at Florida 4:00 PM ET
Florida continued its maddening up-and-down trend on Tuesday, following up its blowout victory over Baylor in the Big 12/SEC Challenge with a 72-60 loss at Georgia. The 24th-ranked Gators are in danger of falling out of the polls and they look to redeem themselves on Saturday at home against an equally inconsistent Alabama team in the first of two meetings between the SEC foes.
Kansas State at West Virginia 4:00 PM ET
Once-sizzling West Virginia has fallen on hard times, losing
five of its last six games after a 15-1 start to the season. The 11th-ranked
Mountaineers will try to reverse course Saturday when they host a Kansas State
team that has won four of its last five.
Oregon at Stanford 5:00 PM ET
Oregon’s up-tempo offense has cooled off in Pac-12 play, and coach Dana Altman isn’t pleased with the change. The Ducks look to return to their high-flying ways Saturday against host Stanford, which snapped a three-game losing streak with Thursday’s 80-71 victory over Oregon State.
Iowa at Penn St. 6:00 PM ET
After nearly pulling off a second straight road win over a ranked team, Penn State returns home trying to get back to .500 in the Big Ten when it hosts Iowa on Saturday. The Nittany Lions knocked off No. 18 Ohio State in Columbus on Jan. 25 to score its best win of the season and had fourth-ranked Michigan State on the ropes last time out before fading down the stretch.
Southern California at UCLA 6:00 PM ET
USC brings is longest conference winning streak since 1992 into its game Saturday night against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The Trojans have won six in a row in Pac-12 play to remain in second place behind No. 9 Arizona and two games in front of fourth-place UCLA.
Georgia at Mississippi State 6:00 PM ET
Georgia travels to Mississippi State on Saturday in a battle of Bulldogs who are stuck in a six-team tie in the middle of the SEC standings, but both squads also enter the weekend off encouraging victories. Georgia had dropped three games in a row and five of its previous six before upsetting No. 24 Florida 72-60 on Tuesday while Mississippi State earned its first road victory of the season a day later, knocking off South Carolina 81-76.
Mississippi at Tennessee 6:00 PM ET
No. 19 Tennessee has won four games in a row and seven of its past eight heading into Saturday’s home contest with Ole Miss, but coach Rick Barnes knows what lies ahead and that his team needs to continue playing well. Saturday’s matchup kicks off three games in eight days for the Volunteers, with road visits to Kentucky and Alabama next week looming large as Tennessee enters the weekend tied for second in the SEC - two games behind first-place Auburn.
Georgetown at Xavier 6:00 PM ET
Sixth-ranked Xavier has played its way into contention for a No. 1 seed in next month's NCAA Tournament - but there's still some business to take care of as the Musketeers prepare to host Georgetown on Saturday. Xavier has won five straight, but couldn't avoid another close call against a St. John's team still looking for its first win in Big East Conference play.
Oklahoma at Texas 6:15 PM ET
Oklahoma is tied for second in the Big 12 and only one game behind Kansas with a head-to-head victory against the conference leaders in hand, but if the Sooners have any designs of ending the Jayhawks' 13-year run of league domination, they will need to remember how to win away from home. No. 15 Oklahoma attempts to put the brakes on a four-game road losing streak Saturday when it visits arch-rival Texas.
Pittsburgh at North Carolina 8:00 PM ET
No. 17 North Carolina has lost three straight games for the first time in more than four years and hopes to begin the healing process when last-place Pittsburgh pays a visit for an ACC battle Saturday night. The Tar Heels lost in overtime at home against North Carolina State last Saturday and a second-half rally fell short in an 82-78 loss at Clemson three days later as they fell to 5-5 in the league.
Oregon St. at California 8:00 PM ET
Two teams eager to return to the win column meet Saturday as Oregon State visits California, which is riding a nine-game losing streak. Oregon State has lost three in a row and five of its last six but won’t find any sympathy from the rebuilding Bears, who have seven freshmen on the roster and appear headed for their first losing season since 2006-07.
Iowa State at Baylor 8:00 PM ET
With a big win against No. 11 West Virginia on Wednesday and three more games against ranked opponents coming up, Iowa State looks to complete a season sweep when it visits Baylor on Saturday. The Cyclones beat the Bears 75-65 on Jan. 13, as Lindell Wigginton scored 30 points and drained five 3-pointers.
Michigan St at Indiana 8:15 PM ET
No. 4 Michigan State looks to keep its hot streak going when it tries for its sixth straight win on the road against Big Ten opponent Indiana Saturday night. The Spartans' current streak started with a home blowout of the Hoosiers, who are trying to snap a three-game losing streak and stay above .500 for the season.
Vanderbilt at Auburn 8:30 PM ET
Vanderbilt will try to extend its winning streak to 14 games over No. 13 Auburn when the teams meet in an SEC game at Auburn Arena on Saturday night. The Tigers haven't beaten Vanderbilt since a 68-65 win on Jan. 6, 2007, the last season the Commodores reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
St. Mary's at San Diego 9:00 PM ET
West Coast Conference-leading Saint Mary's brings the nation's second longest win streak with it to San Diego on Saturday night. The 14th-ranked Gaels have won a school-record 17 in a row, one game behind Purdue, which brings an 18-game streak with it into its game at Rutgers a few hours earlier.
Brigham Young at Gonzaga 10:00 PM ET
BYU stumbles into Saturday night's game at No. 12 Gonzaga off a stunning 76-69 loss at West Coast Conference bottom feeder Loyola Marymount on Thursday night. But it would be unwise to discount the Cougars' chances on Saturday night at the McCarthey Center.
Arizona at Washington 10:30 PM ET
Pac-12-leading Arizona has reeled off seven
straight wins and is coming off a 100-72 blowout victory over host Washington State.
The ninth-ranked Wildcats, though, figure to encounter a tougher test Saturday
night as they visit Washington, which is riding a three-game win streak.