Preview Roundups
February 24, 2018
Michigan at Maryland 12:00 PM ET
No. 16 Michigan looks to end the regular season with five straight wins when it battles Maryland on the road Saturday. The Wolverines, who have won six of their last seven games, are coming off a 72-63 victory against Penn State on Wednesday and can earn a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament if they complete the season sweep of the Terrapins and Nebraska fails to beat the Nittany Lions on Sunday.
Tulane at South Florida 12:00 PM ET
Something's got to give when the teams with the two longest losing streaks in the American Athletic Conference collide on Saturday. Tulane takes a six-game slide into South Florida, where the last-place Bulls are losers of seven in a row and own just one conference win - an 80-75 triumph at the Green Wave on Jan. 25.
Marquette at DePaul 12:00 PM ET
Marquette likely needs to win out in the regular season to have any shot at earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The team has already won three of its last four and will aim to continue that upward trend Saturday at DePaul in a Big East contest.
Providence at Georgetown 12:00 PM ET
Not yet assured of finishing with a winning record, Georgetown will look to make that happen in Saturday's Big East game against visiting Providence. The Hoyas led after 20 minutes against No. 4 Xavier on Wednesday but couldn't sustain their bid for a third consecutive victory and now must face a Friars squad that has dealt them seven consecutive defeats, including one this season.
Seton Hall at St. John's 12:00 PM ET
Seton Hall will not have leading scorer Desi Rodriguez in uniform when it goes for its 20th win Saturday in a Big East game at St. John's. Rodriguez sprained an ankle on a wet floor in Providence on Wednesday and is slated to miss a week of action for the Pirates, who will close the road portion of their conference schedule against the suddenly dangerous Red Storm.
Baylor at Texas Christian 12:00 PM ET
TCU looks to win its third straight contest – and sweep Baylor for the first time in 29 seasons – when it hosts the Bears in a Big 12 contest Saturday afternoon. The Horned Frogs are coming off a road win at Iowa State on Wednesday while Baylor had its five-game winning streak snapped with a home loss to West Virginia on Tuesday.
Louisville at Virginia Tech 1:00 PM ET
Surging Virginia Tech hosts Louisville in a key ACC matchup Saturday afternoon as the teams meet for the second time this season. The Cardinals extended their winning streak over the Hokies to 13 games with a 94-86 victory in Louisville on Jan. 13 where junior forward Deng Adel scored a career-high 27 points.
Tennessee at Mississippi 1:00 PM ET
Despite scuffling a bit of late, No. 19 Tennessee
still has an outside shot of overtaking Auburn and winning the SEC
regular-season title. The Volunteers, though, need to run the table, starting
with Saturday’s road game at Ole Miss.
Boston College at Miami-Florida 2:00 PM ET
Miami (Fla.) was riding high on a three-game winning streak when it visited Boston College two weeks ago, but a 72-70 loss knocked the Hurricanes out of the polls and it's been a rough ride for coach Jim Larranaga's troops since. With the Eagles set to come to town for a Saturday matchup, Miami finds itself in a must-win situation if it wants a chance at a coveted spot in the NCAA Tournament as tough matchups against North Carolina and Virginia Tech are left on the schedule.
Louisiana State at Georgia 2:00 PM ET
LSU finds itself one game behind a logjam for third place in the SEC entering Saturday’s road contest at Georgia, and freshman guard Tremont Waters continues making a big impact on the Tigers’ offense entering the final days of the regular season. Waters scored 28 points with nine assists in Tuesday’s 88-78 home victory over Vanderbilt, setting a school record for assists in a season by a freshman while helping LSU clinch a winning record before the conference tournament.
Wichita St. at Southern Methodist 2:00 PM ET
Wichita State hopes to have offensive catalyst Landry Shamet back in the lineup when it visits injury-riddled SMU on Saturday afternoon in an American Athletic Conference game. Shamet missed Wednesday's 93-86 victory over Tulane because of illness, but the No. 12 Shockers overcame a sub-par defensive performance to post their fifth straight win.
Oklahoma State at Texas 2:00 PM ET
Oklahoma State and host Texas start Saturday with identical records, but the Cowboys seem to have better position on the NCAA Tournament bubble after recording their fifth win against a top 20 team. The Longhorns, meanwhile, have lost four of five and urgently need wins - not to mention a consistent offense.
Southern California at Utah 2:30 PM ET
Utah, the Pac-12’s hottest team with five
straight wins, has done some solid work of late in strengthening its NCAA
Tournament bubble resume. The Runnin’ Utes will try to add to their roll Saturday
afternoon when they host USC, one of the two teams still ahead of them in the
conference standings.
Villanova at Creighton 2:30 PM ET
In its first matchup of the season with Creighton, Villanova tied a program record with 19 3-pointers in a 20-point win. The Bluejays have had more than three weeks to solve third-ranked Villanova and will aim to slow the visiting Wildcats when the teams square off Saturday in Omaha.
Notre Dame at Wake Forest 3:00 PM ET
It has been a struggle for most of the season for Wake Forest but the Demon Deacons have won two of three as they host Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Irish are coming off a crushing 77-74 home loss to Miami on Monday that delivered a big blow to their already slim tournament chances.
Georgia Tech at Clemson 3:00 PM ET
No. 17 Clemson started a winning streak the last time it played Georgia Tech, so the Tigers hope Saturday’s home contest with the Yellow Jackets will be the time to snap their current three-game slide. The Tigers fell Wednesday at Virginia Tech, a 65-58 defeat in which Clemson again struggled on offense with Shelton Mitchell sidelined for the second consecutive game with a concussion and leading scorer Donte Grantham out for the season with a knee injury.
South Carolina at Mississippi State 3:30 PM ET
Mississippi State is trying to play its way onto the NCAA Tournament bubble, but visiting South Carolina could damage the Bulldogs’ chances on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs are trying to sweep the regular-season series after posting an 81-76 victory at South Carolina on Jan. 31.
Virginia at Pittsburgh 4:00 PM ET
No. 2 Virginia opened the season unranked but when it arrives in Brooklyn in early March it will do so as the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Cavaliers, coming off a 65-54 victory against Georgia Tech on Wednesday, will try to capture their third outright regular-season title in five years when it visits Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Texas A&M at Vanderbilt 4:00 PM ET
Texas A&M has gone from giant killer to SEC minnow in 10 long, disappointing days - and are now a good bet to finish below .500 in conference play as they kick off a two-game road trip Saturday afternoon against Vanderbilt. The Aggies have dropped three in a row since putting together an incredible four-game winning streak that included upset victories over Auburn and Kentucky.
Kansas at Texas Tech 4:15 PM ET
After spending the better part of a month standing atop what appears to be the deepest conference in the country this season, an ill-timed toe injury to Keenan Evans has Texas Tech on the verge of giving up control of the Big 12 to Kansas. With their top playmaker unlikely to be anywhere close to 100 percent on Saturday, the seventh-ranked Red Raiders host the eighth-ranked Jayhawks in hopes of keeping Kansas from clinching at least a share of a NCAA-record 14th straight conference title.
Washington at California 4:30 PM ET
One of the feel-good stories in college basketball just weeks ago, Washington now finds itself on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies head into Saturday’s game against host California having lost four of their last five games, including Thursday’s 94-78 loss to Stanford.
Santa Clara at St. Mary's 6:00 PM ET
Saint Mary's kept its chances for garnering a share of the West Coast Conference title alive with a 75-61 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday. The 20th-ranked Gaels, who host Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon at McKeon Pavilion, need to close out the regular season with a win over the Broncos and hope for a BYU upset of No. 6 Gonzaga later on Saturday night to claim a share of the championship.
Arkansas at Alabama 6:00 PM ET
Alabama had plenty to gain with a win against Auburn last time out - but instead, it lost big. The Crimson Tide need a strong bounce-back effort Saturday night against visiting Arkansas to bolster its resume ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa State at West Virginia 6:00 PM ET
West Virginia had a nice bounce-back game against Baylor after a tough loss to Kansas in which coach Bob Huggins was ejected for noting the disparity in free-throw attempts. The 21st-ranked Mountaineers hope to continue to build momentum for the Big 12 tournament when they try to earn a split of the season series when undermanned Iowa State visits Saturday.
Kansas State at Oklahoma 6:00 PM ET
Kansas State was one of the first Big 12 teams to figure out how to get a handle on Oklahoma's high-scoring offense and contain the nation's leading scorer, Trae Young. The Wildcats will look to add to their NCAA Tournament resume while continuing the Sooners' unlikely demise Saturday when the teams square off in Norman.
Syracuse at Duke 6:15 PM ET
Fifth-ranked Duke has not missed a beat without its injured star forward Marvin Bagley III and looks to continue piling up victories when it hosts Syracuse on Saturday night in a key ACC contest. The Blue Devils have won four straight since Bagley, who leads the team in scoring (21.2) and rebounding (11.4), suffered a sprained knee and the freshman is still day-to-day.
UAB at Middle Tennessee St. 7:00 PM ET
No. 24 Middle Tennessee looks to build on its historic week when it hosts UAB on Saturday. The Blue Raiders cruised past Louisiana Tech 87-70 on Saturday to extend their road winning streak to a program-record 12 games while moving into the Top 25 for the first time in school history, and hope to continue their winning ways by sweeping the season series with the Blazers following a 63-60 victory on Dec. 30.
Washington St. at Stanford 7:00 PM ET
Stanford’s bid for a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament continues Saturday against visiting Washington State, which has won two of its last three following a seven-game losing streak. The Cardinal sit a half-game behind fourth-place Utah, with the top four teams receiving a bye at next month’s conference tournament in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga at Brigham Young 8:00 PM ET
Gonzaga has already clinched at least a share of its sixth consecutive West Coast Conference championship and 17th in the last 18 seasons. But for the sixth-ranked Bulldogs to win the title outright, they'll need to close out the regular season with a victory at BYU on Saturday night.
Arizona State at Oregon St. 8:00 PM ET
Tra Holder can be streaky at times, and the senior guard will try to rebound from his worst game at Arizona State when the 25th-ranked Sun Devils visit Oregon State in a Pac-12 game Saturday afternoon. Holder, the leading scorer for Arizona State at 18.6 points per outing, missed all six of his field-goal attempts and went scoreless in a 75-68 loss to visiting Oregon on Thursday night.
Missouri at Kentucky 8:15 PM ET
Two squads caught in the six-team tie for third place in the SEC square off Saturday as Missouri visits Kentucky. The Tigers defeated the Wildcats for the first time in 11 tries on Feb. 3 with a 69-60 home victory.
Auburn at Florida 8:30 PM ET
With three contests remaining and a two-game lead over Tennessee in the SEC standings, No. 13 Auburn is close to locking up the conference's regular-season title after its impressive 90-71 victory over in-state rival Alabama. The Tigers can wrap up at least a share of the crown with a win Saturday at Florida, where the Gators desperately need a high-profile victory - or any victory - thanks to a three-game skid that puts their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy.
Arizona at Oregon 10:15 PM ET
Arizona can clinch its fourth Pac-12 regular-season title in the past five seasons if the No. 14 Wildcats can defeat Oregon on Saturday night in Eugene, or if USC loses earlier in the day at Utah. Arizona will likely be without second-leading scorer Allonzo Trier, who was declared ineligible by the NCAA on Thursday for testing positive for a banned substance.