Preview Roundups
December 23, 2017
Miami-Florida at Hawaii 1:00 AM ET
One of four remaining unbeaten teams in Division I, seventh-ranked Miami closes out non-conference play with three games at this weekend’s Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, starting with Friday’s matchup against host Hawaii. The Hurricanes are off to their best start since 2007-08 and rank second in the nation in scoring defense at 56.3 points per game.
Loyola-Maryland at Memphis 12:00 PM ET
Memphis coach Tubby Smith is in his 27th season and won a national title at Kentucky in 1997-98, but he has rarely faced a challenge like the one coming up Saturday. For the second time in his illustrious career, when Smith and his Tigers host Loyola Maryland, sitting on the opposite sideline will be Smith's son, G.G., in his fifth season at the helm of the Greyhounds.
Alabama A&M at Georgetown 12:00 PM ET
With its Big East opener just around the corner, Georgetown may opt to give Jessie Govan a breather Saturday when it faces visiting Alabama A&M. Govan has logged 33.3 minutes per game, including 78 in the last two contests, for the Hoyas, who face the winless Bulldogs for the first time.
Manhattan at Seton Hall 12:00 PM ET
Seton Hall got the bounce back game it was looking for from seniors Khadeen Carrington and Angel Delgado ahead of Saturday's non-conference finale against visiting Manhattan. The duo combined for 41 points as the Pirates throttled Wagner and a similar result against the Jaspers will send the No. 22 Pirates into the Big East with plenty of momentum.
Fordham at West Virginia 12:00 PM ET
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins wanted his star Jevon Carter to improve his shooting and get to the free-throw line more often this season after the 6-2 guard decided to return for his senior season after going through the NBA pre-draft process last May. In the midst of an historical season, Carter will likely show visiting Fordham all of his skills when the 10th-ranked Mountaineers try for their first 11-game winning streak since 2009-10 when the teams meet on Saturday.
Tennessee at Wake Forest 12:30 PM ET
No. 20 Tennessee wraps up non-conference play with a challenging road matchup against Wake Forest on Saturday. The Volunteers have already played three ACC opponents this season, defeating North Carolina State and Georgia Tech before losing to North Carolina last weekend.
Grand Canyon at Louisville 1:00 PM ET
With five straight wins, Louisville is building
momentum for the challenges ahead – namely its annual rivalry game with
Kentucky on Dec. 29 and the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play four days
later. But first, the Cardinals have one more pre-Christmas tune-up on the
docket: Saturday’s home nonconference finale against Grand Canyon.
Richmond at Boston College 1:00 PM ET
Boston College plays its final tune-up before ACC play starts back up later this month when they host Richmond on Saturday. The Eagles, who lost by 13 points to the Spiders in the Barclays Center Classic last season, are currently the only ACC team with a win in conference action after their stunning upset of then-No. 1 Duke earlier this month, which is part of a four-game winning streak.
Ohio St. at North Carolina 1:30 PM ET
Fourth-ranked North Carolina must lick its wounds from a shocking loss at home when it ends the non-conference schedule with a challenging matchup against Ohio State on Saturday afternoon in New Orleans as part of the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels shot just 36.4 percent from the field and turned the ball over 14 times in a 79-75 setback against Wofford of the Southern Conference on Wednesday to end a five-game winning streak.
Connecticut at Auburn 2:30 PM ET
It took less than a year for former five-star recruit Mustapha Heron to make Connecticut feel the sting of letting a native son leave the state in order to play basketball at Auburn. Led by their high-scoring 6-5 sophomore guard, the Tigers will attempt to extend their winning streak to nine games and try to notch their first signature victory of the season Saturday when they host the Huskies.
Florida Atlantic at Minnesota 3:30 PM ET
The mental and physical rest seemed to do Minnesota some good, and the Golden Gophers will try to continue to move forward with a third straight victory when they host Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon. Minnesota stumbled after a 7-0 start, barely winning two of its next five, but nine days off was just what the doctor ordered as the Golden Gophers improved defensively in a 77-63 win over Oral Roberts on Thursday.
Kentucky at UCLA 4:00 PM ET
UCLA announced its return to prominence early last season with a shocking win at then-undefeated Kentucky, only to watch its most successful campaign in nearly 10 years ended by the Wildcats four months later. Only four players who saw action in either game remain from last year's entertaining battles between the college basketball bluebloods, who will face either other for the fifth time in four seasons Saturday at the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans.
Middle Tennessee St. at Southern California 4:30 PM ET
For 20 minutes on Friday night in Honolulu, USC played like the team that was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 preseason poll, shooting 60.7 percent in the second half of an 84-53 win over Akron. The Trojans look to build on their impressive rally on Saturday when they face Middle Tennessee State in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sherriff Center in Honolulu.
Green Bay at Wisconsin 5:30 PM ET
Wisconsin looks to win back-to-back games for the first time in six weeks when it hosts Green Bay on Saturday. The Badgers ended a two-game slide with an 81-80 victory against Western Kentucky on Dec. 13 and hopes for some more offensive fireworks after being held to 65 or fewer points on six occasions this season.
Southern Miss at Mississippi State 7:00 PM ET
Mississippi State is rolling again after suffering its first loss of the season, entering Saturday’s contest against Southern Mississippi in Jackson, Miss., riding a two-game winning streak and seeing guard Quinndary Weatherspoon surpass 1,000 career points. Weatherspoon scored 21 points to lead the way in Wednesday’s 64-48 victory over Little Rock, helping the Bulldogs overcome a sluggish start that found Mississippi State nursing a three-point halftime lead.
Illinois at Missouri 8:00 PM ET
Missouri looks to extend its winning streak to six games when it travels to St. Louis on Saturday to take on Illinois in the 37th annual Braggin' Rights matchup at Scottrade Center. The Tigers are looking to complete a perfect December for the first time since 2011-12, while the Fighting Illini are hoping to bounce back from last Saturday's loss to New Mexico State in Chicago.
New Mexico St. at Miami-Florida 10:00 PM ET
Miami entered this weekend’s Diamond Head Classic as heavy favorites, and that remains the case following Friday’s first-round victory over host Hawaii. The No. 7 Hurricanes, one of four remaining unbeaten teams in Division I, aim for their 11th straight victory Saturday when they face New Mexico State at the Stan Sherriff Center in Honolulu.