Preview Roundups
January 05, 2019
Central Florida at Connecticut 12:00 PM ET
After stumbling badly in its first true road game of the season, Connecticut returns home and will try to avoid a third consecutive defeat against Central Florida on Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Conn. The Huskies have dominated the series with the Golden Knights, winning 11 of 13 overall and all six at home against their American Athletic Conference rivals.
Creighton at Butler 12:00 PM ET
Butler looks to avoid an 0-2 start to its Big East season when it hosts Creighton on Saturday afternoon. The Bluejays won their conference opener 79-68 at Providence on Monday for their third straight victory, while the Bulldogs lost to Georgetown 84-76 on Wednesday for their second straight setback.
Michigan St at Ohio St. 12:00 PM ET
Teams that haven't lost since November square off when No. 7 Michigan State travels to face No. 12 Ohio State in a key Big Ten matchup Saturday afternoon. The Spartans are coming off an 81-55 rout of Northwestern on Wednesday for their seventh straight victory, while the Buckeyes have won six in a row, the most recent an 82-64 victory over High Point last Saturday.
Boston College at Virginia Tech 12:00 PM ET
Virginia Tech looks to make it two consecutive home wins to open its ACC schedule when it hosts Boston College on Saturday afternoon. The 10th-ranked Hokies are coming off a dominating win over Notre Dame on New Year’s Day, while the Eagles are playing their conference opener.
Syracuse at Notre Dame 12:00 PM ET
Syracuse kicks off its ACC schedule with a visit to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The Orange finished their non-conference play on a two-game winning streak, while the Fighting Irish fell at No. 10 Virginia Tech in their first conference action on New Year’s Day.
North Carolina at Pittsburgh 12:00 PM ET
Teams with identical records but with dissimilar views of where each team sits entering ACC play meet Saturday when North Carolina visits Pittsburgh in the league opener for both. The 15th-ranked Tar Heels will be looking for more consistency on both sides of the court as they attempt to prove they're league-championship material, while the vastly-improved Panthers have much more modest goals, such as snapping a 20-game conference losing streak that dates to 2016-17.
Kentucky at Alabama 1:00 PM ET
Kentucky has dominated its rivalry with Alabama throughout the years, although much of the recent success has come away from Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide play their first home game in the series since Feb. 11, 2016, and attempt to end their 10-game losing streak against one of college basketball's bluebloods Saturday when they host the 14th-ranked Wildcats in the SEC opener for both squads.
St. John's at Georgetown 1:00 PM ET
Transferring is becoming more widespread in college basketball, but St. John's has raised the bar with eight of its 13 scholarship players coming from elsewhere. Red Storm coach Chris Mullin has quickly meshed his newcomers with the existing talent and they'll try to build off Tuesday's victory over No. 18 Marquette when they try to snap a 13-game losing streak at Georgetown on Saturday in a Big East game.
Cincinnati at East Carolina 1:00 PM ET
Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin would without a doubt like Saturday's game at East Carolina to be as easy as Wednesday's 93-61 victory at home over Tulane. The Bearcats bring a three-game winning streak into their conference road opener against the Pirates, who dropped their American Athletic Conference opener at SMU.
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma 2:00 PM ET
Oklahoma saw a seven-game win streak come to an end Wednesday as the No. 25 Sooners opened conference play with a 70-63 road loss to No. 6 Kansas. The Sooners will open their Big 12 home schedule with a Bedlam matchup for the second year in a row when Oklahoma State visits intrastate rival Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon.
Kansas State at Texas Tech 2:00 PM ET
With Kansas State having to play without its top two scorers and No. 11 Texas Tech featuring one of the best defenses in the country, Saturday's matchup in Manhattan seems like a mismatch. The Wildcats will have to find some semblance of offense against a Red Raiders team that leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense (33.4) and is second in scoring defense (52.8) but barely got past West Virginia in their Big 12 opener.
Villanova at Providence 2:00 PM ET
After squeaking its way to a victory in the Big East opener, Villanova aims for an easier win Saturday when it visits Providence. The Wildcats didn't lead against DePaul until fewer than eight minutes remained in Wednesday's contest before rallying for a 73-68 victory.
Maryland at Rutgers 2:00 PM ET
After a big victory over a ranked team, Maryland hopes to have conquered some issues with close games and will try to build momentum when it visits Rutgers for a Big Ten battle on Saturday afternoon. The Terrapins won their first single-digit game this season against Delaware, but dropped three of four such contests before defeating No. 23 Nebraska 74-72 on Wednesday.
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech 2:00 PM ET
Freshman Jaylen Hoard has made a big impact for Wake Forest through non-conference play, and the Demon Deacons hope he can continue to lead the way as they open their ACC schedule Saturday at Georgia Tech. Hoard recorded 23 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s victory over Cornell -- his second 20-point/15-rebound outing of the season -- and the forward averages 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest as Wake Forest looks to snap a four-game losing streak in conference openers.
Utah at Arizona 2:00 PM ET
Utah found its offensive groove at just the right
time Thursday night, rallying from a 17-point deficit to stun Arizona State.
The Runnin’ Utes now have a road trip sweep in their sights as they visit
Arizona on Saturday afternoon.
Florida State at Virginia 3:00 PM ET
The ACC has four teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest Coaches Poll and two of them will meet Saturday when No. 9 Florida State puts a seven-game winning streak on the line at unbeaten and second-ranked Virginia in the league opener for both teams. The Cavaliers, usually known for their dominant defense, have showcased a more prolific offensive attack that led the way to a 100-64 rout of Marshall on New Year's Eve.
Georgia at Tennessee 3:30 PM ET
Third-ranked Tennessee knows it is one of the top targets in the SEC as league play begins with Saturday’s home game against Georgia, a byproduct of tying for the conference regular-season title in 2018 and beginning this campaign with 11 victories in 12 games. Sparked by SEC-leading scorer Grant Williams and the versatile Admiral Schofield, the Volunteers' only stumble came in overtime against Kansas, but head coach Rick Barnes cautioned his team has to keep playing well.
Baylor at Texas Christian 4:00 PM ET
The only two Big 12 teams who have yet to play a conference game kick off their league seasons Saturday when TCU hosts Baylor. TCU has won eight games in a row with seven of those victories coming by double digits.
California at UCLA 4:00 PM ET
In-season coaching changes don’t always achieve the desired effect, but UCLA certainly appears re-energized this week. The Bruins look to build on their newfound momentum Saturday against visiting California, which opened Pac-12 play with Thursday’s 82-73 loss to USC.
Kansas at Iowa State 5:00 PM ET
Kansas has long since been the premier team atop the Big 12, routinely thwarting challenger after challenger en route to capturing 14 consecutive conference titles. The sixth-ranked Jayhawks will look to turn back upstart Iowa State's bid for a signature win on Saturday when the teams meet at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
Arkansas at Texas A&M 6:00 PM ET
Arkansas and host Texas A&M will bring plenty of new faces to an old rivalry when they open SEC play Saturday. Each side has three players in its regular rotation with SEC experience entering the 158th meeting between the former Southwest Conference foes.
South Florida at Tulsa 6:00 PM ET
South Florida has already passed its win total from last season after a confidence-building victory at home and looks to carry the momentum on the road when it visits Tulsa on Saturday in an American Athletic Conference matchup. The Bulls have won seven straight games for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign after rallying from a double-digit first-half deficit and then holding on for a 76-68 win over Connecticut on Wednesday.
Colorado at Arizona State 6:00 PM ET
Strong season starts have faded noticeably of
late for Arizona State and Colorado, which meet Saturday afternoon in Tempe.
Both teams are 9-4 and 0-1 in Pac-12 play after each has dropped three of its
last four games following 8-1 starts.
South Carolina at Florida 7:00 PM ET
Florida hopes a difficult non-conference schedule has prepared it for the rigors of SEC play, which begins Saturday against visiting South Carolina, but there is certainly no guarantee. The Gators own victories over Power 5 teams such as Stanford and West Virginia while splitting with Butler of the Big East, and have losses to learn from against No. 7 Michigan State, No. 9 Florida State and No. 25 Oklahoma.
Clemson at Duke 8:00 PM ET
Top-ranked Duke returns from a two-week layoff and aims for its 18th consecutive home win over Clemson when both teams open ACC play on Saturday. The Tigers have not won at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995.
Oregon St. at Oregon 8:00 PM ET
Oregon was the pick to win the Pac-12 Conference in the conference's preseason poll. But the Ducks limp into Saturday night's conference opener with Civil War rival Oregon State with only eight healthy scholarship players following the devastating news on Thursday that star freshman center Bol Bol is ending his college career after undergoing foot surgery.
Nevada at New Mexico 8:00 PM ET
After matching the the best start in school history with a surprisingly lopsided win over Utah State, fifth-ranked Nevada plays its first Mountain West road game of the season on Saturday night when travels to New Mexico. It will be the Wolf Pack's first trip to The Pit since pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in college basketball history nearly one year ago.
Mississippi at Vanderbilt 8:30 PM ET
Vanderbilt continues to get better despite the loss of projected NBA lottery pick Darius Garland and tries to keep the progress going when it hosts Ole Miss on Saturday in the SEC opener for both teams. The Commodores have leaned on Saben Lee - one of four players returning from last season - and the sophomore guard has responded well with his decision-making, leadership and consistent offense.
Santa Clara at Gonzaga 9:00 PM ET
Eighth-ranked Gonzaga begins pursuit of its seventh consecutive West Coast Conference regular-season title when it hosts Santa Clara on Saturday. The Bulldogs, who look to beat the Broncos for the 18th straight time, have won their past four games by an average of 43.8 points.
West Virginia at Texas 9:00 PM ET
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has spent the better part of the season finding different ways to tell anyone who will listen how frustrated he is with his team's penchant for not taking care of the ball. Coming off yet another defeat in which turnovers cost them a potential win, the Mountaineers attempt to overcome a close loss in their Big 12 opener when they visit Texas on Saturday.
Washington St. at Washington 10:30 PM ET
Washington has earned a reputation as slow starters, but coach Mike Hopkins hopes to shed that label when the Huskies open Pac-12 play Saturday against visiting Washington State. The Huskies have trailed at halftime in eight of their 13 games and would love to grab an early lead against the rival Cougars, who have lost three straight.