Preview Roundups
January 13, 2015
Michigan at Ohio St. 7:00 PM ET
Michigan has tentatively righted the ship and the Wolverines look for their fifth victory in six games when they visit No. 25 Ohio State on Tuesday in Big Ten play. Michigan struggled in December, including a four-game skid in which two of the defeats came against New Jersey Institute of Technology and neighboring Eastern Michigan, before reversing course. The Buckeyes split their first four Big Ten games, including a 69-66 loss to Indiana on Saturday.
Butler at Seton Hall 7:00 PM ET
Sterling Gibbs is doing it all for Seton Hall as the Pirates host Butler on Tuesday in a Big East game. "We have the utmost confidence in Sterling, not just because he hit a big shot," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard told reporters after Gibbs made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to beat Creighton 68-67 on Saturday. "For the fact that he's carrying us right now. Not only is he making those shots, but he's making every play." Gibbs is fourth in the Big East in scoring at 16.4 points per game.
Oklahoma St. at Kansas 7:00 PM ET
No. 24 Oklahoma State quietly has emerged as a factor in the Big 12, and it looks for a second straight upset of a top 25 team when it visits 10th-ranked Kansas on Tuesday. "I like the fight we have and I like the edge that we play with," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said after Saturday's 69-58 win over then-No. 10 Texas. "We're not going to win every game, but I like how they're playing right now." Phil Forte III and Le'Bryan Nash each scored 20 points against the Longhorns.
Arkansas at Tennessee 7:00 PM ET
Arkansas continues to be one of the hotter teams in the SEC - if not the country - having won seven straight games heading into Tuesday's visit to Tennessee. By contrast, the Volunteers are coming off an embarrassing outing against Alabama, scoring 38 points in an 18-point home loss. Tennessee averages 63.9 points and will likely need to exceed that against the No. 19 Razorbacks, who rank seventh in the nation at 83.9 points per game.
Oklahoma at West Virginia 7:00 PM ET
Fifteenth-ranked West Virginia is in the midst of a rugged stretch with three games against ranked Big 12 Conference foes in eight days. And sandwiched in-between last Saturday’s 74-72 home loss to No. 13 Iowa State and this Saturday’s road date with No. 20 Texas is Tuesday’s home contest against No. 18 Oklahoma.
Virginia Tech at Louisville 7:00 PM ET
Louisville coach Rick Pitino stated Saturday’s one-point setback at North Carolina hurt as much as any of his teams have suffered. The seventh-ranked Cardinals look to mend their broken hearts on Tuesday when they host struggling Virginia Tech. Louisville, which had won each of its six games in which it led with five minutes to go this year after losing four such contests last year, watched North Carolina erase a 13-point second-half lead by scoring 22 of the final 30 points in a 72-71 loss.
Penn St. at Indiana 7:00 PM ET
ndiana is trying to make the transition back from giant killers to giants. After knocking off then-No. 20 Ohio State, the Hoosiers look for a second straight win when Penn State visits Tuesday. Indiana, which has advanced past the Sweet 16 just once since the 1992-93 season, put an embarrassing 20-point loss to Michigan State behind it against Ohio State and gained its 18th win over a ranked team since the start of the 2011-12 season - second most in the nation behind Kansas.
VCU at Rhode Island 7:30 PM ET
With the first 150 victories in the books, coach Shaka Smart will go to work on the next 150 when No. 17 VCU hits the road to face fellow Atlantic 10 unbeaten Rhode Island on Tuesday. The Rams built a big lead and coasted to an 89-74 victory over Saint Joseph's on Saturday to give Smart 150 wins in his first 199 games. " I'm appreciative of the guys I have coached," Smart told the media. "They're the ones that have won the games. I've not scored a basket here or gotten a rebound."
Northern Iowa at Bradley 8:00 PM ET
Northern Iowa and its smothering defense visit Bradley on Tuesday in a Missouri Valley Conference game. The No. 22 Panthers held Drake to 11 points in the second half of their 64-40 victory Saturday and are No. 8 in the nation in points allowed at 55.4. "We've had a lot of guys play hard defensively. As a unit, that's the hardest we've played," coach Ben Jacobson told the Mason City Globe Gazette. "That made the most difference. It allowed us to get into an offensive rhythm. ..."
Wake Forest at Syracuse 8:00 PM ET
Jim Boeheim has been around long enough to know that some things - like non-contact injuries - are completely out of his control. After losing freshman Chris McCullough to an ACL tear, Syracuse will put its unblemished conference record on the line Tuesday against visiting Wake Forest. "You can't worry about something that you can't do anything about," Boeheim said Monday, one day after McCullough's right knee gave out while trying to catch a transition pass against Florida State.
Clemson at Virginia 8:00 PM ET
Clemson earned its first ACC victory on Saturday, but to make it two in a row the Tigers’ struggling offense will have to solve the nation’s stingiest defense. The Tigers travel to second-ranked Virginia on Tuesday to face a Cavaliers’ squad allowing a nation-low 51 points per contest and coming off a 62-56 victory Saturday at No. 12 Notre Dame. Clemson’s 71-62 triumph at Pittsburgh on Saturday marked the just third time in 12 games the Tigers have scored 70 or more points.
Alabama at South Carolina 9:00 PM ET
Alabama looks to remain unbeaten in SEC play and claim its seventh consecutive victory when the Crimson Tide travel to South Carolina on Tuesday. Alabama has won six straight since a one-point loss to then-No. 11 Wichita State and has rolled through its first two SEC contests, routing Texas A&M by 21 and thumping Tennessee by 18. The Gamecocks haven't been able to sustain the momentum from a seven-game winning streak and a win over then-No. 9 Iowa State, dropping their first two SEC games.
Missouri at Kentucky 9:00 PM ET
Kentucky has endured three overtime periods in its last two victories, and the top-ranked and undefeated Wildcats hope for an easier time when they host Missouri on Tuesday. The Wildcats have survived scares from Ole Miss and Texas A&M in their first two SEC contests and are one of two undefeated teams in the nation along with Virginia. Kentucky has won all six meetings with Missouri, which split its first two games in league play.
Miami-Florida at Duke 9:00 PM ET
An unbeaten Duke team took its first setback of the season two years ago against North Carolina State and was blown out days later versus Miami (Fla.), which went on to win its first ACC title by a game over the Blue Devils. No. 4 Duke, which hopes to avoid repeating history Tuesday when it hosts the Hurricanes, saw its 15-0 start end versus the Wolfpack on Jan. 12, 2013. Miami pounded the visiting Blue Devils 11 days later 90-63 – the Blue Devils’ worst regular-season loss since January 1984.
Iowa at Minnesota 9:00 PM ET
Minnesota hopes to turn its fortunes around when it hosts Iowa on Tuesday. The Golden Gophers find themselves in a must-win situation in Big Ten play after blowing a nine-point lead at Michigan on Saturday for their fourth straight defeat. Minnesota is ranked 20th nationally in points per game at 78.5, but has been held under 60 twice during its skid, as it looks to beat the Hawkeyes for the third straight time at Williams Arena and avoid its first 0-5 start in conference play since 2005-06.
Mississippi St. at Texas A&M 9:00 PM ET
Texas A&M will try to move on from a heartbreaking 70-64 double overtime loss to No. 1 Kentucky when it hosts Mississippi State on Tuesday. Both teams are still searching for their first win in SEC play. The Bulldogs, who were blown out at Florida 72-47 on Saturday, are also looking to snap a 15-game regular-season SEC losing streak - fourth-longest in league history and one off the school record.
Georgetown at DePaul 9:00 PM ET
Georgetown aims for its first Big East road victory Tuesday when the Hoyas visit DePaul, which opened league play with three surprising wins before crashing back to earth Saturday against Villanova. The Blue Demons have already matched last season's Big East win total, but their 17-point loss to the Wildcats served as a reminder of the team’s weaknesses. They’ll look to bounce back against Georgetown, which had its two-game win streak snapped with Saturday’s 60-57 overtime loss to Providence.
Connecticut at Tulsa 9:30 PM ET
Two teams on the rise meet for the first time in an American Athletic Conference game when Connecticut visits Tulsa on Tuesday. The league’s top scorer, Ryan Boatright, leads defending national champion UConn, which has won five of its last six contests and coach Kevin Ollie told reporters, “We are getting better every game and we are learning from our mistakes.” The Golden Hurricane have won five straight games and are the only undefeated team left in conference play.