West Virginia at Virginia Tech 12:00 PM ET
Teams seeking a first win against a major-conference school prior to the start of league play hook up Wednesday when Virginia Tech hosts No. 17 West Virginia. The Mountaineers have lost their only game versus a major-conference foe in a 70-54 loss to Virginia, while the Hokies lost by 22 to Iowa State and by two in overtime to Northwestern.
Indiana at Rutgers 1:00 PM ET
Perhaps the low point of the season-ending 15-game losing streak Rutgers suffered a year ago was an 84-54 drubbing at home against Indiana. The Hoosiers return to New Jersey for the first time since that blowout win Wednesday when they visit the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
New Hampshire at Boston College 2:00 PM ET
The non-conference schedule has been difficult at times for a youthful Boston College team, and the rigorous ACC schedule begins this weekend. At the very least, the Eagles can enter league play on a good note if they can get past New Hampshire at home on Wednesday afternoon.
Houston at South Florida 2:00 PM ET
Houston begins American Athletic Conference play with four of its first six games on the road after a non-conference slate that featured some highs and lows. The Cougars, who beat LSU and lost to Grand Canyon in December, go after their third straight victory when they visit struggling USF on Wednesday afternoon in the league opener for both.
Michigan at Illinois 3:00 PM ET
Michigan looks to extend its winning streak to five games when it begins Big Ten play on the road against Illinois on Wednesday. The Wolverines finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with 10 wins for the first time since 2012-13 and hope to build on their success by beating the Fighting Illini for the 10th time in their last 11 games in the series.
Long Beach St. at Duke 4:00 PM ET
The non-conference portion of the schedule had its ups and downs for No. 12 Duke, and the Blue Devils will try to close it out with a positive showing Wednesday against visiting Long Beach State. Duke rebounded from its overtime loss to Utah after eight days off and handily beat Elon on Monday, but will enter ACC play next week without starting forward Amile Jefferson, who fractured his right foot during practice Dec. 12 and is sidelined at least another two weeks.
Northwestern at Nebraska 4:00 PM ET
Nebraska is loaded with young, underachieving talent that
to date has played less than inspiring basketball. Northwestern, on the other
hand, heads to Lincoln to open Big Ten play on Wednesday, playing like a team
on a mission -- to make the NCAA Tournament amazingly for the first time.
Penn St. at Maryland 5:00 PM ET
Maryland has recovered nicely from its only loss of
the season, posting five straight double-digit victories since an 89-81 loss to
North Carolina on Dec. 1. The fourth-ranked Terrapins will be looking to add to
that momentum Wednesday when they tip off Big Ten Conference play with a home
date against Penn State.
Oakland at Virginia 6:00 PM ET
Normally a top-five team playing three days before its conference opener might be in danger of looking ahead, but that will not be the case when fifth-ranked Virginia hosts Oakland on Wednesday in its final game before ACC play starts Saturday. The Cavaliers have won nine in a row but were pushed hard by unranked California in their last contest, and face a Golden Grizzlies squad that took top-ranked Michigan State to overtime last week.
Minnesota at Ohio St. 7:00 PM ET
After
an uneven start to the non-conference portion of its season, Ohio State begins
Big Ten play on a high note having won four straight, including a seven-point
win over then-No. 4 Kentucky on Dec. 19. The Buckeyes on Wednesday host a Minnesota team
that has lost four of its past five games.
Clemson at North Carolina 7:00 PM ET
Eighth-ranked North Carolina looks to continue its historic home dominance of Clemson as both teams open ACC play on Wednesday. The Tigers have not beaten the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill in 57 previous meetings
Seton Hall at Marquette 7:00 PM ET
Marquette will soon find out if its fairly soft non-conference schedule was enough to prepare it for the rigors of Big East play, which kicks off Wednesday against visiting Seton Hall. The Golden Eagles were sluggish and lacked the proper motivation in their final tuneup for conference play, yet still managed to defeat Presbyterian by 18 points last week.
Francis Marion at South Carolina 7:00 PM ET
South Carolina looks to continue its best start in more than eight decades when it hosts NCAA Division II Francis Marion on Wednesday for an in-state matchup. A win would move the 20th-ranked Gamecocks to 12-0 for the first time since a 17-0 start in 1933-34 and give them 12 straight wins – their longest streak since a 12-game run during the 1996-97 campaign.
Coppin St. at Iowa St. 8:00 PM ET
Ninth-ranked Iowa State gets in one final tuneup before starting Big 12 Conference play when it hosts Coppin State on Wednesday night. The Cyclones, who rallied for an 81-79 victory at then-No. 22 Cincinnati in their last game on Dec. 22, open Big 12 play at No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday.
Arkansas at Dayton 8:00 PM ET
Dayton wraps up a difficult non-conference schedule when it hosts Arkansas on Wednesday. The Flyers are 3-1 against major conference opponents with victories against Vanderbilt, Alabama and Iowa, and a loss versus No. 6 Xavier.
Western Michigan at Vanderbilt 9:00 PM ET
Vanderbilt looks to bounce back from a tough loss to nationally-ranked Purdue when it hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday in a non-conference contest. The Commodores held the Boilermakers to 36.2 percent shooting, including 2-of-19 from 3-point range, but still couldn't get the job done on offense in order to pull off the upset.
Syracuse at Pittsburgh 9:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh enjoyed a fairly uneventful run through its non-conference slate, losing to a good Purdue team while defeating 10 small-conference schools. Still, the performance was enough to get the Panthers into the Top 25, and they'll aim to defend their No. 25 spot in the rankings Wednesday against visiting Syracuse.
Georgetown at DePaul 9:00 PM ET
DePaul looks to build on its best effort of the season Wednesday as the Blue Demons host Georgetown in the Big East opener for both teams. DePaul enters on a high note after snapping a three-game losing streak by shooting 55.4 percent in last Tuesday’s dominant 82-61 win over then-No. 20 George Washington.
