Preview Roundups
March 09, 2017
Illinois at Michigan 12:00 PM ET
Illinois spent most of the last month trying to cool off John Groce's hot seat after digging itself into a huge hole, only to further reduce whatever slim chance it had of saving its coach's job by losing to the worst team in the conference. The ninth-seeded Illini attempt to pick up the pieces following a troubling defeat in their regular-season finale over the weekend when they face No. 8 seed Michigan in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
Miami-Florida at North Carolina 12:00 PM ET
North Carolina begins its pursuit of a potential second straight ACC tournament title and seeks payback for a lopsided loss earlier this season when it meets Miami (Fla.) in a quarterfinal matchup Thursday in Brooklyn, N.Y. The No. 1-seeded Tar Heels are primed to defend their tourney crown after claiming the regular-season championship in one of the league's most competitive campaigns.
St. John's at Villanova 12:00 PM ET
Villanova accomplished virtually all of its goals last season with one notable exception - a Big East tournament title. The second-ranked Wildcats arrive in New York City as the top seed in this year's event and will begin their quest for a tournament championship Thursday against St. John's in a quarterfinal contest.
Oklahoma St. at Iowa St. 12:30 PM ET
Two of the league's most impressive point guards will take center stage when fifth-seeded Oklahoma State tangles with No. 4 seed Iowa State on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The Cowboys’ Jawun Evans leads the conference in assists (6.3), ranks second in scoring (18.7) and fourth in steals (1.9), while the Cyclones' Monte Morris joined Evans on the All-Big 12 first team, averaging 16.2 points while sporting a NCAA-best 6.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Texas-San Antonio at Middle Tennessee St. 12:30 PM ET
Middle Tennessee looks to follow up its first national ranking in the program’s history with a strong run in the postseason as the top seed begins play in the Conference USA tournament Thursday against ninth seed Texas-San Antonio in the quarterfinals at Birmingham, Ala. The 25th-ranked Blue Raiders, who shocked Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament last year, have won seven straight contests and 17 of 18.
Tennessee at Georgia 1:00 PM ET
Georgia opens the SEC tournament against Tennessee on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn., without all-SEC first-team honoree Yante Maten, who is sidelined with a knee injury. Should Georgia find a way to reach the NCAA tournament, the belief is Maten would be able to return, but his status for the league tournament is murky – and so are the Bulldogs’ NCAA hopes.
Penn St. at Michigan St 2:25 PM ET
Fifth-seeded Michigan State looks to defend its Big Ten Tournament title when it tangles with No. 13 seed Penn State in the second round on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The Spartans are on the bubble following back-to-back losses to Illinois (73-70) and Maryland (63-60) to end the regular-season and hope to take a big step toward their 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance by improving to 37-8 all-time against the Nittany Lions.
Seton Hall at Marquette 2:30 PM ET
Seton Hall begins defense of its Big East Tournament title when it meets Marquette on Thursday in the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fifth-seeded Pirates and fourth-seeded Golden Eagles split a pair of games in early January and each was decided by three points.
Texas Christian at Kansas 2:30 PM ET
Top-ranked Kansas will be without one of its star players when the Jayhawks meet TCU in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals Thursday in Kansas City. Freshman guard Josh Jackson will serve a one-game suspension related to a Feb. 2 traffic incident, perhaps leaving the door open for an upset by the eighth-seeded Horned Frogs, who routed No. 9 seed Oklahoma 82-63 on Wednesday.
Arizona State at Oregon 3:00 PM ET
Oregon’s bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West region begins Thursday at the Pac-12 quarterfinals in Las Vegas as the top-seeded Ducks face No. 8 seed Arizona State. Oregon was tested by the Sun Devils on Feb. 2 in Eugene before Pac-12 player of the year Dillon Brooks took over in the final three minutes and pushed the Ducks to a 71-70 victory.
Mississippi St. at Alabama 3:00 PM ET
Alabama's biggest win of the season came in a four-overtime stunner against nationally-ranked South Carolina, and the fifth-seeded Crimson Tide would love nothing more than to repeat the feat but first they will need to get past Mississippi State on Thursday in the second round of the SEC tournament in Nashville. The 12th-seeded Bulldogs advanced with a one-sided win over LSU, but lost twice to Alabama during the regular season.
Duke at Louisville 3:30 PM ET
A year after a self-imposed postseason ban, Louisville returns to the ACC tournament as the fourth seed and with a chip on its shoulder. The ninth-ranked Cardinals begin tourney play Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn, N.Y. with a quarterfinal matchup against 14th-ranked and No. 5 seed Duke.
East Carolina at Temple 3:30 PM ET
Eighth-seeded Temple rides into its first-round contest against No. 9 seed East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference tournament at Hartford, Conn., with a two-game win streak and a chip on its shoulder. The Owls lost 78-64 at East Carolina on Feb. 15, prompting Temple sophomore guard Shizz Alston Jr. to tell reporters: "We know we didn't play our best basketball that game and have to come out stronger this game."
California at Utah 5:30 PM ET
Two teams looking to prove they belong among the Pac-12 elite meet Thursday in the semifinals of the conference tournament in Las Vegas as fourth-seeded Utah faces No. 5 seed California. Neither team defeated higher seeds Oregon, Arizona or UCLA during the regular season, but they’re hoping for another chance this week.
Tulane at Tulsa 6:00 PM ET
Cameron Reynolds looks for a repeat performance when he leads 10th-seeded Tulane against No. 7 seed Tulsa in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Hartford, Conn., on Thursday. Reynolds scored a career-high 31 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers as the Green Wave defeated the Golden Hurricane in the regular-season finale for both teams Sunday.
Indiana at Iowa 6:30 PM ET
Perhaps no two Big Ten teams have defied expectations this season - in opposite ways - more than Iowa and Indiana. The two teams will meet for the second time in just over two weeks Thursday when the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes attempt to keep their late-season momentum rolling against the 10th-seeded Hoosiers in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Washington, D.C.
Virginia Tech at Florida St. 7:00 PM ET
Florida State surprised many by grabbing the second seed in the ACC tournament and gets its first chance to validate that lofty position Thursday against seventh seed Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals at Brooklyn, N.Y. The 17th-ranked Seminoles won three of their final four games of the regular season while winning the tiebreaker over Notre Dame and Louisville after going 12-6 in league play – four wins better than 2015-16.
Xavier at Butler 7:00 PM ET
Butler already has defeated Xavier twice this season, and a third victory would send the 20th-ranked Bulldogs into the semifinals of the Big East tournament. Second-seeded Butler and seventh-seeded Xavier square off in New York City on Thursday in a matchup that could determine the Musketeers' NCAA Tournament fate.
Texas at West Virginia 7:00 PM ET
Eleventh-ranked West Virginia enters the Big 12 tournament as the No. 2 seed for the second year in a row. The Mountaineers will meet an early candidate for Cinderella in the quarterfinals on Thursday, when they face tenth-seeded Texas - a 61-52 upset winner over No. 7 seed Texas Tech in the first round.
Texas A&M at Vanderbilt 7:00 PM ET
Depending upon which prognosticator is doing the talking, Vanderbilt may or may not have a shot at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. But one thing is for certain - the Commodores must defeat Texas A&M in their first game of the SEC tournament in Nashville on Thursday to remain anywhere in the vicinity of the bubble.
South Florida at Connecticut 8:00 PM ET
A season-ending four-game losing streak cost Connecticut a first-round bye in the American Athletic Conference tournament. The Huskies begin trying to salvage their season when they host South Florida in Hartford, Conn., on Thursday, needing to win four games in four days to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers at Northwestern 8:30 PM ET
Sixth-seeded Northwestern looks to make a deep run in the Big Ten tournament when it takes on 14th-seeded Rutgers in a second-round contest Thursday in Washington, D.C. The Wildcats all but cemented a place in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history following a 67-65 win against Michigan on March 1, which was their school-record 21st victory of the season.
Virginia at Notre Dame 9:00 PM ET
Third-seeded Notre Dame finished the regular season with six wins in seven games and hopes to ride that momentum when it takes on sixth seed Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament Thursday in Brooklyn, N.Y. The 16th-ranked Fighting Irish scored at least 80 points in five of six contests before losing 71-64 on Saturday at Louisville, but have lost 10 straight games against Virginia.
Kansas St. at Baylor 9:00 PM ET
Baylor’s Johnathan Motley wants to make history, while Kansas State’s Wesley Iwundu doesn’t want to get caught up in the postseason hype. One thing is for certain, defense will certainly be on display Thursday when the third-seeded Bears and sixth-seeded Wildcats take the floor to play the rubber game in the final quarterfinal game of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Colorado at Arizona 9:00 PM ET
Arizona will begin its quest to win a Pac-12-record sixth tournament title when the top-seeded Wildcats meet seventh-seeded Colorado in the quarterfinals Thursday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Arizona also owns the most tournament victories (27) in the 19-year history of the event, but they'll need to beat a confident Colorado team that overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Washington State in the first round.
Missouri at Mississippi 9:00 PM ET
Ole Miss hopes to start a drive to prove it deserves a postseason berth of some kind when it takes on surprising Missouri in the second round of the SEC tournament in Nashville on Thursday. The sixth-seeded Rebels have a shot at a 20th victory on the campaign for the ninth time in coach Andy Kennedy's 11 seasons, but they'll have to beat the 14th-seeded Tigers, who are coming off a come-from-behind overtime victory over Auburn in the opening round.
Creighton at Providence 9:30 PM ET
In a conference featuring the defending national champion and seven 19-win-plus teams among its 10 members, no one is hotter than Providence, which brings a six-game win streak into the Big East tournament. The third-seeded Friars will try to pad their roll Thursday night when they take on sixth-seeded Creighton in the quarterfinals at New York’s famed Madi
Southern California at UCLA 11:30 PM ET
UCLA suffered a massive scare when freshman T.J. Leaf had to be helped off the floor eight days ago, but Bruins coach Steve Alford said he "fully anticipates" Leaf will be ready for the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal Thursday night against crosstown rival USC in Las Vegas. Leaf's value to third-seeded UCLA is deep and varied, as the 6-10 forward is second on the team in scoring (16.3) and rebounding (8.4) and is the team's most accurate 3-point shooter (46.2 percent), giving the fifth-seeded Tro