Preview Roundups
December 22, 2017
Temple at Georgia 1:00 PM ET
Georgia did a good job of pushing aside a disappointing performance that took some of the shine off its strong start to the season when it throttled in-state rival Georgia Tech, and gets another chance for an impressive nonconference victory when it hosts Temple on Friday. The Bulldogs were upended last Saturday at UMass in arguably their poorest performance of the season, but put away Georgia Tech with a dominant second half and another stellar showing from forward Yante Maten.
Texas Rio Grande Valley at Oklahoma State 1:00 PM ET
Oklahoma State gets one last tuneup before Big 12 play begins a week later as The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley comes to town for a Friday matinee. The Cowboys are on a roll after knocking off No. 24 Florida State on Saturday followed by a solid win over Tulsa to give them their second straight 9-2 start.
UL Lafayette at Clemson 3:00 PM ET
The ACC is on the verge of having yet another team in the top 25 - but Clemson will first need to take care of business Friday night as it hosts Louisiana Lafayette. The Tigers extended their winning streak to six games with a 64-48 victory over South Carolina last time out and have built an impressive early resume with conference play about to start.
Pacific at Arizona State 3:00 PM ET
At 11-0 as one of four unbeaten Division I teams and
ranked No. 4 nationally, Arizona State is off to the best start in program
history. The Sun Devils are now hoping to put a bow on a perfect nonconference
season with a win over visiting Pacific on Friday afternoon.
Abilene Christian at Texas Tech 3:00 PM ET
No. 21 Texas Tech will try to continue its momentum heading into Big 12 Conference play. The Red Raiders host Abilene Christian on Friday looking to extend the country's fourth-longest non-conference home win streak.
Sacred Heart at Providence 6:30 PM ET
With all five projected starters returning from a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, Providence was looking for even bigger and better things in 2017-18. However, coach Ed Cooley would settle for just better - as in feeling better - when his Friars close out non-conference play when Sacred Heart visits Friday.
St. Bonaventure at Syracuse 7:00 PM ET
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim knows that nothing is going to come easy this season. That said, the Orange are 10-1 so far in non-conference play and have a chance to improve that mark Friday against visiting St. Bonaventure.
Jacksonville at NC State 7:00 PM ET
North Carolina State plays its final non-conference contest before entering Atlantic Coast Conference play when it hosts Jacksonville on Friday. The Wolfpack have won four of their last five, including a triumph over Robert Morris on Tuesday, while the Dolphins are hoping to avoid a three-game losing streak.
Incarnate Word at Florida 7:00 PM ET
Florida showed some improvement on the defensive end of the court last time out and hopes to build on that performance when it hosts Incarnate Word on Friday in the final tune-up before SEC play begins. The Gators held James Madison to 37.5 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers to earn a 72-63 victory on Wednesday, ending a two-game slide on their home court.
Alcorn St. at Vanderbilt 7:00 PM ET
Vanderbilt looks to build some momentum when it hosts Alcorn State on Friday in its final non-conference game before Southeastern Conference play begins. The Commodores snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a rout of Houston Baptist, while the Braves have won three of four - including an easy victory over Blue Mountain College on Monday.
Northwestern at Oklahoma 7:00 PM ET
Oklahoma freshman Trae Young looks to continue the scorching start to his collegiate career when the 17th-ranked Sooners host Northwestern on Friday. Young scored 26 points and matched a Division I record with 22 assists in the 105-68 victory against Northwestern State on Tuesday, and the freshman phenom hopes to stay hot by leading Oklahoma to its eighth straight win overall.
Stony Brook at Rutgers 7:00 PM ET
Steve Pikiell will take on his old team Thursday when Rutgers faces Stony Brook in one of its final non-conference games of the season. The Scarlet Knights can build off their solid victory over No. 22 Seton Hall by holding off the Seawolves for the second straight season.
Rider at Penn St. 7:00 PM ET
Penn State looks to extend its non-conference home winning streak to nine games when it battles Rider on Friday. The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive games overall, including an 80-65 victory against Binghamton on Tuesday to reach 10 wins by the month of December for the first time since the 2014-15 season, and hope to continue their winning ways by avenging an 82-73 defeat to Rider in their last meeting in 2007.
Hampton at Virginia 7:00 PM ET
No. 14 Virginia is rounding into shape for the start of the ACC season next week and hopes to gain a little more momentum when it hosts Hampton in the final non-conference tune-up Friday night. The Cavaliers played their patented strong defense the last two games after an 11-day break for finals and showed some offensive progress in victories over Davidson and Savannah State.
Towson at Pittsburgh 7:00 PM ET
Not accustomed to playing with leads, Pittsburgh nearly squandered a 22-point halftime advantage last time out against Delaware State. Playing without leader Ryan Luther again for a second straight contest, Friday at home against a formidable Towson team in the final non-conference tune-up, Panthers coach Kevin Stallings will see if his team learned any valuable lessons from Tuesday.
Bradley at Mississippi 7:00 PM ET
Ole Miss puts its scoring strength to the test when the Rebels host Bradley on Friday in the final non-conference game for both teams. Ole Miss is looking to win consecutive games for the first time since starting the season with three in a row.
Florida Gulf Coast at Wichita St. 7:00 PM ET
Junior forward Markis McDuffie could make his season debut when No. 11 Wichita State puts its 24-game winning streak at Koch Arena on the line against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday. McDuffie, who led the Shockers in scoring (11.5 points per game) and rebounding (5.7) in 2016-17, has missed the first 11 games this season with a stress fracture in his left foot.
Akron at Southern California 7:30 PM ET
Losers of four of its last six games, USC is hoping a trip to Honolulu helps get things back on track. The shorthanded Trojans conclude their non-conference schedule this weekend with three games at the Diamond Head Classic, starting with Friday’s contest against an Akron team that has won three straight.
Delaware State at Nebraska 8:00 PM ET
The feeling around Nebraska this fall was this season was going to be different than most of the previous ones under sixth-year coach Tim Miles, and its two most recent games have been a perfect illustration of why that appears to be the case. Coming off their highest-scoring effort in 12 years, the Cornhuskers continue their four-game homestand Friday when they host struggling Delaware State.
North Florida at Louisiana State 8:00 PM ET
Skylar Mays does a little bit of everything for LSU, which will play its final non-conference home game Thursday against North Florida. The 6-4 guard from Baton Rouge, La., has been filling up the stat sheet lately for the Tigers, who will meet with the Ospreys for the third time in as many seasons.
Hofstra at Villanova 8:30 PM ET
Villanova has looked every bit like the nation's No. 1 team this season. The top-ranked Wildcats get a chance to make one final non-conference statement Friday when they face Hofstra at Uniondale, N.Y.
Xavier at Northern Iowa 9:00 PM ET
Despite boasting one of the best scoring margins in the nation, No. 8 Xavier has mastered the art of the narrow victory in recent games. The Musketeers will look to extend their winning streak to seven games - and do so a little more comfortably - as they visit Northern Iowa on Friday night.
Colorado at Iowa 9:00 PM ET
Riding a three-game win streak, Iowa is heating
up at the right time while Colorado is trying to find some consistency after
dropping three of its last five. The two teams will match agendas Friday night
when they meet in a nonconference clash at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux
Falls, S.D.
Wright St. at Georgia Tech 9:00 PM ET
It was yet another shaky second half for Georgia Tech on Tuesday against in-state rival Georgia, a theme that has continued to crop up throughout the Yellow Jackets’ nonconference schedule. Georgia Tech hosts Wright State on Friday, its penultimate game before ACC action begins next weekend, and after being outscored by 19 points in the final 20 minutes of an 80-59 blowout loss at Georgia, the Yellow Jackets are seeking answers as they have dropped four of their past five contests.
Texas at Alabama 9:00 PM ET
Texas' Mohamed Bamba and Alabama's Collin Sexton were generally acknowledged as top-10 players in the most recent recruiting cycle, and both players have lived up to their advanced billing so far. Two of college basketball's top freshmen will attempt to lead their teams to a win Friday before beginning conference play next week when the Longhorns face the Crimson Tide in the Vulcan Classic in Birmingham, Ala.
Bethune-Cookman at Washington St. 9:00 PM ET
With the memories of its 6-0 start fading, Washington State tries to get back in the win column when it hosts Bethune-Cookman on Friday. The Cougars have lost four of their last five games after Wednesday's 68-65 loss to Kansas State in a contest in which they trailed by 10 at halftime and led by eight in the second half, but coach Ernie Kent remains confident in his team.
William & Mary at Texas Christian 9:00 PM ET
High-scoring William & Mary is standing between undefeated TCU and a school record. A win Friday night would extend the No. 12 Horned Frogs' nation-leading win streak to 17 games and break the school record set in 1997-98.
Montana at Washington 11:00 PM ET
Washington has one final tuneup before starting Pac-12 play Dec. 29 at USC. And expect an emphasis on defense when the Huskies host a Montana squad that already upset one Power Five conference team, Pittsburgh, this season.