TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | WIRELESS

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra! Sports Extra Tulsa World Follow us on ...


SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain

Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler

The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Preview Roundups
January 28, 2017
Texas A&M at West Virginia 12:00 PM ET
West Virginia looks to build on its signature win over Kansas on Saturday as the 18th-ranked Mountaineers host Texas A&M in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Senior wing Esa Ahmad broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 27 points to help the Mountaineers snap the Jayhawks' 18-game winning streak in Tuesday’s 85-69 victory, and he’ll need another strong outing against the surging Aggies.
Wisconsin at Rutgers 12:00 PM ET
No. 15 Wisconsin looks to continue its winning ways when it travels to New York City to face Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The red-hot Badgers have won 13 of their last 14 games, including four in a row in Big Ten play, to move into a first-place tie with 23rd-ranked Maryland at the top of the conference standings.
Notre Dame at Georgia Tech 12:00 PM ET
After a seven-game winning streak, No. 12 Notre Dame has dropped two of its past three and travels Saturday to face a Georgia Tech team that already has sprung its share of upsets in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets blasted eighth-ranked Florida State 78-56 on Wednesday, while the Fighting Irish were smothered in a 71-54 home defeat Tuesday by Virginia.
Clemson at Pittsburgh 12:00 PM ET
Perhaps Clemson and Pittsburgh can share sob stories when the ACC rivals square off Saturday afternoon on the Panthers' home court. Pitt has lost five straight contests and is coming off the worst home defeat in the history of the conference, while the Tigers are trying to avoid their seventh straight setback.
Florida St. at Syracuse 12:00 PM ET
No. 8 Florida State will attempt to bounce back from its worst loss of the season when it visits Syracuse on Saturday. The Seminoles — one of the biggest surprises in college basketball — produced a shockingly lackluster showing in a 22-point loss at Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
North Carolina at Miami-Florida 1:00 PM ET
Miami (Fla.) begins a rough stretch to end the regular season with six of 11 games against ranked teams when it hosts No. 6 North Carolina in an ACC matchup Saturday afternoon. The Hurricanes had lost four of five before holding on for a 78-77 victory over Boston College on Wednesday and will get a bit of a break as first-place North Carolina must go after its eighth straight win on just a day and half of rest.
Central Florida at Tulsa 1:30 PM ET
Central Florida visits Tulsa on Saturday with third place in the American Athletic Conference on the line as both teams look to rebound from defeats. The Knights are coming off five-point losses to Memphis and second-place SMU, while the Golden Hurricane had their four-game winning streak snapped by eighth-place East Carolina on Wednesday.
Florida at Oklahoma 2:00 PM ET
With a massive SEC matchup on the horizon, No. 25 Florida steps out of conference play to visit Oklahoma on Saturday in another edition of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Although they recently dropped two straight games, the Gators are still in the hunt in the conference and have two upcoming meetings with first-place Kentucky - the first of which comes at home next Saturday.
Louisiana State at Texas Tech 2:00 PM ET
Texas Tech begins an important four-game stretch when it hosts struggling LSU in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday afternoon. The Red Raiders play Texas, Oklahoma and TCU – three teams that join them under .500 in the Big 12 – after taking on LSU, which has dropped six in a row, before meeting three straight ranked teams in mid-February.
Kansas St. at Tennessee 2:00 PM ET
After keeping its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a signature win over Kentucky, Tennessee aims for a repeat performance Saturday against visiting Kansas State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Volunteers’ bench outscored Kentucky’s reserves 37–4 on Tuesday as coach Rick Barnes relied on his depth to help secure the 82–80 victory.
Providence at Marquette 2:00 PM ET
Marquette has made a big splash with back-to-back wins over highly-ranked opponents and it will try to avoid a letdown when it hosts Providence on Saturday in a Big East tilt. After knocking off then-No. 7 Creighton last weekend, the Golden Eagles picked up a program-altering victory with a 74-72 triumph over No. 2 Villanova on Tuesday.
Maryland at Minnesota 2:15 PM ET
No. 23 Maryland looks to stay hot and win its sixth straight game when it travels to face a reeling Minnesota squad in a Big Ten matchup on Saturday afternoon. The Terrapins enter the game tied with Wisconsin atop the conference standings, while the Golden Gophers are desperate for a victory after having dropped their last four contests.
DePaul at Creighton 2:30 PM ET
Creighton cruised to the best start in school history with Maurice Watson Jr. in the lineup, but life without the senior point guard has the Bluejays possibly on the verge of falling out of the top-25 in short order. Coming off its worst defeat of the season, No. 16 Creighton attempts to end a two-game losing streak and get back on track Saturday when it hosts DePaul.
Duke at Wake Forest 3:00 PM ET

Coach Mike Krzyzewski has been relegated to watching 17th-ranked Duke from afar since having back surgery early this month, and he hasn’t liked what he has seen. Krzyzewski reportedly has banned players from the locker room and from wearing team apparel “until they start living up to the standards of the Duke program” – which they hope to work toward when they visit Wake Forest on Saturday. 

East Carolina at Memphis 3:30 PM ET
If it truly hopes to be an NCAA Tournament team, Memphis cannot afford to slip up in Saturday's American Athletic Conference game against visiting East Carolina. The Tigers weren't themselves on the defensive end of the court in falling to a .500 Temple squad Wednesday and a repeat of that effort against the Pirates could doom their postseason aspirations.
Arkansas at Oklahoma St. 4:00 PM ET
Oklahoma State and Arkansas seemingly couldn't get enough of each other for over four decades, playing 44 times from 1930-1971, before it all came to a screeching halt. The two teams meet for only the fifth time in the last 46 years - and first time since 2003 - Saturday as the Razorbacks visit the Cowboys as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Texas at Georgia 4:00 PM ET
Texas travels to Georgia on Saturday for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge hoping to win consecutive games for the first time since mid-November. The Longhorns snapped a five-game skid with Monday’s 84-83 home victory over Oklahoma, and perhaps the opportunity to step outside of their rugged conference schedule will give Texas an opportunity to build momentum.
Iowa St. at Vanderbilt 4:00 PM ET
All eyes will be on Iowa State senior point guard Monte Morris when the Cyclones travel to Vanderbilt Saturday to play in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Morris needs just three assists to break Jeff Hornacek's 30-year-old school record.
Illinois at Penn St. 4:30 PM ET
Illinois looks to win back-to-back games in Big Ten play for the first time since March 2015 when it hits the road to tangle with Penn State on Saturday. The Fighting Illini ended a three-game slide with an impressive 76-64 win against Iowa on Wednesday to give embattled head coach John Groce some respite from his critics.
Mississippi St. at Alabama 6:00 PM ET
Alabama followed its worst effort of the season with one of its best - and will look to carry that momentum forward Saturday evening as it returns home to face Mississippi State in an SEC contest. Avery Johnson's Crimson Tide were stomped by 20 points at Auburn, then promptly trounced Georgia by the same margin in their very next game.
Auburn at Texas Christian 6:00 PM ET
Two teams coming off humbling road losses meet Saturday evening as TCU hosts Auburn as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Horned Frogs look to rebound after getting thrashed 89-76 against Oklahoma State - their third loss in a row - while Auburn is still reeling from a 29-point loss to No. 24 South Carolina.
Baylor at Mississippi 6:00 PM ET
Big 12 Conference co-leader Baylor takes a break from league play when it travels to Ole Miss on Saturday. The contest is part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, a competition that the Bears are 3-0 in with wins over Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Georgia.
Kansas at Kentucky 6:15 PM ET
With one of the most anticipated non-conference games of the season on tap, Kansas coach Bill Self and his team have been more engrossed with matters off the court that surfaced this week. With several of his players listed as potential witnesses in a reported rape of a 16-year-old girl at the dormitory that houses the top-ranked basketball team, the Jayhawks have understandably been less then focused leading up to their showdown at No. 4 Kentucky on Saturday in the fourth annual SEC/Big 12 Chal
Oregon St. at Utah 7:00 PM ET
Oregon State and Utah were hoping to carry some momentum heading into their Pac-12 meeting Saturday, but instead they'll be trying to regroup when they collide in Salt Lake City. The Beavers missed a chance to post their first conference win of the season when they lost Thursday at Colorado, the same day the Utes came up short of beating their first quality opponent this season in a loss to No. 10 Oregon.
Ohio St. at Iowa 8:00 PM ET
Ohio State and Iowa entered the weekend in a knot of six teams tied for eighth in the Big Ten and they'll look to separate themselves from the bottom of the pack when they meet Saturday in Iowa City. Ohio State has won three of its last four games after starting 0-4 in conference play, most recently handing Minnesota its fourth straight loss, and the Hawkeyes come in riding a three-game losing streak that followed an impressive win against then-No. 17 Purdue.
Tulane at Connecticut 8:00 PM ET
Connecticut looks to notch its first three-game winning streak of the season when it hosts Tulane in an American Athletic Conference game Saturday night. The Huskies got a double-double from Jalen Adams, blasting South Florida on the road last game.
Georgetown at Butler 8:00 PM ET
No. 11 Butler had relied on scorching second halves in recent games, but got back to basics Wednesday at DePaul to achieve a program-first. The Bulldogs return home after two road victories and will try to maintain their spot atop the Big East standings when Georgetown visits Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday.
South Carolina at Missouri 8:30 PM ET

If there was one game that did the most damage to South Carolina’s postseason resume a season ago, it was a stunning loss at Missouri. The 24th-ranked Gamecocks don’t plan on repeating the same mistake when they travel to face the Tigers on Saturday.

Oregon at Colorado 9:30 PM ET

With 17 straight victories, Oregon is riding the longest win streak in program history. Now, the 10th-ranked Ducks will try to add another milestone Saturday as they seek their first-ever win in Boulder when they visit Colorado.

Gonzaga at Pepperdine 10:00 PM ET
Third-ranked Gonzaga has won 21 consecutive contests and can match the school record set in 2014-15 when it visits Pepperdine on Saturday for a West Coast Conference matchup. A victory also could conceivably elevate the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the country on Monday, as top-ranked Kansas and No. 2 Villanova lost games this week.
Temple at Houston 10:00 PM ET
Temple and Houston each posted a much-needed victory their last time out, and both squads will look for a second straight win when they meet Saturday in Houston. The Owls lost three straight before topping Memphis, while the Cougars snapped a three-game skid with a win over Tulane.
St. Mary's at Santa Clara 11:00 PM ET
Saint Mary's is fully aware that it cannot afford another slip-up in the West Coast Conference if it is to entertain thoughts of a league title as it visits Santa Clara on Saturday. The No. 21 Gaels are coming off a 66-46 victory over San Francisco on Thursday - their third straight win since a 79-56 loss to No. 3 Gonzaga on Jan. 14 - and must stay focused before they get a chance to avenge the setback to the Bulldogs on Feb. 11.