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Preview Roundups
February 11, 2017
Texas A&M at Florida 12:00 PM ET
Tied for first place in the SEC with Kentucky and South Carolina, No. 17 Florida goes after its sixth consecutive victory when it hosts Texas A&M on Saturday. The Gators followed an impressive 88-66 win over the 12th-ranked Wildcats with a 72-60 victory at Georgia, while the Aggies have won four of their last five conference games and are coming off a 76-73 triumph over Missouri.
Minnesota at Rutgers 12:00 PM ET
Minnesota looks to extend its modest two-game winning streak when it visits Rutgers for a Big Ten Conference contest on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Gophers have won back-to-back contests following a five-game skid, while the Scarlet Knights have won a total of only two conference games, although one came last weekend against Penn State.
N.C. State at Wake Forest 12:00 PM ET
Wake Forest missed out on a big road victory last time out and faces a must-win situation for its NCAA Tournament hopes Saturday when struggling North Carolina State pays a visit for an ACC battle. The Demon Deacons had won two straight games before coughing up an eight-point lead in the second half en route to an 88-81 loss at Notre Dame on Tuesday.
Kansas St. at West Virginia 12:00 PM ET
No. 14 West Virginia recovered from a disappointing loss with a typical effort and looks to record its 20th victory of the season when it hosts Kansas State on Saturday in a Big 12 battle. The Mountaineers suffered a home loss to Oklahoma State last Saturday before forcing 23 turnovers, accumulating 12 steals and holding Oklahoma to 33.3 percent shooting in a 61-50 victory on Wednesday.
Seton Hall at St. John's 12:00 PM ET
St. John's continues its topsy-turvy season Saturday when it takes on visiting Seton Hall in a Big East game at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm, who spent much of the season rotating between winning and losing streaks, find themselves in win-one, lose-one mode heading down the home stretch.
Marquette at Georgetown 12:00 PM ET
Luke Fischer is set to join some fairly exclusive company for Marquette, which needs a win Saturday at Georgetown to keep its head above water in the Big East. The senior is nine points and two rebounds shy of becoming the 20th player in school history with 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Kentucky at Alabama 1:00 PM ET
Kentucky coach John Calipari cannot explain his team's struggles defensively, but knows those troubles will prevent the No. 12 Wildcats from realizing their goal of winning the school's ninth NCAA Tournament. Kentucky tries to snap a two-game road slide when it visits Alabama on Saturday afternoon and looks for its seventh straight victory over the Crimson Tide, who sit fourth in the SEC behind a first-place logjam involving No. 17 Florida, Kentucky and No. 16 South Carolina.
Syracuse at Pittsburgh 1:00 PM ET
Three weeks ago, Syracuse wasn’t sure it would qualify for the NIT postseason tournament, let alone the Big Dance. However, coming off their most exciting victory of the season, the Orange can again dream about a NCAA Tournament invite as they seek to extend their season-best winning streak to six games when they travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Clemson at Duke 1:00 PM ET

No. 19 Duke hopes to avoid a letdown on the heels of an emotional victory when it hosts struggling Clemson on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils aim for their fifth straight overall victory and their 17th in a row against the Tigers at home.

Miami-Florida at Louisville 2:00 PM ET
After playing for the last month without its floor general and its last game without two other valuable contributors, Louisville appears to finally be nearing full health. The fourth-ranked Cardinals expect to get back point guard Quentin Snider from injury as well as Deng Adel and Mangok Mathiang from one-game suspensions Saturday when they host Miami (Fla.).
Penn St. at Illinois 2:00 PM ET
Penn State looks to build on its biggest win of the season when it travels to Illinois on Saturday. The Nittany Lions shocked No. 22 Maryland 70-64 on Tuesday to notch their fourth victory over a ranked opponent in the last 12 months, and they hope to stay on the winning track by sweeping the season series with the Fighting Illini for the first time since 2008-09.
Texas Christian at Baylor 2:00 PM ET
With 17 wins and currently tied for fourth place in the Big 12, TCU is positioning itself for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998. The one thing lacking on the Horned Frogs' resume however is a win over a top-25 opponent, something they'll try to change Saturday afternoon when they travel to eighth-ranked Baylor.
Kansas at Texas Tech 2:00 PM ET
Many Kansas fans feel the closeness of many of the Jayhawks games is an indication there is something missing with this year’s squad. Despite that outlook, third-ranked Kansas holds a one-game lead over Baylor in search of a 13th straight Big 12 title and looks for a season sweep against Texas Tech when it visits Lubbock on Saturday.
Creighton at DePaul 2:00 PM ET
Creighton discovered there was life after losing point guard Maurice Watson Jr. in the middle of last month following a late-January victory over DePaul. Coming off their third defeat in five full games without Watson, the 23rd-ranked Bluejays hope to rebound from another setback on Saturday when they visit the Blue Demons.
Villanova at Xavier 2:30 PM ET
No. 25 Xavier has recovered nicely from the loss of sophomore guard Edmond Sumner, who tore his ACL against St. John's late last month. The Musketeers managed to win that game and have won their next three games as well, but the stakes will be higher Saturday when they host No. 2 Villanova in a Big East showdown.
Vanderbilt at Missouri 3:30 PM ET

Vanderbilt aims for its fourth win in five games and looks to move above .500 for the first time in more than a month when it visits Missouri on Saturday for an SEC contest. The Commodores are 0-4 all-time at Missouri, where the Tigers are looking for a second straight win following a seven-game home losing streak.

Georgia at Tennessee 4:00 PM ET
The good news for Tennessee is it hosts Georgia on Saturday, which means Robert Hubbs III could be in for another big scoring day despite not feeling 100 percent. The senior guard overcame an illness and Ole Miss’ defense in a come-from-behind 75-66 home victory Wednesday, scoring 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting and improving his season totals to 16.9 points per home game on 57 percent shooting.
Texas at Oklahoma St. 4:00 PM ET
Texas and Oklahoma State find themselves in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big 12 heading into Saturday's action. The Longhorns and Cowboys, who meet in Stillwater, can both point to not being able to win the close ones as a reason for their disappointing spot in the standings.
Ohio St. at Maryland 4:00 PM ET
No. 22 Maryland looks to stay in the hunt for the Big Ten regular-season title when it hosts Ohio State on Saturday. The Terrapins have dropped back-to-back contests, including a disappointing 70-64 decision to Penn State on Tuesday, to fall two games behind fifth-ranked Wisconsin at the top of the conference standings, and they aim to bounce back by beating the Buckeyes for the second time in less than two weeks.
Butler at Providence 4:00 PM ET
No. 21 Butler will try to keep the heat on the front-runners in the Big East when it visits Providence on Saturday. The Bulldogs enter the weekend trailing first-place Villanova by two games and second-place Xavier by a half-game, but they have a win in hand against both teams and take on the Wildcats and Musketeers once more down the stretch.
Washington at Utah 4:30 PM ET

Utah got the win it needed Thursday, getting past Washington State 74-70 following a 0-2 road trip. Now the Utes will try to maintain the momentum Saturday afternoon when they host struggling Washington.

Boston College at Georgia Tech 5:30 PM ET
A step outside of ACC play may be what Georgia Tech needed before beginning a stretch of three of four games at home Saturday against struggling Boston College. The Yellow Jackets, who shocked the league with three upsets of ranked teams at home in January, have dropped their past two conference contests but blasted Division II Tusculum 96-58 on Tuesday.
Auburn at Mississippi 6:00 PM ET
Auburn experienced a major turnaround since its loss to Ole Miss last month - putting the visiting Tigers in good shape for revenge as the teams meet Saturday evening in an SEC clash at The Pavilion. Auburn has gone 6-3 since its 88-85 home loss to the Rebels, who struggled to gain traction after that victory.
Connecticut at Central Florida 6:00 PM ET
Surging Connecticut sank a school-record 16 3-pointers on its way to a rout over South Florida last time out. The Huskies, who won four of their last five games, go for the season sweep of Central Florida when they visit the Knights for an American Athletic Conference game Saturday.
Florida St. at Notre Dame 6:00 PM ET
Notre Dame has been unable to find success against ranked teams as of late, but it will have another opportunity for a resume-building win when it hosts No. 15 Florida State in a key ACC matchup Saturday. The 24th-ranked Fighting Irish fell to the Seminoles earlier this season in an 83-80 thriller and soon thereafter had a four-game losing streak that featured setbacks against ranked foes Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.
Iowa at Michigan St 6:00 PM ET
Two teams coming off vastly different losses square off when Iowa travels to take on Michigan State in a Big Ten Conference battle on Saturday. The Hawkeyes rallied from a 14-point deficit before falling in double overtime at Minnesota last time out, while the Spartans never were in their 29-point setback against in-state rival Michigan.
Oklahoma at Iowa St. 6:00 PM ET
Oklahoma's trip to the Final Four last season feels like a decade ago at this point. The struggling Sooners aim to snap a six-game losing streak Saturday when they visit Iowa State in Big 12 action.
Houston at Tulsa 6:00 PM ET
Houston seeks its fifth straight win when it visits Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference game Saturday. The Cougars trimmed the Golden Hurricane 64-61 earlier in the season in a game that was tied 14 times and had eight lead changes.
South Carolina at Mississippi St. 8:00 PM ET
South Carolina coach Frank Martin couldn't have known that he would wind up on the wrong end of a 90-86, four-overtime loss to Alabama - but that didn't prevent him from blaming himself for the upset defeat. The 16th-ranked Gamecocks look to rebound Saturday night as they visit slumping Mississippi State for an SEC battle.
Stanford at Arizona State 8:00 PM ET
Stanford forward Reid Travis isn’t a leading candidate for Pac-12 player of the year, but it’s impossible to overstate his importance to the Cardinal program. The 6-8 junior looks to build on his most impressive outing of the season on Saturday as Stanford visits Arizona State, which opened Pac-12 play with a 98-93 win over the Cardinal in Palo Alto on Dec. 30.
East Carolina at South Florida 8:00 PM ET
Coming off its best offensive performance in American Athletic Conference play this season, East Carolina looks for its second win a row when it visits struggling South Florida on Saturday. The Pirates, who rank near the bottom of Division I in numerous offensive categories - including 340th in scoring (61.6 points), topped 70 points for the first time in conference play in their 74-65 win over Tulane while the Bulls were blown out 97-51 by Connecticut for their 11th straight loss.
Gonzaga at St. Mary's 8:15 PM ET
Top-ranked Gonzaga faces its likely last hurdle in the chase of an undefeated regular season when it visits No. 20 Saint Mary's for Saturday's West Coast Conference showdown. It will be a rare big stage for the WCC programs with ESPN's College GameDay on campus and the Gaels hosting the nation's top-ranked team for the first time since a loss to Bill Russell-led San Francisco in 1955.
Arkansas at Louisiana State 8:30 PM ET
Arkansas cannot afford any more slip-ups if it is to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons beginning with Saturday's game at struggling LSU. The Razorbacks, who sit fifth in the SEC and seem to be in position to make the Big Dance, have seven regular-season games remaining - five against teams in the bottom half of the conference standings and a pair of tough road contests against No. 16 South Carolina and No. 17 Florida.
California at Arizona 10:00 PM ET
Arizona might have regained sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, but the 10th-ranked Wildcats know they’re in a precarious position. Coach Sean Miller’s squad has turned in back-to-back subpar performances heading into Saturday’s game against visiting California, which has won five in a row and eight of its last nine to move into a tie for third with UCLA.
Oregon at Southern California 10:30 PM ET
USC is a different team than it was when it played Oregon earlier this season, and the Trojans will find out just how far they've closed the gap when they host the No. 6 Ducks in a Pac-12 game Saturday night. USC lost by 23 points at Oregon on Dec. 30, but that was without 6-11 power forward Bennie Boatwright, who missed two months with a knee injury but has quickly shaken off the rust.