Preview Roundups
November 25, 2017
Connecticut at Michigan St 12:00 AM ET
All eyes will be on Michigan State star sophomore Miles Bridges during warm-ups Friday before the No. 5 Spartans face Connecticut in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore. Bridges missed Thursday’s 73-51 victory over DePaul with a sprained left ankle and will be a game-time decision against UConn, which opened the tournament with an impressive 71-63 win over Oregon.
Central Arkansas at Tulsa 12:00 PM ET
After finishing in fourth place in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament at Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tulsa returns home to face Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Hurricane posted an impressive victory over Western Michigan in the opening round of the tournament before losing to eventual champion Iowa State 80-78 and to Illinois State 84-68 in the consolation game.
Morehead St. at Virginia Tech 1:00 PM ET
Virginia Tech is a much better team with Justin Bibbs on the court, and after serving a two-game suspension to begin the season the senior is making up for lost time entering Saturday’s home game against Morehead State. Bibbs made 11-of-13 from the field to score 25 in Tuesday’s 99-73 victory over Houston Baptist, and is averaging 23.3 points on 73 percent shooting to help Virginia Tech get off to a 4-1 start.
Lehigh at Pittsburgh 2:00 PM ET
Struggling Pittsburgh hopes to translate its strong performance from last time out into a victory this time around when it hosts Lehigh on Saturday afternoon. The rebuilding Panthers shot a season-high 50.9 percent from the field and gave Oklahoma State (4-1) all it could handle Tuesday before falling 73-67 in the consolation game of the Legends Classic in New York.
Savannah State at Texas Tech 3:00 PM ET
Texas Tech will try to extend its win streak when the Red Raiders host Savannah State on Saturday afternoon. The undefeated Red Raiders have won 32 straight non-conference home games, with 27 of them coming by double figures.
North Florida at Miami-Florida 4:00 PM ET
After receiving a bit of a scare last time out, No 11 Miami returns home on Saturday to host North Florida. The Hurricanes shot a season-low 36.7 percent from the floor and scored just 57 points in a neutral site game against La Salle.
New Mexico at Maryland 4:00 PM ET
Maryland has overcome some sloppy play this season with superior size and talent a number of times, but its youthful roster paid for the many mistakes it made Friday on its way to a crushing two-point defeat. Facing another team adept at creating its fair share of pressure on a short turnaround, the Terrapins attempt to shore up some of their offensive inefficiencies Saturday when they face New Mexico in the third-place game of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
SIU - Edwardsville at Creighton 4:30 PM ET
One bad shooting night isn't going to stop Creighton from relying on the 3-pointer Saturday when it battles visiting SIU-Edwardsville. The Bluejays missed 25 times from beyond the arc in suffering their first loss of the season Tuesday to No. 24 Baylor, but a date with the Cougars and their porous defense should be just what they need to bounce back.
Alabama at Minnesota 5:00 PM ET
No. 15 Minnesota and Alabama face their biggest challenge of the season and an endurance test when the two unbeatens meet on the second day of the Barclays Center Classic on Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y. Minnesota took care of Massachusetts 69-51 while Alabama outlasted BYU 71-59 on Friday afternoon in games played at LIU Brooklyn, and the teams will move over the Barclays Center to conclude the tournament one day later.
Northern Kentucky at Memphis 6:00 PM ET
Memphis will look for a third straight home victory when it hosts non-conference foe Northern Kentucky on Saturday. The Tigers have won two straight after dropping their opener to Alabama, while the Norse are coming off their first loss of the season - a two-point decision to Vermont in the championship game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.
Georgetown at Richmond 6:00 PM ET
The competition gets a bit tougher starting Saturday for Georgetown, which will put its unblemished record on the line at Richmond. With Jessie Govan dominating on both ends of the court, the Hoyas beat up on three weak opponents, and could do the same to the Spiders, who are off to a slower than usual start.
Texas Christian at St. Bonaventure 7:00 PM ET
While TCU returning all five starters from last year's NIT Championship team has certainly helped, sometimes all it takes is a dominant performance from one player to keep a winning streak going. Coming off perhaps the most complete performance of his career, Kenrich Williams will try to lead the Horned Frogs to a regular-season tournament title Saturday when they face St. Bonaventure in the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
Boston College at Providence 8:00 PM ET
Providence will try to build off the momentum of a buzzer-beating victory when it puts a three-game winning streak on the line at home against former Big East rival Boston College on Saturday night. Kyron Cartwright's 3-pointer as time expired lifted the Friars to a 66-65 win over perennial Ohio Valley Conference power Belmont on Wednesday.
Incarnate Word at Houston 8:00 PM ET
Houston senior guard Rob Gray seems to be picking up where he left off last season. The American Athletic Conference's reigning scoring champion is ranked fifth nationally early on as the Cougars head into Saturday's contest against visiting Incarnate Word.
Western Illinois at Iowa State 8:00 PM ET
Iowa State looks to run its current winning streak to four when it hosts unbeaten Western Illinois in a non-conference matchup Saturday night. The Cyclones started the season 0-2 before going undefeated in the 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, while the Leathernecks are trying for their second 5-0 start in the three seasons.