Preview Roundups
March 13, 2019
Clemson at NC State 12:00 PM ET
The second round of the ACC tournament might serve as a play-in game to the NCAA Tournament when eighth-seeded North Carolina State takes on No. 9 seed Clemson in a battle of bubble teams Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C. The winner will earn a shot at top-seeded Virginia in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Miami-Florida at Virginia Tech 2:00 PM ET
Virginia Tech matched the program record with 23 regular-season victories and the fifth-seeded Hokies hope there are more milestones to come as they start play in the second round of ACC tournament against No. 12 seed Miami (Fla.) on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C. Virginia Tech has won six of 10 games - five of the past seven - without injured senior point guard Justin Robinson (foot), capped by an 84-70 triumph against Miami on Friday to finish with a team-record 12 ACC wins.
Arizona at Southern California 3:00 PM ET
Arizona and USC, who met in the final of last year's Pac-12 Tournament, this time face off in the first round Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner of the contest between the ninth-seeded Wildcats and eighth-seeded Trojans then must come back 24 hours later and face top seed Washington in the quarterfinals.
California at Colorado 5:30 PM ET
Two of the Pac-12’s hottest teams meet in the opening round of the conference tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when Colorado takes on California. The fifth-seeded Buffaloes won three straight and eight of their last 10 to close out the regular season while the 12th-seeded Golden Bears also have reeled off three straight wins – their only
Nebraska at Rutgers 6:30 PM ET
The development of a handful of freshmen such as Ron Harper Jr. and Montez Mathis was enough to power Rutgers to its first non-last place finish since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, while attrition has shown little mercy on a Nebraska team that had designs of making an NCAA Tournament run. Two rivals riding vastly different arcs square off in first-round action Wednesday at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago when the 12th-seeded Scarlet Knights face the 13th-seeded Cornhuskers.
Georgia at Missouri 7:00 PM ET
Missouri struggled through most of its SEC schedule, but faces an opponent who fared even worse as the Tigers face Georgia in the first round of the SEC tournament Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. The No. 12 seed Tigers did put together back-to-back victories before losing to Mississippi in the regular-season finale last weekend, the second of those triumphs a 64-39 road rout of the 13th-seeded Bulldogs on March 6 in which Georgia scored just 14 first-half points.
Oklahoma State at Texas Christian 7:00 PM ET
With their fleeting NCAA Tournament hopes buoyed by a big win in the Big 12 regular-season finale at Texas, TCU looks to lock up a bid with a strong showing in the conference tournament. That ride begins Wednesday when the eighth-seeded Horned Frogs meet No. 9 seed Oklahoma State at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Butler at Providence 7:00 PM ET
Providence seeks its third win over Butler in a span of just over two weeks when the eighth-seeded Friars take on the ninth-seeded Bulldogs in the first round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday. Providence, which reached the finals of the event last season as a No. 5 seed, knocked off Butler on the road in overtime Feb. 26 and finished the regular season with an 83-70 victory in a rematch at home Saturday.
Notre Dame at Louisville 7:00 PM ET
Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte, N.C., and will face Louisville on Wednesday. The 15th-seeded Fighting Irish got through their first-round game with a win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday afternoon, while the No. 7 seed Cardinals had a first-round bye.
West Virginia at Oklahoma 9:00 PM ET
With a 12-point defeat to Oklahoma just over a week ago still fresh in its mind, No. 10 seed West Virginia will face the seventh-seeded Sooners in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Though his team dominated the 92-80 victory over the Mountaineers on March 2, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger knows there will be no easy victories in a conference deep with talent.
Stanford at UCLA 9:00 PM ET
Two teams last seen limping toward the end of the regular season aim for a fresh start Wednesday when No. 10 seed Stanford faces seventh-seeded UCLA in a first-round matchup at the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. Stanford dropped four of its last five games while UCLA secured its worst regular-season finish since 2015-16 with back-to-back road losses.
Northwestern at Illinois 9:00 PM ET
No. 11 seed Illinois will battle 14th-seeded Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday in Chicago. The Fighting Illini seemed poised to turn the corner under second-year coach Brad Underwood after winning four consecutive games in early February, including an impressive 79-74 victory against Michigan State, but proceeded to drop five of their next six contests, and hope to get back on track by notching its first win in the conference tournament since 2016.
Pittsburgh at Syracuse 9:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh earned its second win in a row to move on to the second round of the 2019 ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., and faces Syracuse on Wednesday night. The 14th-seeded Panthers beat Boston College in their first-round game Tuesday, while the No. 6 seed Orange had an opening-round bye.
Vanderbilt at Texas A&M 9:30 PM ET
After turning things around in the second half of the SEC season, No. 11 seed Texas A&M hopes to begin a surprising run through the SEC tournament Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. The Aggies open the tournament against No. 14 seed Vanderbilt, which is still looking for its first victory of 2019.
DePaul at St. John's 9:30 PM ET
A three-game losing streak to end the regular season has put St. John's in a serious situation entering the Big East Tournament, which it begins as a No. 7 seed with a first-round matchup against 10th-seeded DePaul on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Red Storm seemed to have an NCAA Tournament locked up before the slide, which included two losses to Xavier sandwiching their second setback to the Blue Demons, and another defeat could put them on the outside looking in.
Washington St. at Oregon 11:30 PM ET
After leaning on its improving defense to close the regular season with four straight wins, Oregon enters this week’s Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas as the hottest team in the conference. The sixth-seeded Ducks look to continue their late-season surge Wednesday in a first-round matchup against No. 11 seed Washington State.