Preview Roundups
November 23, 2018
Dayton at Oklahoma 11:30 AM ET
Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season but looks to head home with a pair of victories in the tournament when it takes on Dayton in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis Friday at Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. The Sooners knocked off Florida in the first round before allowing 47 points in the second half Thursday as Wisconsin pulled away for a 78-58 win in the semifinals.
Villanova at Oklahoma State 11:30 AM ET
Villanova got back on track Thursday and aims to ride the momentum into Friday's date with Oklahoma State. The Wildcats rolled past Canisius in the quarterfinals of the AdvoCare Invitational and can advance to the championship game of the Lake Buena Vista, Fla.-based tournament with an early win Friday.
Canisius at Memphis 1:30 PM ET
Memphis, which has alternated wins and losses in its first four games, hopes that trend continues for one more contest. The Tigers, coming off a Thanksgiving Day defeat, take on Canisius on Friday in the consolation round of the AdvoCare Invitational at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Houston Baptist at Wake Forest 2:00 PM ET
If Wake Forest expects to be much more than a .500 team this season, then Friday's game against visiting Houston Baptist is one it needs to win. The Demon Deacons have prevailed in three of their four games, but they have yet to put a team away early on like they should the Huskies.
Robert Morris at Purdue 2:00 PM ET
No. 19 Purdue looks to bounce back from its first loss when it hosts Robert Morris on Friday. The Boilermakers started the season with four straight wins, including a pair of victories over Appalachian State and Davidson in the Charleston Classic before dropping an 89-83 decision to No. 14 Virginia Tech in the tournament final and hope to learn from their experience with tough tests against 13th-ranked Florida State and No. 8 Michigan on deck.
Boston U at Rutgers 2:00 PM ET
After his team played a near-perfect game on the defensive end in its most recent win, head coach Steve Pikiell still wants to see more from his Rutgers squad Friday when it hosts Boston University. The Scarlet Knights held Eastern Michigan, a team that beat the Terriers by 18 points, to four points in the first half and 36 total points in rebounding from their first loss.
Virginia at Wisconsin 2:00 PM ET
Wisconsin sophomore D’Mitrik Trice looks to continue his hot-shooting start against one of the nation’s top defenses Friday when the Badgers meet fourth-ranked Virginia in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. The 6-foot Trice drained a tournament-record seven 3-pointers and scored 25 in the 78-58 semifinal win over Oklahoma on Thursday and is scoring 19.2 per game to lead the Badgers.
Miami-Florida at Fresno St. 2:00 PM ET
Miami entered the Wooden Legacy with the highest-scoring offense in the eight-team event, and Thursday's effort against La Salle only reinforced how potent it can be. After scoring at least 83 points for the third time in four tries in their quarterfinal win, the Hurricanes try to remain undefeated one day later in Fullerton, Calif., when they face Fresno State in the semifinals on Friday.
Prairie View A&M at Georgia Tech 4:00 PM ET
Georgia Tech knows its schedule gets substantially tougher in the days ahead, and Josh Pastner's squad hopes to build momentum as it hosts Prairie View A&M on Friday before facing Northwestern and St. John’s next week. The Yellow Jackets have cruised to victory in three of their first four contests by an average of 24 points, including a 72-44 rout of Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday in which Georgia Tech allowed a total of 11 points in the first half.
Chattanooga at Michigan 4:00 PM ET
Eighth-ranked Michigan looks to continue its impressive start to the season when it hosts Chattanooga on Friday. The Wolverines followed up their 73-46 win against then No. 8 Villanova in the Gavitt Games with back-to-back victories over George Washington (84-61) and Providence (66-47) to win the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off championship and move into the Top 10 while improving to 5-0 for the first time since 2012-13.
North Carolina at UCLA 4:00 PM ET
Two of college basketball's blue bloods came to the Las Vegas Invitational with their sights set on winning a holiday tournament trophy. But sixth-ranked North Carolina and No. 17 UCLA will be playing for third place on Friday at the Orleans Arena.
La Salle at Northwestern 4:30 PM ET
Defense was the foundation for Northwestern's success over its first three contests of the season, but it did not travel well for the team's first game away from home. The Wildcats attempt to rebound from an uncharacteristic effort one day later when they meet winless La Salle on Friday in a consolation game of the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, Calif.
Louisiana State at Florida State 4:30 PM ET
No. 21 LSU is 5-0 for the first time since starting 2012-13 with six wins but will be hard-pressed to stay undefeated as it meets 13th-ranked Florida State on Friday in the AdvoCare Invitational semifinals in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Tigers coach Will Wade said his team had three good days of practice heading into the tournament, and it showed with a 67-55 victory over College of Charleston on Thursday, although long-range shooting continues to be a problem.
Kent St. at Vanderbilt 5:00 PM ET
Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland has lived up to the hype through his first four collegiate games and the freshman will try to build off a near-record performance when the Commodores take on Kent State in the last of a four-game homestand. Garland was one point away from tying a Vanderbilt freshman record for scoring as he poured in an SEC season-high 33 points against Liberty on Monday in a 79-70 win.
Marshall at Maryland 6:00 PM ET
A pair of undefeated teams will look to stay perfect when Marshall travels to face Maryland in a nonconference contest Friday. The Thundering Herd come in with a 4-0 record after a rout of North Carolina A&T on Monday, while the Terrapins are 5-0 following a 15-point victory over Mount St. Mary's on Sunday.
Texas at Michigan St 6:30 PM ET
Texas was the only team not ranked coming into the semifinals of the Las Vegas Invitational. But look for that to change as the Longhorns, who face No. 11 Michigan State in Friday's championship game, stunned sixth-ranked North Carolina.
UC Davis at Indiana 7:00 PM ET
Indiana will be hurting for players in a serious way when the Hoosiers play host to UC Davis on Friday night in a game that concludes the early season Hardwood Showcase series. Injuries to seven scholarship athletes in the first month of the season have depleted the Hoosiers' personnel and thinned the roster to the point that it's uncertain who will be available for this game.
George Mason at Cincinnati 7:00 PM ET
Cincinnati hits the road for the first time this season when it takes on George Mason in the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday in Niceville, Florida. The winner will face either Baylor or Ole Miss is the championship game on Saturday.
Tennessee St. at Kentucky 7:00 PM ET
Kentucky aims to complete a 4-0 run through the Ohio Valley Hardwood Showcase when the 10th-ranked Wildcats host Tennessee State on Friday. The Wildcats have won four straight - all by double figures - since opening the season with a lopsided loss to Duke.
Louisville at Marquette 7:00 PM ET
Louisville faces Marquette in the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday evening. Neither squad was able to pull off an upset in the semifinals as the Cardinals lost to No. 5 Tennessee and the Golden Eagles fell to No. 2 Kansas.
Middle Tennessee St. at Stanford 7:00 PM ET
Stanford looks to post a second victory to end a long, difficult trip when it faces Middle Tennessee in the seventh-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday at Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. Stanford split two games in North Carolina before managing 46 points in the opening-round loss to Wisconsin and getting routed 72-49 by Florida in the consolation round on Thursday.
South Alabama at Texas A&M 7:30 PM ET
Texas A&M returns home after suffering through a tough trip to the northwest without senior leader Admon Gilder. The Aggies will try to snap a four-game losing streak when they host South Alabama on Friday night.
Cleveland St. at Ohio St. 8:00 PM ET
Friday night's Ohio State-Cleveland State matchup will be a throwback game for the No. 23 Buckeyes. They'll be wearing vintage uniforms from 1980 and they'll be playing in St. John Arena, their former home from 1956 to 1998 before the Schottenstein Center was built.
Texas-Arlington at Arkansas 8:00 PM ET
Arkansas looks to finish the four-game Hardwood Showcase with a perfect record when it hosts Texas-Arlington on Friday. The Razorbacks have won three straight thanks to the consistent play of sophomore forward Daniel Gafford.
Tennessee at Kansas 9:00 PM ET
The NIT Season Tip-Off championship game is one of the marquee games of the season thus far as No. 5 Tennessee takes on No. 2 Kansas from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday night. The Volunteers dispatched of Louisville in one semifinal on Wednesday night, while the Jayhawks took care of Marquette.
Grand Canyon at Utah 9:00 PM ET
While it is possible Utah fell in love with its perimeter shooting after tying a school record for 3-pointers in the game before its first-round loss in the Wooden Legacy, there are sure to be questions as to whether it is capable of reaching 20 wins for a fourth straight season. The Utes hope to ease those concerns Friday when they face Grand Canyon in a consolation game at Fullerton, Calif.
Baylor at Mississippi 9:30 PM ET
Baylor will try to extend its winning streak in regular-season tournaments to 14 games when it takes on Ole Miss in the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday in Niceville, Florida. The winner will face either Cincinnati or George Mason in the championship game on Saturday.
Butler at Florida 9:30 PM ET
Florida and Butler have played some big games against each other in the past, but they will meet for the first time during the regular season on Friday in the fifth-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. Florida won the first two matchups in the 2000 and 2007 NCAA Tournaments while the Bulldogs recorded a 74-71 overtime victory in the Elite Eight of the 2011 Big Dance in their third and last meeting.
Massachusetts at Nevada 10:00 PM ET
Seventh-ranked Nevada played its first game away from home and cruised to a 96-86 victory over previously unbeaten Tulsa on Thursday in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. The Wolf Pack can now add a tournament championship to their resume on Friday night when they face Massachusetts.
Seton Hall at Hawaii 11:30 PM ET
Myles Powell was responsible for one-third of Seton Hall's points entering Thursday's quarterfinal at the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, Calif. - a mark that will only increase after his latest offensive masterpiece. The 6-2 junior seeks an encore to the 15th 40-point game in school history one day later when the Pirates meet Hawaii in the semifinals.
Tulsa at Southern Illinois 11:59 PM ET
Sometimes it can be difficult for a coach to get his team fired up to play in a third-place game in a holiday tournament. But Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson, whose team was crushed by Massachusetts in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational on Thursday, said he expects the Salukis to give a much better effort against Tulsa late Friday night.