Archives: Previews

Iowa State will be looking to improve its home record to 9-0 when it faces New Hampshire on Sunday in the final nonconference game for each team. The Cyclones (10-2) own a five-game winning streak and have won their last 26 games in Ames, Iowa, against nonconference competition. New Hampshire (8-4) has won four of its last five games and leads the America East Conference in made 3-pointers per game (10.2). Clarence Daniels, a 6-foot-6

Ole Miss and Bryant both put together challenging nonconference schedules with an eye toward peaking in March. Both teams are satisfied with how things have gone as they close out the nonconference portions of their schedules on Sunday afternoon in Oxford, Miss. The No. 24 Rebels (12-0) can tie the school record for the longest winning streak to start a season by defeating the Bulldogs. “We’re just continuing to grow,” first-year Ole Miss coach Chris

Caleb Love has been heating up as a scorer for No. 4 Arizona heading into Sunday’s Pac-12 Conference contest at Stanford. Love, a senior transfer from North Carolina, has scored at least 20 points in four of the past five games, including 22 on Friday night in a 100-81 victory at Cal in the conference opener for the Wildcats (10-2, 1-0). Love, averaging a team-high 16.9 points per game, arrived with a reputation of a

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser wasn’t surprised his team struggled in Thursday’s win over Central Arkansas after eight days between games and coming off its first loss of the season. “We’ve just got to keep logging practices, getting better, but it’s hard to respond after you take five days off,” Moser said. “This team really wants to be good. These guys want it. I’ve done this long enough to know that it’s better to have teaching

Vanderbilt hopes to snap a four-game losing streak when it hosts Dartmouth on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. The Commodores (4-8) come off their best performance of the season in a 77-75 loss at then-No. 23 Memphis on Dec. 23. Ezra Manjon led Vanderbilt with 22 points but front-rimmed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Commodores lost for the seventh time in eight games. “We were just a shot away,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry

Georgia aims to extend a pair of pronounced winning streaks on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Alabama A&M in Athens, Ga. Jabri Abdur-Rahim scored all 18 of his points in the first half to lead Georgia (9-3) to a 78-60 win over North Florida on Dec. 22. Abdur-Rahim sank a career high-tying five 3-pointers for Georgia, which converted a season-best 11 times beyond the arc to push its overall winning streak to seven games and

Missouri will try to put a positive ending to a disappointing nonconference season Saturday when it hosts Central Arkansas in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers (7-5) return home after suffering a 97-73 loss to then-No. 13 Illinois on Dec. 22 in St. Louis. The Bears (3-11) visit on the heels of an 88-72 loss at No. 12 Oklahoma Thursday. Missouri coach Dennis Gates hopes the holiday break gave his players a chance to reset and refocus

Oregon and UCLA each seek 2-0 opening weekends in Pac-12 Conference play on Saturday when the Bruins visit the Ducks in Eugene, Ore. Oregon (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) overwhelmed Southern California early in Thursday’s league opener, building a lead of as many as 20 points in the first half en route to an 82-74 win. Freshmen Kwame Evans Jr. and Jackson Shelstad each scored career highs with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Evans also pulled in

After not playing for more than a week during the holidays, Florida State will host Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla. The matchup will be the final game for each side before jumping into conference play next week. Florida State (6-5) enters Saturday having won back-to-back games for the third time this season. Lipscomb (8-6) won two of its past three but is 0-2 this season against power conference teams. The Bisons did come

DePaul players heard their fans booing as time ticked down on a lopsided home loss to Villanova on Dec. 23. On Saturday in Chicago, the slumping Blue Demons will aim to channel their angst into energy when they host Chicago State in their nonconference finale. “It’s really just motivation for us,” forward Da’Sean Nelson said. “I mean, that’s obviously not a good thing to get booed off the floor or whatever, but I feel that