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Auburn goes for a milestone when Alabama State visits for a nonconference game Friday night. The Tigers are aiming for their 50th consecutive nonconference homecourt victory. There have been 43 consecutive sellouts at Neville Arena. “We’d like to have a Merry Christmas,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said, “and the best way to have a Merry Christmas is to continue to play well against Alabama State.” Auburn (8-2) owns a three-game winning streak since losing at

UCLA tries to avoid a fourth consecutive loss Friday when the Bruins welcome future Big Ten Conference counterpart Maryland to Los Angeles. The Bruins (5-5) trailed almost wire-to-wire en route to a 76-72 loss on Tuesday to Cal State Northridge. The defeat snapped UCLA’s 29-game home-court winning streak. Coming on the heels of setbacks against Villanova and Ohio State, UCLA heads into Friday’s matchup at risk of matching the longest losing streak of coach Mick

South Carolina is looking to improve on its best start since the 2015-16 season when it meets Elon on Friday in the Gamecocks’ final game before Christmas. Winners of three in a row, the Gamecocks are off to their fifth 10-1 start in program history and are 7-0 at home against non-conference opponents. The Phoenix (6-5) are back in action for the first time since last Friday when they rolled to a 104-70 win over

Bellarmine has its work cut out in order to record its first win against a Power 5 program in six tries this season. The Knights wrap up a tough two-game road trip in Utah on Friday night when they face No. 17 BYU in Provo, Utah. The Cougars (10-1) have a 7-0 mark at the Marriott Center and boast one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. Following their 86-54 win over Georgia State

No. 24 Wisconsin is well aware of the upset potential when it finishes its nonconference slate Friday night against Chicago State in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin (8-3) has been idle since beating Jacksonville State 75-60 on Dec. 14. The Badgers bounced back after a 98-73 drubbing on Dec. 9 at then-No. 1 Arizona, which snapped their six-game winning streak. “We don’t really care what the name on the jersey is,” Badgers forward Steven Crowl said after

Georgia basketball coach Mike White has plenty of options at his disposal this season, and he has two more chances to sort it all out. Riding a six-game winning streak, White’s club welcomes in North Florida for the first of its final two final nonconference tune-ups on Friday afternoon at Athens, Ga. With nine newcomers suiting up for the Bulldogs (8-3), White has spent the first 11 contests figuring out the best lineup to put

For No. 16 Colorado State, an eight-day break and a game with Division II CSU-Pueblo arrived at the right time. Needing a reset after eating their first loss on Dec. 9 against Saint Mary’s, the Rams got it with an extended break for exams and then a glorified scrimmage to resume the schedule. The 86-54 win was at once expected and gratifying. “It wasn’t a work of art,” said Colorado State coach Niko Medved, “but

No. 10 Baylor will look to snap a two-game losing streak and make a final set of memories on its longtime home court when it hosts winless, vagabond Mississippi Valley State on Friday in Waco, Texas. It will be the last game played by the Baylor men’s team at the venerable Ferrell Center, which has been the Bears’ home since 1988. Baylor will move across I-35 to the new Foster Pavilion for its game against

No. 2 Kansas returns to the friendly environment of Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night for a matchup with Yale in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas (10-1) is coming off a big second-half comeback at Indiana in its last game. The Jayhawks trailed the Hoosiers by 13 points midway through the second half before Kansas started surging. Dajuan Harris hit a 3-pointer with 7:10 left to cut the deficit to 59-58. When Hunter Dickinson hit a jump hook

Wounded after its first loss of the season last weekend, No. 18 Clemson aims to bounce back Friday when it hosts Queens. Clemson (9-1) fell five spots in the AP Top 25 poll this week after losing on the road at Memphis last Saturday 79-77. The visitors went cold in the second half, making just 2 of 12 shots from behind the arc. Clemson also committed 15 turnovers while forcing Memphis into just six. And