Archives: Previews

No. 4 Arizona will try to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it opposes Alabama on Wednesday night to cap the daylong action at Jerry Colangelo’s Hall of Fame Series in Phoenix. The Wildcats (8-1) were knocked out of a two-week run at No. 1 when they fell to then-No. 3 Purdue 92-84 on Saturday in Indianapolis. A week earlier, the Boilermakers, who rose to the top of the polls this

Shooting from behind the arc has been a dicey proposition for No. 15 Gonzaga this season. After seemingly finding the mark by making 22 of 46 over a two-game span, the Bulldogs (8-3) are back in a pronounced swoon entering their Wednesday game against Jackson State at Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga is a dismal 22.2 percent (12 of 54) from 3-point range over its past three games, two of them setbacks against Washington and No. 5

No. 10 Baylor will look to get back on the winning track when it squares off against No. 21 Duke on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Bears (9-1) will play their second consecutive game against a big-name opponent on a neutral floor. The first was a surprising 88-64 loss to under-.500 Michigan State in Detroit on Saturday, the result being Baylor’s first setback of the season. RayJ Dennis and Yves Missi

No. 11 North Carolina has played some high-profile opponents this season and competed well in those games. However, the Tar Heels haven’t won a healthy share of those. Riding a two-game skid, North Carolina (7-3) has another chance for a notable result when it faces No. 7 Oklahoma on Wednesday night in Charlotte. “We’re a really good basketball team that has a lot more growth to go,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis, whose team

The defending national champions finished a daunting nonconference slate with a convincing win. But No. 5 UConn, of all teams, should know that getting through the Big East is another matter. The Huskies will open conference play against Seton Hall on Wednesday in Newark, N.J. UConn (10-1) faced then-No. 10 Gonzaga on Saturday in Seattle, amounting to a road game even though Gonzaga’s campus is in Spokane, Wash. In a rematch of last year’s Elite

UCLA returns home for its first game at Pauley Pavilion in December to face Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. UCLA (5-4) followed a 65-56 loss at Villanova on Dec. 9 with Saturday’s 67-60 setback against Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. The Bruins were outscored 45-37 in the second half, and 14-9 in in the final 3:16. “Young players break down faster. We can’t impose our will,” Bruins

Trey Galloway had the best game of his career Saturday, but he needed to make one more shot. Galloway’s career-high 28 points weren’t quite good enough for Indiana to beat No. 2 Kansas as his potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the last minute went begging in a 75-71 loss. He and the Hoosiers will try to return to the win column against Morehead State Tuesday night in Bloomington, Ind. Galloway canned 12 of 17 shots from

Butler and Georgetown have shown marked improvement behind their respective casts of new players. Both the Bulldogs (9-2) and Hoyas (7-4) have a better record through 11 games this season than they did at the same point a season ago. Each team’s fresh talent will get their first dose of Big East action when Butler hosts Georgetown on Tuesday in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs’ starting lineup has stayed the same all season and features four newcomers

After a rough stretch following Thanksgiving, perhaps the arrival of the Christmas break will bring Notre Dame the kind of traction it is looking for. Notre Dame will play host to The Citadel on Tuesday in South Bend, Ind., hoping to distance itself from four losses in the past five games. The Fighting Irish (4-6) return to the court after consecutive defeats against Big East teams. A 78-59 defeat to then-No. 8 Marquette on Dec.

First-year head coach Chris Beard brought relevance back to the Ole Miss basketball program. Beard has also helped earn a Top 25 ranking for the Rebels, their first since January 2019. No. 25 Ole Miss (10-0) hosts Troy on Tuesday in Oxford, Miss., looking to extend its best start since 2007, when it won its first 13 games. The Rebels are fresh off an 88-78 victory over Cal on Saturday in San Antonio, a game