The Bum's Top 25 College Basketball Previews For 02/04/16 !

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Preview: Wildcats (21-2) at Ducks (20-3)
Date: February 04, 2017 4:00 PM EDT

EUGENE, Ore. -- Not only is first place in the Pac-12 Conference on the line when No. 13 Oregon hosts fifth-ranked Arizona, the tiebreaker for the conference title could be decided as well.

The Wildcats (21-2, 10-0 Pac-12) bring a 15-game winning streak into Matthew Knight Arena to face the Ducks (20-3, 9-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the only meeting between the two schools during the regular season.

Arizona sits in first place in the conference while Oregon is second. It appears the conference race will come down to those two teams because every other team in the league has at least three losses.

If Arizona beats the Ducks, it would move two games up in the standings with seven to play and have the head-to-head tiebreaker. If Oregon wins, the two teams would be tied for first place at 10-1 and the Ducks would have the tiebreaker.

"It is an awfully big game for us," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "To be honest, it is not quite as big for them because their schedule is quite a bit easier down the stretch. So it is one that is critical for us and they can come in and swing away with a one-game lead knowing their schedule is a bit easier than ours."

Oregon swept two games from Arizona last season while winning the conference title after the Wildcats won the two previous championships.

"We respect Oregon a lot. We know what they're capable of," Arizona guard Allonzo Trier said. "We know the kind of season they've had last year and this year so we're excited to go meet them. It's a tough game but we'll be ready for it."

Oregon has won 18 of its last 19 games and owns the nation's second-longest active home winning streak at 39 games. In an interesting side note to the game, the Ducks snapped Arizona's 49-game home winning streak last year.

"We have got to bring it from the start," Oregon junior forward Dillon Brooks said. "They are not going to lie down. We ended their streak and they want to end ours. We need to come out and play hard and play physical."

Brooks helped avoid an upset on Thursday when he scored the Ducks' final 12 points as they rallied from a one-point deficit in the final four minutes to beat Arizona State 71-70. The 6-foot-7 forward finished with 27 points to push his team-leading scoring average to 14.2.

Senior center Chris Boucher is averaging 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game to help Oregon lead the conference with 7.3 blocked shots per game. Guards Tyler Dorsey and Dylan Ennis average 12.1 and 11.5 points, respectively.

Junior forward Jordan Bell is the fifth scorer in double figures at 11.1 while leading Oregon with 7.7 rebounds.

"They have a little bit of everything; they have great experience," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "They have Dillon Ennis a fifth-year senior, (Chris) Boucher is the same, and they have quite a few who've been there for three. And obviously, they have a great coach. They block shots and get steals, and on offense, they're shooting and making as many threes as UCLA so they have everything. That's why they're such a great team."

Arizona has gone more than two months since its last loss to No. 1 Gonzaga. Trier, a sophomore, recently returned from a drug suspension and averages 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

"He makes a big difference," Altman said. "Gives them depth and an experienced perimeter player. He gives them another bullet, another weapon. We are going to have our work cut out for us. I don't know how we will get them slowed down."

Freshman Lauri Markkanen leads Arizona with 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while center Dusan Ristic is averaging 11.8 points. Freshmen Kobe Simmons and Rawle Alkins are scoring 11.7 and 11.6 points per game, respectively.

"Coach told us we still control our destiny," Bell said. "But if we drop a game it will probably not happen because we are trying to catch Arizona right now."

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Preview: Huskies (10-11) at Bearcats (20-2)
Date: February 04, 2017 4:00 PM EDT

CINCINNATI -- It's fitting that the University of Cincinnati is honoring its 1992 Final Four team this weekend. After all, this season's team appears to have what it takes to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

For the first time in head coach Mike Cronin's tenure, No. 14 Cincinnati (20-2, 9-0 American) has balance on offense and a deep bench to go along with its typically tenacious defense. But, on Saturday afternoon, the Bearcats will face a team that has been a thorn in their side for the past decade or so -- the University of Connecticut.

The Bearcats have won 13 straight games and 21 straight at Fifth Third Arena.

Eleven of their past 12 meetings against UConn have been decided by seven or fewer points. Cincinnati is 6-6 in those games, including a four-overtime thriller won by UConn in last year's American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals. Huskies guard Jalen Adams hit a half-court shot to tie the score at the end of the third OT.

The Bearcats remember that game well.

"It's UConn versus Cincinnati," guard Kevin Johnson told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Friday. "Regardless of either of our records or rankings, it will be a great game. Great team, great guards, great coach. It's a game that will definitely help us prepare ourselves for March."

This has been a down year relatively speaking in Storrs, where head coach Kevin Ollie has gotten the most out of limited numbers this season. The Huskies (10-11, 5-4 American) have won three straight games for the first time this season despite being down to six available players on occasion.

With three other freshmen injured, Vance Jackson and Christian Vital have been asked to shoulder the load for UConn. Vital earned AAC rookie of the week honors after scoring 14 points with a career-high 10 rebounds in a win over Tulane. Jackson won the honor the previous two weeks.

Depth is not an issue for Cincinnati, especially with freshman Jarron Cumberland contributing nearly 10 points and 22 3-pointers off the bench. Cumberland earned AAC player of the week honors this week after averaging 20.5 points in a pair of victories over crosstown rival Xavier and South Florida.

Sophomore guard Jacob Evans leads the Bearcats with 14.1 points per game. Junior forward Kyle Washington contributes 13.3 points and seven boards.

Staying out of foul trouble is paramount for UConn on Saturday. The Huskies also are 4-0 when seniors Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey score in double figures, so they'll need big performances from his duo to have any chance to win at sold-out Fifth Third Arena where the Bearcats haven't lost since December 2015.

Cincinnati survived a scare on Wednesday when it rallied from an 11-point deficit to win at Tulsa. Cronin believes his team learned some lessons from that game.

UConn leads the all-time series with the Bearcats, 13-8. The previous nine meetings have been decided by a combined total of one point. Most people expect another close affair on Saturday.

"We know it's going to be a war at Cincinnati," Ollie told the Hartford Courant this week.

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Preview: Cowboys (14-8) at Mountainers (18-4)
Date: February 04, 2017 5:00 PM EDT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Brad Underwood acknowledges his Oklahoma State team wasn't hungry or tough enough to hang with West Virginia during their first meeting on Dec. 30.

A timid performance in Stillwater led to a 92-75 loss that still agitates the Cowboys as they enter Saturday's rematch.

"The first time we didn't compete," Underwood said. "We can look at a lot of things, but we didn't win one 50-50 battle all day. They beat us to the floor on every loose ball, and they outfought us on the glass, something we take pride in."

After six consecutive losses to open Big 12 play, Oklahoma State (14-8, 3-6) brings a four-game winning streak and resurgent NCAA Tournament hopes into WVU Coliseum. The No. 7 Mountaineers (18-4, 6-3) are on a three-game run themselves as the second half of the conference round-robin unfolds.

West Virginia won the previous five meetings by an average of 13 points, though it won't face the same overaggressive defense it exploited five weeks ago.

Underwood grew tired of seeing Big 12 opponents carve through his extended pressure, so he made the midseason switch to a backed-off, lane-clogging approach. The Cowboys improved from allowing 85 points per game during their 0-6 start to fewer than 69 points in their recent streak.

"Brad's really a pressure guy, but good coaches adjust," West Virginia's Bob Huggins said. "I think they got back-cut some so they packed it in and started playing inside the 3. They backed it up and now they don't take as many chances."

The Mountaineers are the Big 12's top-scoring team at 87.6 points per game, with Oklahoma State only one-tenth of a point behind, though their methods vary.

West Virginia spreads the offensive load across a rotation that goes 11 deep, and the Cowboys feature the league's No. 2, No. 3 and No. 11 scorers in point guard Jawun Evans (18.3), forward Jeffrey Carroll (17.2) and perimeter gunner Phil Forte (13.9)

The sophomore Evans tempered a career-high 11 assists with a career-worst five turnovers in the 17-point loss to West Virginia.

Like Iowa State's Monte Morris and Kansas' Frank Mason, he experienced how Press Virginia can foul up rhythm. Those three point guards have combined to shoot 13 of 39 against the Mountaineers this season, leading Huggins to wonder why his own point guard, Jevon Carter, doesn't receive more notice.

Carter's 2.95 steals top the country to go along with steady offensive production (11.8 points, 4.6 assists).

"For what we do, JC's as good as any point guard in the league," Huggins said.

Forward Nathan Adrian (11 points, 6.5 rebounds) scored a career-high 23 points during West Virginia's win at Iowa State on Tuesday, and Esa Ahmad (12.2 points 4.5 rebounds) hopes to build off an assertive three-game stretch in which he has gone to the foul line 31 times.

As of Friday, ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament for Oklahoma State, which has won back-to-back Big 12 road games at Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

The Bedlam rivalry win proved as hard to watch as it was satisfying: Oklahoma State missed 13 of its final 15 shots yet prevailed 68-66 when a scramble situation led to a Forte 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

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Preview: Gaels (20-2) at Toreros (11-12)
Date: February 04, 2017 7:00 PM EDT

No. 18 Saint Mary's will conclude a three-game road trip when it visits San Diego in a West Coast Conference game on Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.

Saint Mary's (20-2, 10-1 WCC) has won five in a row and 14 of its last 15. San Diego (11-12, 4-7) has lost three of four and seven of its last 11, including a 72-60 loss to Saint Mary's on Dec. 31.

The Gaels are coming off a 74-70 victory over Pacific. They led by 19 points in the second half before the Tigers stormed back to get within three.

Jock Landale recorded his 10th double-double of the season for Saint Mary's, posting 22 points and 12 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double in the past five games.

Landale leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He had 14 points and nine rebounds against San Diego in December.

Saint Mary's remains one game behind top-ranked Gonzaga in the WCC. Guard Emmett Naar was recently asked if the Gaels feel pressured to keep pace with the Bulldogs.

"I wouldn't say there's any pressure," Naar said. "Every game is going to be tough. We just concentrate on the next one. Every team in this league is pretty good this year, so we don't want to put pressure on ourselves. We just want to go out there and play as hard as we can."

Forward Calvin Hermanson said Saint Mary's is eagerly anticipating the Feb. 11 rematch with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs beat the Gaels 79-56 when they met Jan. 14 in Spokane, Wash.

"We're trying to win another championship, so we're trying to win every game," Hermanson said. "We know that (Gonzaga) is at the top right now and we're looking forward to the next time we see them. At the same time, we have to take it one game at a time."

San Diego is coming off a 72-53 loss to Loyola Marymount. Brett Bailey scored 21 points against the Lions. He made 7 of 12 field goal attempts and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. The Toreros shot 39.1 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers.

Bailey is the team's top scorer and rebounder. He averages 17 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest. Bailey had 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting against Saint Mary's in December.

Olin Carter III is San Diego's second-leading scorer, averaging 15.9 points per game.

Rebounding has been a focal point for the Toreros recently. In the loss to Loyola Marymount, San Diego was outrebounded 30-25. In last week's 68-52 victory over Portland, the Toreros amassed a huge 37-14 rebounding advantage.

"We did an excellent job on the glass," San Diego coach Lamont Smith said. "That was a key going into the game, especially on the offensive glass. We did a great job boxing out and only gave up two offensive rebounds. That was outstanding."

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Preview: Red Storm (11-13) at Wildcats (21-2)
Date: February 04, 2017 8:00 PM EDT

Fourth-ranked Villanova will look for a clean sweep when it hosts St. John's in a Big East battle Saturday night.

The Wildcats (21-2, 8-2) have already won their first three games at the Wells Fargo Center with victories over Marquette, Providence and Virginia. They will look to complete the four-game sweep with another win over the Red Storm (11-13, 5-6).

Villanova still has home games at The Pavilion against Georgetown, Butler and Creighton, where it has won a program-best 47 in a row on campus.

In their last game, the Wildcats held off a furious rally to hold off Providence, 66-57 on Wednesday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

Point guard Jalen Brunson led the way with 21 points while preseason National Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart had 17 points and eight rebounds.

The win was the 118th in the career of seniors Hart, Kris Jenkins and Darryl Reynolds, setting a new record for most wins in program history by a single class. The previous mark of 117 was set by the Class of 2016 a season ago.

"I find myself repeating this everywhere in the conference we play: great environment and a great college basketball game," Villanova coach Jay Wright told reporters after the win at Providence. "Providence is tough and scrappy. We are not playing great basketball right now but we have found ways to fight and claw. That's a good thing, I guess. But we still have a lot of work to do."

As they have all season, the Wildcats made enough clutch plays down the stretch to come up with a win.

"Their matchup zone was very effective in the first half," Wright said of Providence. "Sometimes, though, you get yourself in trouble in the first half and can't recover. Fortunately, we did. Josh and Jalen just made some incredible plays. Thank God we've got good players."

St. John's is much improved since the beginning of the season as evidenced by its most recent game, an 86-72 victory over Marquette Wednesday night. Bashir Ahmed paced the Red Storm with a career-high 23 points.

In addition, Shamorie Ponds produced a stellar all-around effort with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Marcus LoVett added 17 points, five assists and three steals.

St. John's coach Chris Mullin isn't concerned with offense, however.

"A lot of times we talk offense, sharing the ball and getting assists, but defense is teamwork too," Mullin told the program's athletic website. "It takes time to understand a guy's tendencies. We always want to pressure the ball, but you can't have five guys running around wild. I think we're getting more comfortable when and where to do that."

St. John's held Marquette to 37.1 percent shooting, which was a major key in the victory.

"We always talk about defense in practice, and I just felt like I had to step it up defensively," LoVett said. "If I could get steals or do anything to help my teammates, I was going to do it as much as I could. I tried to do whatever I could out there."

Villanova has won the last 13 games in the series with St. John's, dating to the 2010-11 season.

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Preview: Wildcats (18-4) at Gators (17-5)
Date: February 04, 2017 8:15 PM EDT

At least a share of first place in the Southeastern Conference will be on the line Saturday night when No. 8 Kentucky meets No. 24 Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

Kentucky (18-4, 8-1 SEC) is the higher ranked team, but Florida (17-5, 7-2) is on the bigger roll. The Gators are riding a three-game win streak, all three victories coming by more than 30 points -- 35 over LSU, 32 at Oklahoma and 39 against Missouri Thursday night.

"We're in a good place," Florida coach Mike White said. "I don't want to sit here and say how good we're going to play Saturday or how many games we're going to win. This doesn't guarantee anything. But these past few games have gotten us into a very good place, which gives us a chance to play well in the next one."

The next one, of course, is a battle of old rivals, the two most successful SEC teams over the past decade.

"They're a very good team. They have experience. They have athleticism. They have size and they present problems for their opponents because of those things I just mentioned," Kentucky assistant coach Joel Justus said Friday. "I mean, when you have experienced guards in college basketball that always helps you. When you have guys that have been through the wars of the SEC, that helps you.

"They're disciplined. They are doing what they do well, and that's something as a coach -- I would imagine for them -- they feel good about."

Florida's resurgence is being credited for a team meeting held a few days after the Vanderbilt loss gave the Gators a two-game losing streak.

"People called each other out, but it wasn't personal," junior forward Devin Robinson said. "We said we weren't going to be mad about anything anyone said. We took it all on the chest. Everybody was humble and humbled in there. No egos. Everybody was checked. And Coach went down the line and checked everybody. It was good."

Kentucky, meanwhile, is also back on track after a two-game skid. The Wildcats defeated Georgia 90-81 in overtime on Tuesday. Kentucky rallied from a 12-0 deficit to win the game, but sorely missed starting point guard De'Aaron Fox, who has been ill. Fox and reserves Mychal Mulder and Sacha Killeya-Jones all missed Tuesday's game.

Justus was non-committal on the trio's availability for Saturday.

"We're going through practice today. We'll see where everybody is," Justus said. "But regardless of who plays, as you know, we'll put our best team out there.

"It's a college basketball season and those things happen," Justus said. "You just look across the country at teams that are losing good players for the season or losing guys for games. It's a bit of a thing of attrition. I think, in the big picture, we've been generally lucky when you talk about some of the guys other teams have lost."

Florida is led by sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen, who averages 13.6 points per game. Robinson is next at 11.8 points followed by senior guard Kasey Hill at 9.4 points and 4.9 assists. Reserve guard Chris Chiozza averages only 5.3 points but is coming off a triple-double against Missouri with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Kentucky is topped by freshman guard Malik Monk, whose 22.4 points per game average is tops in the SEC. Next comes Fox at 15.9, sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe at 14.5 and freshman forward Bam Adebayo (13.2).

Florida averages 79.3 points per game, Kentucky 91.3. The Wildcats lead the overall series 99-37, including a 35-24 advantage in Gainesville.

But the renovated O'Connell Center promises to be rocking Saturday with ESPN's Game Day in town and a game that's long been sold out.

"They have great fan support," Justus said. "But I think it's a tough place to play because of the guys that are in the uniforms. That has a little bit more to do with it than the fans or arena. They have very good basketball players and are very well-coached. That's something that presents a bigger problem at times rather than however many thousand folks that are there for that game."

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Preview: Broncos (13-11) at Bulldogs (23-0)
Date: February 04, 2017 10:00 PM EDT

Gonzaga's fans have the opportunity to welcome the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time in program history Saturday night when the Bulldogs host Santa Clara at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.

The previous time Gonzaga earned the No. 1 ranking was following the last week of the 2012-13 regular season.

Gonzaga has already established a few firsts this season, including its 23-game winning streak to start the season. The winning stretch is the longest in program history and the longest in the nation.

The Bulldogs, also 11-0 in the West Coast Conference, won at BYU 85-75 on Thursday night in their first game as the top-ranked team.

"(The No. 1 ranking) is definitely an honor," said junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga's leading scorer who tallied 33 points against BYU. "Somebody has to be ranked No. 1, so as a competitor, why not it be you? It's not like we don't appreciate it or think it's cool to be ranked No. 1. But we just understand we can't rest our hat on that and we have to keep getting better each week."

Santa Clara (13-11, 7-4) has won three of its last four games after losing to Gonzaga 88-57 at home on Jan. 19. The Broncos, led by guard Jared Brownridge's 18.5 points a game, are coming off a 60-45 win at Portland on Thursday.

First-year coach Herb Sendek, formerly of North Carolina State and Arizona State, has coached his team to three consecutive road wins. The Broncos are in the midst of a four-game road stretch.

Contending with Gonzaga's size is a primary concern for Sendek, whose team was out-rebounded 42-23 in the first meeting. The Bulldogs owned the paint, outscoring the Broncos 47-16 there.

Expect Sendek to attempt to minimize the opportunities for Gonzaga to gain possessions, avoid more possibilities of being exploited inside.

"We have to do a better job of guarding the ball," Sendek said. "We have to do a better job of shrinking the floor and we have to have more discipline."

The Broncos have made significant strides, now tied for third in the WCC. They lost by 30 points to BYU in the conference opener in late December before soundly beating the Cougars 76-68 on Jan. 26.

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski, who led the Bulldogs with 19 points in the first game, has achieved 123 career wins. That's one victory ahead of his former teammates Kyle Dranginis and Kevin Pangos.

Karnowski's career record is 123-13. Pangos finished 122-20, Dranginis 122-21.

"I've been here forever, I've been here a long time," the 7-foot-1 fifth-year senior said. "I'm happy that when I'm here we keep winning, it's all about that."

Karnowski combined with power forward reserve Zach Collins for 35 points in 37 minutes against Santa Clara two weeks ago. They made 10 of 13 shots and 15 of 17 free throws.

Another Gonzaga forward, freshman Killian Tillie, has returned from an ankle sprain. He played 12 minutes against BYU after missing the previous two games.

Santa Clara counters in the paint with 6-foot-10 post player Emmanuel Ndumanya, who led the Broncos with 10 rebounds against Portland on Thursday. Santa Clara's leading rebounder is a 6-foot-2 guard, Matt Hauser, who is averaging 6.8 rebounds a game.

He suffered a broken nose in the game against Portland and is expected to play against Gonzaga.

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Preview: Bruins (20-3) at Huskies (9-13)
Date: February 04, 2017 10:30 PM EDT

No. 11 UCLA's trip to Washington is far from the best game of the college basketball weekend. But it easily has the most intriguing individual matchup.

UCLA's Lonzo Ball and Washington's Markelle Fultz -- freshman point guards who very well could be the first two picks in the 2017 NBA Draft -- will meet for the first time in college Saturday night in Seattle.

The Bruins (20-3, 7-3 Pac-12) stopped a two-game skid with a 95-79 victory at Washington State on Wednesday. The Huskies (9-13, 2-8) have lost four in a row.

Ball is second nationally at 8.0 assists, to go with 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. With outstanding court vision, he has been described as "Jason Kidd with a jump shot" as he is making 42.2 percent of his 3-pointers (54 of 128) despite an awkward-looking release.

Fultz is averaging a Pac-12-best 23.1 points, 6.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game. He is the only player in the country to average 20-6-6 in points, assists and rebounds.

Ball has outstanding size at 6-foot-6. Fultz also has plus-height for a point guard at 6-4, with a reported wingspan of nearly 6-feet-10. Ball has a superior supporting cast; Fultz has a better knack for scoring from all over the court, including 41.3 percent from 3-point range.

Should be fun.

"I don't think it will be a distraction," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said of Fultz going head-to-head with Ball.

"I think he'll handle it the same way he's handled everything else. From Day 1 of Markelle Fultz coming to Washington, there's been a lot of talk about the NBA, a lot of talk about him as an individual, and he just has not approached it that way.

"He never came in with a sense of entitlement. He never came in with this, 'I'm the man, you guys act like it, and worship me' attitude. He's just never done that. So I don't see why it's going to be any different."

There is a third freshman of note in what should be a fast-paced game between teams that love to get in transition. UCLA power forward T.J. Leaf scored a career-high 32 points against Washington State, also pulling down 14 rebounds.

"He's a guy that can do that on a nightly basis," said UCLA center Thomas Welsh. "He's extremely skilled and when he's aggressive he's really tough to stop. I'm glad he went out there and did his thing."

Leaf is averaging 17.0 points per game to lead the Bruins, who average a Pac-12-best 92.3 points per game, about 11 points better than the second-highest scoring team.

Against Washington, UCLA should also have freshman reserve forward Ike Anigbogu available. He missed Wednesday's game because of a knee injury.

Washington is still without shot-blocking big man Malik Dime because of a broken finger. Guard David Crisp averages 13.9 points and shoots 40 percent from beyond the arc, but the Huskies don't compare to UCLA in terms of having the depth of scorers and shooters.

Romar said the addition of Ball to the Bruins roster reminds him of another L.A. team.

"The last time I saw something like this was Magic Johnson with the Lakers," he said.

"They had players. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on the team. They get Magic Johnson and within a year, it's Showtime. Guys are passing the ball and chest-bumping, and that's what Lonzo Ball has brought to that team.

"In one year, it's just changed."

The teams will meet again March 1 at UCLA.