Region Gameday Capsules 01.09.16
Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-2) at No. 22 South Carolina (14-0, 1-0)
Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
The Gamecocks are the only undefeated team in the SEC. They won their conference opener Tuesday, beating Auburn 81-69, its fourth straight double-digit victory and 12th this season. … Vanderbilt, which has lost two straight, is 0-3 against Top 25 opponents this season, with losses to then-No. 5 Kansas, then-No. 25 Baylor and then-No. 14 Purdue.
Texas State (7-4, 1-1) at Appalachian State (2-12, 0-3)
Holmes Center, Boone, 3:30 p.m.
The Mountaineers will try to get their first Sun Belt victory. … Appalachian State has lost nine straight games, the most since the Mountaineers dropped 11 in a row during the 1986-87 season. … Texas State, which will be playing its first game in a week, is coming off a 58-46 loss to Georgia State.
Queens (12-0, 6-0) at Lincoln Memorial (11-2, 7-0)
Turner Arena, Harrogate, Tenn., 4 p.m.
The top two teams in the South Atlantic Conference are ranked among the nation’s Top 25 NCAA Division II teams – the Royals are eighth in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, the Railsplitters 19th. … Lincoln Memorial is second in the nation in scoring at 98.9 points per game.
Radford (9-7, 2-2) at Gardner-Webb (9-8. 4-1)
Paul Porter Arena, Boiling Springs, 4:30 p.m.
Gardner-Webb has won four straight overall and three straight in the Big South, and is one-half game behind High Point and UNC Asheville in the standings. … Radford is coming off an 80-73 win against Charleston Southern on Wednesday.
George Mason (6-9, 0-2) at Davidson (9-4, 1-1)
Belk Arena, Davidson, 7 p.m. (WMYT)
The Wildcats are coming off their first Atlantic 10 win of the season. … They beat Duquesne 77-66 Wednesday to improve to 8-0 at Belk Arena. … George Mason has lost two straight, and is one of four teams at the bottom of the A-10 standings. … Wildcats senior guard Brian Sullivan has missed the past two games with concussion symptoms and will be a game-time decision to play.
Johnson C. Smith (7-6, 2-2) at Elizabeth City State (5-6, 2-2)
R.L. Vaughan Center, Elizabeth City, 4 p.m.
The Golden Bulls have lost their past two CIAA games, the last Thursday at Chowan. … After losing six of its first nine games, Elizabeth City State has won two straight and knocked off two-time and reigning CIAA champ Livingstone 76-72 Thursday.
Bill Kiser
Virginia Tech (10-5, 2-0) at No. 14 Duke (13-2, 2-0)
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, noon (WMYT)
The Hokies finished last in the conference with a 2-16 record last season and were picked to finish 14th of 15 league teams this season. But Virginia Tech has equaled last season’s win total with upset victories over N.C. State and No. 4 Virginia at home. Both wins came without freshman forward Chris Clarke, who broke his foot after starting 10 of the Hokies’ first 12 games.
Laura Keeley
No. 6 North Carolina (14-2, 3-0) at Syracuse (10-6, 0-3)
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y., 8 p.m. (ESPN)
There will be a couple of notable returns in this game – none more so than Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who will be back on the bench after serving a nine-game suspension for violation of NCAA rules. The Carrier Dome is likely to be rocking amid his return. UNC junior forward Kennedy Meeks also is expected to play after missing the past seven games while recovering from a knee injury.
Andrew Carter
This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Region Gameday Capsules 01.09.16."