Acceleration has not been a problem for No. 14 North Carolina, but maintaining its maximum speed for an entire contest has become a growing concern.

The Tar Heels (14-2, 2-1 ACC) will look to keep the pedal down throughout the game when they begin a West Coast swing with a meeting against Stanford on Wednesday.

Stanford (13-4, 2-2) recorded consecutive wins over then-No. 16 Louisville and Virginia Tech before losing 70-55 to then-No. 23 Virginia on Saturday.

“Good team,” Stanford coach Kyle Smith said of Virginia. “You’re going to have to play really well to beat them, especially beat them (at home). I felt good about the way we defended and rebounded, but you’ve got to put the ball in the basket.”

The Cardinal face another tough matchup against North Carolina, which rebounded from a loss at SMU to beat Wake Forest 87-84 at home on Saturday.

The Tar Heels won for the eighth time in their last nine games with a wire-to-wire victory over the Demon Deacons. North Carolina improved to 14-2 for the first time since 2015-16 with the win.

Henri Veesaar had 25 points and Caleb Wilson added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who led by 15 with 9:50 left before the Demon Deacons went on a 17-3 run.

“This is going to be our growth, for us as a team,” Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said. “It’s not getting to that level, but it’s staying at that point. There were a number of times where we were up 12, 15 points, and in every one of those situations, we never took a step forward. We took our foot off the gas pedal on both ends of the floor.”

The game marked another example of North Carolina building a big lead before allowing opponents to rally late in games.

“Definitely some frustration,” Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble said. “I wouldn’t say concern. We know that it’s there, but we let teams make these runs and we have these lapses a little bit, and teams just take advantage of it. But I know that we can make that go away. I have no doubt in my mind. Some frustration, but no concern.”

The Tar Heels can avenge a 72-71 loss to Stanford in Chapel Hill last season. Stanford escaped with the victory after Jaylen Blakes scored with 1.5 seconds left.

The current Stanford squad is led by freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, who is averaging 22.1 points on 43.2% shooting.

Okorie had 31 points in Wednesday’s win over Virginia Tech before scoring 14 on 5-of-20 shooting against Virginia.

“(Okorie) is tough to guard,” Virginia coach Ryan Odom said. “… Certainly, he demands a double team at times.”

Senior guard Benny Gealer led Stanford with 15 points against Virginia and is third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game.

Stanford and North Carolina have both struggled from beyond the arc this season. The Cardinal are 14th in the league at 33.6% from 3-point range, while the Tar Heels are 13th at 33.7%.

–Field Level Media

Fresh off a major road scare, No. 15 Texas Tech returns to its home court aiming for a strong start to a stretch that will provide multiple tests for an evolving team.

Texas Tech (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) arrives with some momentum, though shaky at best, after a two-point road victory at Colorado in a game that nearly slipped away after the Red Raiders built a 24-point second-half lead.

There is a constant need to quickly turn the page in the Big 12, but Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland wants to ensure his team recognizes the urgency of learning from that close call in a game he called a “catastrophic finish.”

“You’d always rather win and learn than lose and learn and we need to make sure we pay attention to what went wrong,” McCasland said. “Our struggle to defend in transition and our inability to guard without fouling really hurt our team. We’ve got to do a better job in those areas.”

This might be especially true against the desperate Utes (8-8, 0-3 Big 12). Utah has navigated a tough start to conference play without a win, but has made steady progress, culminating in a competitive loss at home on Saturday to then-No. 9 BYU.

Although the Utes have scuffled this season under first-year coach Alex Jensen, the thing that has McCasland’s full attention is their backcourt. Terrence Brown leads Utah with 21.6 points and 4.1 assists per game, while backcourt mate Don McHenry is providing 18.6 ppg and shoots 41.2% from 3-point territory (42 of 102). That tandem combined for 46 points and seven assists against the Cougars.

“Utah has got some really dynamic pieces at the guard spots,” McCasland said. “Any time you have guys averaging close to 20 and over 20 points a game at the guard spots, that just goes to show you they can take a game over. You can give them the ball and some space. We’ve got to be on edge against them.”

The Red Raiders respond with their own duo of Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell and expect to have a significant advantage in the paint with JT Toppin. Anderson ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 19.3 ppg and leads the league with 115 assists (7.2 per game). Atwell is Texas Tech’s top outside threat with 53 made 3-pointers, while Anderson has drained 50 treys.

With Toppin established as one of the top post players in the country (20.6 points & a Big 12-best 11 rebounds a game), the Red Raiders come into Wednesday averaging 83.1 points a game. Utah is second-to-last in the league in scoring defense (80.7), last in scoring margin (-1.3; -12.0 in Big 12 games) and last in field-goal defense (46.7%).

The Utes have surrendered 90.3 points a game in league play, although those three games have been against three of the Big 12’s top eight scoring offenses (No. 1 Arizona, No. 8 Colorado, No. 4 BYU).

“It’s hard to give up 89 points and win, right? And if you look at all the good teams in college that win, (they) are the teams that defend and rebound,” Jensen said after the setback vs. BYU.

–Field Level Media

No. 17 Arkansas suffered its worst loss of the season Saturday, and coach John Calipari does not plan a video review.

“I’m burning the tape,” Calipari said after the Razorbacks’ 95-73 defeat at Auburn that dropped them two spots in the AP Top 25.

“This stuff happens. They (the players) are not robots. They’re not computers. They’ll have games. … But that wasn’t my team. It’s not like we’re a bad team. We’re a Top 20 team who got spanked.”

Arkansas (12-4, 2-1 SEC) returns home after its first loss to a non-ranked opponent to face South Carolina (10-6, 1-2) on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Gamecocks fell 75-70 at home to then-No.18 Georgia on Saturday, when they lost an eight-point lead in the final eight minutes and were 1 of 10 from the field in the final 5 1/2 minutes.

South Carolina coach Lamont Paris had a measured takeaway after holding the Bulldogs 20 points under their scoring average.

“There’s a lot of things that have to happen in order to win a game,” Paris said, “and one of those things happened. We defended at a high enough level. We had a bunch of good looks down the stretch.”

Arkansas’ previous three losses were to Top 12 teams Michigan State, Duke and Houston, and none were by more than nine points. The Razorbacks were never within 10 points of Auburn in the final 23 minutes.

Leading scorer Darius Acuff Jr. (19.9 points) had 19 points on 16 field goal attempts but had only one assist, as the ball stuck much too often against Auburn’s aggressive defense.

Reserve center Malique Ewin added 13 points and 12 rebounds, but the Razorbacks were outrebounded by nine.

Arkansas shot 43.1% from the floor while Auburn shot an opponents’ high 56.7%, the fourth time in seven games Razorback opponents have shot over 50%. Calipari tried a zone defense for part of the second half.

“You’re not just getting a free lane (to the basket) unless you were driving on us,” Calipari said dryly.

South Carolina laid a similar beating on the Razorbacks in the regular season last season, running up a 27-point lead in a 72-53 home win March 1. Arkansas had 14 points at halftime.

Razorbacks forward Nick Pringle, who transferred from South Carolina over the summer, had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Gamecocks in that one. He averages 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16 games (15 starts).

Arkansas won the rematch 72-68 in the opener of last season’s SEC tournament.

Gamecocks leading scorer Meechie Johnson (13.8) scored 11 points against Georgia, but his 40-foot 3-pointer with five seconds left was their only field goal after Elijah Strong’s layup gave them a 64-63 lead with 5:42 remaining.

Forward Mike Sharavjamts had 18 points Saturday, when South Carolina had success with a small lineup.

Arkansas starting forward Karter Knox suffered a hip injury that limited him to seven minutes against Auburn, and his status is unknown. Knox, averaging 8.6 points a game, went scoreless against the Tigers.

–Field Level Media

UCLA pays its first visit to State College, Pa., on Wednesday when the Bruins visit a Penn State team seeking its first win in Big Ten play.

The Nittany Lions (9-7, 0-5 Big Ten) are riding a three-game losing skid that might also rank as their best three games of the year. Yes, they lost to No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue and No. 13 Illinois — but by a combined 18 points.

Penn State followed its dramatic near-miss against then-No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 6 with a 93-85 loss Saturday at Purdue. The Nittany Lions were within a point of the Boilermakers at halftime before falling short.

“With these guys, I do have a lot of hope because they’re doing things the right way, they’re acting the right way, they’re working the right way,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said Monday. “You just want to see results.”

UCLA (11-5, 3-2) also seeks new results from its visit to Penn State — specifically its second win away from Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins improved to 10-0 on their home floor with Saturday’s 67-55 win over Maryland. They had to weather a 48-29 rebounding disparity as forward Tyler Bilodeau was limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble.

UCLA also has been dealing with the absence of senior guard Skyy Clark, who sustained a hamstring injury in the Jan. 3 loss at Iowa. Clark was sidelined in the subsequent setback at Wisconsin, which dropped the Bruins to 1-5 away from home, as well as the Maryland win.

The status of Clark, who averages 13.5 points per game, is unclear for Wednesday.

In Clark’s absence, Trent Perry has moved into a more prominent role on both ends of the floor. The sophomore guard pushed his average to 10.3 points per game with his team-high 16 points against Maryland. And, according to Bruins coach Mick Cronin, Perry made eight deflections in the team’s stingiest defensive performance since Nov. 21.

“I’ve just been confident throughout this entire year,” Perry said. “(Forward) Eric (Dailey Jr.), who is like my big brother, told me to keep pushing and keep my mindset correct.”

Penn State’s backcourt also faces a significant injury. Freshman point guard Kayden Mingo (14.9 ppg, 4.5 apg) missed the Michigan and Purdue gamesdue to a broken nose. Rhoades told reporters at Purdue that the Nittany Lions “will get (Mingo) back when he’s ready.”

In the meantime, freshman guard Melih Tunca (10.4 ppg) joins Freddie Dilione V (15.0 ppg) to form Penn State’s top scoring combination.

–Field Level Media

With his team seeking its first Big 12 victory, Kansas State coach Jeremy Tang finds himself concentrating on chemistry.

The Wildcats (9-7, 0-3) will try to get that first triumph and break a three-game skid Wednesday night when they play recently ranked UCF (13-2, 2-1) in Manhattan, Kan.

The matchup is pivotal for both sides: Kansas State’s campaign has derailed and needs to get on track soon while UCF must learn to prevail in road games, especially over struggling teams, in order to climb the conference standings and return to the Associated Press Top 25.

“It’s the chemistry on the court,” Tang said of his team’s lack of cohesion while being swept out west by No. 1 Arizona and Arizona State. “They don’t always play like they really like each other. You see them off the court, and you’re like, ‘Man, those dudes love each other.’ So we need to bring that on the floor.”

Added the fourth-year coach: “We can’t have two guys play well one night and get goose eggs from other guys.”

P.J. Haggerty is not one putting up zeroes.

The junior guard averages 22.9 points per game, just ahead of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa (22.4 ppg) for the Big 12 lead. Haggerty has paced the Wildcats in scoring in 13 of their 16 games.

Abdi Bashir Jr., who made 6 of 12 3-point attempts in Saturday’s 87-84 loss at Arizona State, nets 13.2 points per game and ranks third in the conference with 3.6 treys per outing and a 45.7% success rate.

UCF, after losing Tuesday at Oklahoma State in its second road game of the season, responded Sunday with a 73-72 home win over Cincinnati. The Knights had to withstand a potential game-winning 26-footer by the Bearcats’ Jalen Celestine to win for the second time in three conference meetings.

UCF coach Johnny Dawkins knows what to expect over the next two months.

“It’s Big 12 basketball at its best,” he said following the victory. “Every single night, it’s a fight.”

Themus Fulks (13.0 points, 7.0 assists per game) hit the go-ahead jumper with 13 seconds left and said the play unfolded organically.

“You just take what the defense gives,” Fulks said. “You predetermine sometimes, and that’s when you mess up and do uncharacteristic things.”

Riley Kugel (14.5 ppg), Jordan Burks (12.6) and Jamichael Stillwell (12.3) round out the Knights’ double-digit scorers.

–Field Level Media

Missouri had a glaring item on its to-do list before hosting Auburn on Wednesday night.

Missouri (12-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had to work on its free throws before welcoming Auburn (10-6, 1-2) to Columbia, Mo., for a battle of the Tigers.

During its 76-69 loss at Ole Miss on Saturday, Missouri shot just 12-for-24 at the line, sinking to 66.3% efficiency for the season — worst among SEC schools.

“We gotta be able to make plays in that moment,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said after the Ole Miss loss. “We gotta come away with two in a row. And if we’re able to do that, it’s a different ball game. Everyone was able to get there. The guys that I thought were able to shoot got to the line. … We’re all better shooters than that. We see it in practice. We just gotta be able to maximize the opportunities in the game.

“We’ll keep and continue to work on them.”

Forward Mark Mitchell leads Missouri with 17.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. But he is shooting just 69% from the charity stripe.

Jayden Stone averages 13.9 points for Missouri, but he is hitting 69.7% of his free throws. Lead guard Anthony Robinson II averages 11.0 points and 4.1 assists, but he is just a 66.1% free-throw shooter.

Center Shawn Phillips Jr. has become a target for intentional fouls while missing 18 of his first 30 free throws for Missouri.

After losing SEC games at Georgia 104-100 in overtime and at home to Texas A&M 90-88, Auburn turned things around with a 95-73 victory over then-No. 15 Arkansas.

Forward Keyshawn Hall poured in 32 points as Auburn rolled over the Razorbacks for a confidence-building victory.

“We lost three games by one possession,” Hall said. “(The coaches) just try to keep saying, ‘We’re there, we’re there, we can do this.’ They try to make us keep going and keep fighting. That’s why we came out playing hard, and we knew what we could do.”

Auburn coach Steven Pearl said his team put itself in a desperate situation, then responded.

“I mean, we had to get that win,” Pearl said. “It didn’t matter who it was against. We had to win that one, because you can’t dig yourself into a 0-3 hole in this conference and expect to have any real success.”

Hall leads Auburn with 21.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The team has four other scorers averaging double figures: Tahaad Pettiford (14.3), Kevin Overton (12.9), Elyjah Freeman (10.4) and KeShawn Murphy (10.1).

–Field Level Media

No. 10 Vanderbilt faces a major roadblock in its pursuit of a program record for wins to start a season when it travels to play Texas on Wednesday in a Southeastern Conference game in Austin, Texas.

The Commodores (16-0, 3-0 SEC) head to the Texan capital after an 84-73 home victory over LSU on Saturday in which Tyler Tanner scored 20 points to lead a balanced Vanderbilt attack. Tyler Nickel added 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while Duke Miles scored 17, AK Okereke added 12 and Jalen Washington hit for 11 in helping the Commodores overcome 26.7% shooting after halftime.

Vanderbilt led by as many as 20 points in the first half and by 14 at the break, but hit just one of its 15 3-point field goal attempts in the second half.

“I just like the resilience,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said after the game. “We went through that (shooting drought) and they still figured their way out of it. We were going against a team that really wanted to win but our guys just had a response, and we thought in different ways. I really hope we keep that the entire year.”

Saturday’s victory allowed the Commodores to match a program-best start to the season that was established by the 2007-08 team and allowed Vanderbilt to climb one spot in the latest Associated Press poll.

The Commodores are one of just five teams in Division I men’s basketball without a loss. Vanderbilt ranks No. 7 in the NCAA’s NET rankings with five Quadrant 1 wins, thanks mostly to the production of one of the nation’s top offenses. Vanderbilt is averaging 93.0 points per game, which is eighth in Division I and No. 4 in the SEC.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns (10-6, 1-2 SEC) seem to have awoken from an early-season slumber. Their most recent game was a 92-88 win at then-No. 13 Alabama on Saturday, which marked their first ranked victory in a true road game under coach Sean Miller.

Jordan Pope racked up 28 points, including six made 3-pointers and four key free throws in the final seconds, to lead the way for Texas. Pope tied his season highs in scoring, field goals made and free throws in the victory. Tramon Mark and Dailyn Swain each added 18 points for the Longhorns in a decision that snapped a two-game losing streak.

“This win gave us a real shot of confidence and an understanding of how hard you have to compete to have a chance to win in the SEC,” Miller said. “We competed at a higher level than we have recently. It’s important that you can get some joy, and you only can get joy through the win. So happy for our team.”

Miller openly criticized his team for its lack of effort in the run-up to the game against Alabama and the move drew dividends, at least for one game.

Wednesday’s game is the third straight for the Longhorns against an SEC foe ranked in the Top 25.

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati has endured a tough start to the Big 12 season and the Bearcats will try to get their first conference win when they host the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday night.

Cincinnati (8-8, 0-3 Big 12) is coming off two close road losses – 62-60 at West Virginia and 73-72 at UCF, which was ranked No. 25 at the time, on a late bucket. The Bearcats have not lost confidence despite being winless in the Big 12.

“This group’s a good team. It’s been tough results, but this group is a really good team, we’re right there every night against really good teams,” Bearcats coach Wes Miller said. “We just have to keep pounding the rock; it’ll crack.”

Cincinnati is led by senior forward Baba Miller, who is averaging 12.7 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, both which top the team. Day Day Thomas averages 12.4 points a game and Moustapha Thiam (11.4) and Jizzle James (11.3) are also scoring in double figures.

Colorado (12-4, 2-1) is also coming off a tough loss to a ranked team. The Buffaloes fell behind No. 14 Texas Tech by 24 on Saturday before rallying but missed a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Head coach Tad Boyle was disappointed in his team giving up 16 offensive rebounds to the Red Raiders, which has been an issue all season.

“This year’s Achilles heel is our inability to finish possessions,” Boyle said. “It’s not about winning and losing to me. I told myself that I’m not going to let my emotional state be dictated by wins and losses. Our problem is too many offensive rebounds for the opponent, and it’s happened all year.”

This will be Colorado’s first visit to the Bearcats in more than 43 years and a chance to win a second road game in the Big 12 after not getting one last season. The Buffaloes are led by freshmen Isaiah Johnson (15.9) and sophomore Sebastian Rancik (13.9) – and have two other players averaging in double figures in Barrington Hargress (13.6) and Bangot Dak (11.4).

–Field Level Media

In a season marred with inconsistency, Kentucky will try to string together consecutive Southeastern Conference victories on Wednesday when it travels to face LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

Last time out, Kentucky (10-6, 1-2 SEC) rebounded from a two-game skid by pulling away for a 92-68 win over Mississippi State. In the process, head coach Mark Pope’s team lost Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe to a season-ending shoulder injury.

The coveted offseason addition dislocated his shoulder three times across the season, playing in just nine games with the Wildcats. Lowe managed only three minutes in Kentucky’s most recent win.

In Lowe’s place, Kentucky will continue to rely on the backcourt of Otega Oweh (15.5 points per game) and Denzel Aberdeen (11.3 ppg), as the duo tries to bring “fun” back to the program.

“It’s unbelievable how fun this game can be when you play it with your team,” Pope said. “It’s unbelievable how fun and inspiring and contagious it can be. We’ve seen that in runs when we’re getting out in transition, and guys kind of fall in love with making plays for each other. We just haven’t seen it very much in the halfcourt.”

Oweh has posted three straight 20-point outings and five in the past seven games.

Kentucky is searching for its first win at LSU since February 2020 and hoping to avoid its first 1-3 start in league play since the 2022-23 campaign.

LSU (12-4, 0-3) is the last winless SEC team in conference play, most recently falling 84-73 at undefeated Vanderbilt. The Tigers’ injury woes have plagued them since the nonconference slate ended, as leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr. (16.2 ppg) hasn’t played since Dec. 29 with a lower leg injury.

The UNLV transfer is labeled as day-to-day, and head coach Matt McMahon knows how badly the Tigers need his return to action.

“We’re trying to adjust on the fly here,” McMahon told the LSU Sports Radio Network. “We’ve prepared for five, six months to play at a breakneck pace with (Thomas) out in the open floor, really feeding off our transition game. That’s not our strength right now.”

Behind Thomas, Mike Nwoko adds 15.1 ppg and Max Mackinnon chips in 14.4 ppg. Mackinnon poured in a season-high 27 points in the loss at Vanderbilt.

–Field Level Media