Streaking W. Virginia visits UCLA

A preview of this weekend’s key men’s college basketball matchups:

Starting five

1. Heading west: Fresh off Wednesday’s victory against rival Southern California, No. 16 UCLA will have a chance to boost its RPI numbers today when the Bruins host No. 17 West Virginia. It’s the last non-conference game of the season for the Bruins, but the Mountaineers have been impressive on the road, already winning at Villanova and against Oklahoma in Oklahoma City as part of an 11-game winning streak.

2. Can’t spell “undefeated” without UF: The rivalry between Florida and Tennessee isn’t as bitter on the court as it’s been on the gridiron, but if any Southeastern Conference team is to stop the No. 2 Gators this season, Tennessee might have the best chance when they meet today in Knoxville. The Volunteers have been respectable under first-year coach Bruce Pearl, and they’ve beaten Florida in three of the past five meetings, although the Gators won in Knoxville last season.

3. Trekking through the top 10: After losing Monday against No. 3 Connecticut in the first of three consecutive games against top-10 opponents, Syracuse will try to get back on the winning track today at No. 7 Villanova. The Orange, who had a 12-game winning streak ended by UConn, will face their third consecutive elite foe Monday night at No. 9 Pittsburgh. Syracuse won last year’s matchup against the Wildcats, 90-75 in Philadelphia.

4. Back to work: After grabbing a much-needed victory at Ohio State last Sunday to even its Big Ten record (2-2), No. 12 Michigan State has had the rest of the week to prepare for today’s invasion of East Lansing by No. 25 Iowa, which is coming off a triple-overtime win Wednesday against Minnesota.

5. Now arriving: Charlotte is in its first season in the Atlantic 10 and has a chance today to announce its arrival to the rest of the conference when the 49ers take on No. 18 George Washington, the defending conference champ, which is sporting a 3-0 conference mark. The 49ers are 4-1 after a win Tuesday against Saint Joseph’s.

Number of the week

180: Rice (8-8) and Southern Methodist (8-7) have met 179 times since first getting together during the 1917-18 season. They’ve battled as members of the old Southwest Conference and in more recent years when both were in the Western Athletic Conference. Today in Dallas, it’s meeting No. 180 in their first get-together as members of Conference USA. Southern Methodist leads the series 109-70. They meet again March 4 in Houston.

Women’s top 25

(6) Maryland 84, Virginia 74 (OT): At Charlottesville, Va., Marissa Coleman scored five of her 22 points in overtime and the Terrapins (16-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened the extra session with a 10-0 run on their way to a victory over the Cavaliers (12-4, 1-3). … (25) George Washington 72, Rhode Island 54: At South Kingstown, R.I., Jessica Simmonds posted her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Colonials (12-5, 5-0 Atlantic 10) past the Rams (5-11, 2-3).