With the start of the grueling ACC schedule looming, Virginia Tech closes its non-conference schedule Thursday as it hosts North Carolina A&T. The Hokies are 8-0 at home and have won those contests by an average of 30 points. 

Tulsa and East Carolina look to get off on the right foot in American Athletic Conference play when they face off in their conference opener Thursday in Oklahoma. The Pirates enter the matchup having won four of five contests, including a victory over Grambling last Thursday, while the Golden Hurricane had their three-game winning streak snapped with a loss at Oklahoma State on Dec. 19.

Michael Nzei may be forced to handle a bigger workload for the second straight game when No. 24 Seton Hall hosts No. 23 Creighton on Thursday in the Big East opener for both teams. Nezi played 29 minutes in place of the suspended Ismael Sanogo in last week's victory over Manhattan and the junior could be in line for a similar role against the Bluejays.

Rutgers looks to bounce back from its most disappointing loss of the season when it concludes non-conference play against Hartford on Thursday. The Scarlet Knights had won their previous four games, including a 71-65 victory against 24th-ranked Seton Hall, before dropping a 75-73 overtime decision to Stony Brook on Friday and hope to get back on track by beating Hartford for the third consecutive time.

Temple can sometimes survive when one of its top three scorers is off, but rarely when two of the "big three" are out of rhythm. The Owls aim to bounce back from a tough defeat Thursday when they welcome Tulane to town for both teams' American Athletic Conference opener.

Houston and host South Florida both enter the start of American Athletic Conference play riding high on Thursday. Houston has won nine of the past 10 while USF is on the longest winning streak in more than three years.

Getting a healthy Kyron Cartwright back will be critical for Providence when its plays its Big East opener Thursday at St. John's. Cartwright was hobbled by an ankle injury in a loss to Houston before missing the Friars' victory over Sacred Heart and is considered day-to-day for the 111th meeting with the Red Storm.

Gonzaga has won or shared 16 of the 17 West Coast Conference regular season championships and returns two key starters from a team that made it all the way to the NCAA title game last April. But the 19th-ranked Bulldogs, who open conference play on Thursday night against visiting Pacific, were picked to finish second behind Saint Mary's in the annual poll of WCC head coaches before the season.

LSU faces its first true road test of the season Thursday, and it’s a doozy. The Tigers look to snap their nine-game skid on opponents’ courts when they visit Memphis, which is 9-0 at home.