While the Lobos are thinking they might be in good shape for a Big Dance at-large bid, they had better not overlook this matchup tonight at the Pit. That's because visiting CSU is making noise as it did late last season, when catching fire down the stretch and winning the MW Tourney for Niko Medved before he moved to Minnesota. Ali Farokmanesh seems to be doing much the same, as the Rams hit Albuquerque having won seven straight. Things started improving in mid-January when key F Kyle Jorgensen returned to active duty, and while CSU doesn't have a star like Nique Clifford a year ago, it does have balance and plenty of good 3-point shooters, hitting 39.5% beyond the arc (that's 7th nationally!). Play CSU

Maybe the Winter Olympic break refreshed the Blues, who have shown a bit of life since, winning two of three, with both of those successes coming when Joel Hofer has been in goal. Hofer is slated to start again tonight in Seattle after beating the Kraken 5-1 last Thursday night at Enterprise Center as he stopped 23 of 24 shots before back at work on Sunday at Minnesota, stopping 22 of 23 shots in a 3-1 win. The Kraken have won twice at Climate Pledge since that loss in St Louis last Thursday behing Joey Daccord in goal, though Lane Lambert goes back to Philip Grubauer tonight, who took the loss last week vs. the Blues. Play Blues on Money Line

Mostly, it's probably our last chance to buck the Roos, but ORU improving late with wins in three straight and four of six, with well-traveled (Louisiana, EWU, Youngstown State) G Ty Harper one of the hottest scorers in the country at the moment, piling up better than 34 ppg across the past three. As for KC, one last time to reiterate what’s gone wrong, as an already-bad campaign became a disaster in mid-January when HC Marvin Menzies was moved out....effective end of season, giving him one of the longest lame-duck sessions this side of Congress after elections in even-numbered years. The Roos haven’t won or covered a game since as the SU and spread losing streak has reached 14. Play ORU (Summit at Sioux Falls)

Andy Kennedy’s Blazers are just 1-7 outright and have yet to cover a spread in their eight home games in AAC play this season after yet another loss in Birmingham on Sunday vs. visiting North Texas. On the road in American play, you ask? UAB transforms into Duke, now 8-0 SU as a conference visitor. Perhaps the fact the Blazers shoot their 3s so poorly (28.5% ranks 358th nationally!), and don't shoot as many on the road, has something to do with it, but it's also one of those non-sensical trends that simply works and works. Why not ride it for one more night vs. a modest Charlotte? Play UAB

OKC is close to full strength tonight as SGA is slated to return to action after missing last night in Chicago, though Jalen Williams remains on the shelf. SGA had missed several weeks previous but did return in good form vs. the Nuggets (scored 36) and Mavs (scored 30) last week, though the efforts by the champs were not necessarily impressive in recent wins over the suspect Mavs and Bulls. Meanwhile, the streaky Knicks look on the upswing again with wins in three straight and all hands on deck save Mitchell Robinson, and Jalen Brunson in good form (26 ppg last three, leading Knicks scoring in each). Play Knicks

The Hammers' mood is still upbeat, say sources, as Nuno continues to coax some efforts from his side since later January, with the only recent losses coming vs. Champs League entries Chelsea and Liverpool. Even at Anfield last weekend, West Ham made a fist of it, threatening to get back into the match in the second half after goals from Tomás Soucek and Valentin Castellanos. Having blown recent late leads in that Chelsea match and also vs. Man United (which ended 1-1), West Ham has been in position to do a bit better the past month, and with Jerrod “Mr Reliable” Bowen, Callum Wilson, and the aforementioned Soucek (17 goals between them), the Hammers have enough sharp edges. Play West Ham on Asian Line

There are parallel arguments both ways here that support the surging Bearcats. "Surging" is one definite reason as Cincy has won five of six, four of those by double-digit margins, as it has climbed back to the periphery of the Big Dance bubble and maybe help save HC Wes Miller's job in the process. Miller has had four different leading scorers across the past six games, the sort of balance that BYU counterpart Kevin Young can only dream about as the Cougs look to be appeasing frosh star and nation's top scorer (24.9 pgp) AJ Dybantsa. The BYU offense become increasingly Dybantsa-specific lately, and as AJ's number of shots have increased, so have the frequency of Cougar losses (now 8 of 12). Play Cincinnati

The Oilers are already active before the NHL trade deadline, acquiring defender Connor Murphy from Chicago, but sources suggest they're not done. Still on the shopping list is a new goaltender, after the Tristan Jarry-for-Stuart Skinner deal with Pittsbugh looks to be tilting in the Pens' direction. Jarry was not an upgrade from Skinner and no long-term answer, and the pressure is on to find a real answer. Losses in two of three on the coast out of the Olympic break add to concerns. Ottawa has a bit more stable look in goal with vet Linus Ullmark (17-8-6 on the season), and the Sens are making one last push to enter the East playoff mix with wins in six of eight. Play Sens on ML

They might as well used a DVD to replay Green Bay's New Year's Day 72-54 romp past IPFW for the second meeting on February 12 when Doug Gottlieb's troops won by a near-identical 75-69 score. In both games the Fighting Phoenix were able to jam the gearbox on the Mastodons' feared transition game, and Green Bay got plenty of points from G Justin Allen, who scored 21 in the first meeting and 32 in the second. Safe to say this isn't the matchup that IPFW HC Jon Coffman wanted for this team in the first round of the Horizon Tourney, which moves to Indy for semifinal and finals action next week. Play Green Bay (Horizon)

Not often in recent years have we been on a Hornets bandwagon but count now as oneof thos occasions. Into tonight, it's four straight wins, all by 16 points or more, which have moved Charlotte into play-in territory and within shouting distance of the top six in the East, and missing the elimination games before the first round begins. Staying healthy has been key as the only expected absence of note tonight is just-added ex-Bulls G Coby White, who has played only three games for the Hornets since being acquired. Meanwhile, the Mavs have punted on this season and have only had successes lately vs. like-minded teams (Brooklyn & Indiana) more concerned with the next 2026-27 campaign. Play Hornets

Perhaps having so many players leave for AFCON duty in the middle of the season, and then returning in January, effectively put Sunderland's season off its early axis. Meanwhile, it says something about how far Leeds have come since Daniel Farke pulled off the hand-brake and turned his players loose in late November, to the point the only losses since have come against current Champs League participants Arsenal, Newcastle, and Man City. Though not completely clear with the drop zone just six points below, nothing about form the past three months suggests Leeds is in any danger, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, still getting ample opportunities, is due to resume his goal-scoring spree from the late autumn (seven across a six-match stretch). Play Leeds on ML

EWU is stomping thru the Big Sky like Godzilla in an eight-game win streak (nine straaight vs. the line) to pull within a game of fading Portland State at the top of the loop as the conference tourney beckons in Boise. Win margins are also expanding into March, the last three all by double digits including Saturday’s 88-57 rout of NAU in Cheney. While UCR transfer G Isaiah Moses (17.6 ppg) has been the catalyst most of the season, it’s been frontline transfers 6-9 Kiree Huie (ex-Miami-Fla; scored 23 in last Thursday’s win over Northern Colorado) and 6-8 bruiser Alton Hamilton IV (NAIA transfer via Lewis & Clark; 23 points on Saturday vs. the Lumberjacks) who have helped key this recent surge. Play EWU

Nothing easy about Denver's recent schedule, which has offered serious playoff contenders like the Celtics, Thunder, and T-wolves in a row thru the Weekend. FInally, however, the Nuggets might catch a break tonight in Salt Lake City. Denver is not far past running up 157 points at Portland and no new injury news tonight other than the ongoing absence of Peyton Watson. There is also a chance that Aaron Gordon returns to active duty Monday night after missing the past five weeks with a hamstring strain. As for Jazz, they're already planning for next season and haven't won since the All-Star break, inlcuding consecutive double-digit loss to the Pelicans in front of tonight. Play Nuggets

The Winter Olympics break proved particularly ill-timed for Blue Jackets, who had won seven straight and eleven of twelve in their "Bowness Bounce" before Milan-Cortina. No wins in two (though picking up a point vs. the Islanders) since, yet can still say that since Rick Bowness took over behind the bench in January, the defense has stiffened, and Elvis Merzlikins has stopped 89 of 97 shots (.917 saves) across his last four starts in goal. Meanwhile the Rangers' offense continues to struggle for Mike Sullivan, with the recent trade of top scorer Artemi Panarin to LA further reducing the firepower, though Igor Shesterkin hasn't looked bad in goal (2.37 GAA, .912 saves) in two starts since the Olympic break. Play Blue Jackets-Rangers Under

Of the teams fighting to get out of the Serie A drop zone, the most likely to escape looks Fiorentina, which shouldn't have been in that predicament in the first place. La Viola have made up the ground caused by the slow start that got Stefano Pioli pink-slipped behind the bench in early November, just completing a promising February that included an unbeaten Serie A mark, plus advancing in the UEFA Conference League, with striker Moise Kean now back in form after his own slow break this season, and having scored in each of La Viola's last three Serie A matches. Meanwhile, another unremarkable season for Udinese, which was victimized by Fiorentina 5-1 on December 21 when Kean scored a brace. Play Fiorentina ML