With March Madness approaching, both Arkansas and Vanderbilt head into Tuesday night’s SEC showdown in Nashville looking to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes. The Commodores (20-9, 8-8 SEC) have found their rhythm at the perfect time, winning three straight games—all against ranked opponents. Their latest triumph, a 97-93 overtime victory over then-No. 14 Missouri, showcased their resilience after trailing for over 32 minutes. In that game, Chris Manon (23 points, 11 rebounds) and AJ Hoggard (21 points, six assists) led a furious comeback, strengthening Vanderbilt’s NCAA Tournament résumé. Currently 37th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, Vanderbilt boasts an impressive 9-9 record in Quad 1 and 2 games and no bad losses (Quad 3 or 4 defeats). Head coach Mark Byington

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a tear, steamrolling through opponents even after a roster shakeup at the trade deadline. With a six-game winning streak in hand, they welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, looking to continue their surge up the Western Conference standings. Los Angeles has managed to stay dominant despite injuries, winning back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Clippers without Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves. Hachimura remains out with a knee injury, while Reaves played only nine minutes in the first game against the Clippers before exiting with a calf issue. Even without key starters, the Lakers found a way to grind out a 106-102 win on Sunday, with Luka Doncic leading the

Josh Eilert finds himself in an unusual situation—leading Utah (16-13, 8-10 Big 12) against the West Virginia Mountaineers (17-12, 8-10 Big 12), the team he coached just last season. Tuesday night’s matchup in Salt Lake City carries extra meaning for Eilert, who took over West Virginia on an interim basis following Bob Huggins’ resignation last summer. Now, after Utah fired Craig Smith, Eilert has once again been placed in interim coaching duty. Stepping in at West Virginia was a bigger challenge, Eilert admitted, as he inherited a team late in the offseason that ultimately finished 9-23—the worst record in program history. Now, his new squad at Utah is in the thick of the Big 12 standings, battling for a first-round

The Houston Rockets will need all hands on deck when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. With multiple starters sidelined, Houston’s depth will be tested against a Pacers team that boasts one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the NBA. Indiana has been solid offensively all season, with six players averaging double figures in scoring and two others, T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith, hovering just below that mark. Their ability to spread the scoring load has kept them competitive, and Nesmith’s emergence has been particularly timely given the recent injury to Bennedict Mathurin. The Rockets, meanwhile, are coming off a 137-128 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where four starters and two key rotation players were missing.