North Carolina has found its stride at just the right time, winning three straight games to rekindle hopes of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. The Tar Heels, once on the outside looking in, have improved to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in ACC play, and they will look to build on their momentum when they visit Florida State on Monday in Tallahassee. This recent three-game win streak over Syracuse, NC State, and Virginia comes after a 2-5 slump that appeared to put North Carolina’s postseason hopes in jeopardy. However, head coach Hubert Davis believes his team has turned a corner. “I think our attention to detail has been more consistent. I think defensively we’ve been better,” Davis said. “Getting to the

The Houston Cougars are rolling through the Big 12, but there’s still one team standing in their way—Texas Tech. With just four games left in the regular season, Houston (23-4, 15-1 Big 12) has a comfortable lead in the standings. But if they want to secure the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, they need to settle some unfinished business. Why? Because the Red Raiders (21-6, 12-4) are the only team to beat Houston in Big 12 play this season. And now, Houston has a chance for revenge—but they’ll have to do it on the road. Houston is coming off a statement win over No. 8 Iowa State, where they built a 16-point lead before grinding out a 68-59

No. 12 Michigan heads to Lincoln on Monday night, looking to rebound from a tough loss to Michigan State and stay in the Big Ten title hunt. Meanwhile, Nebraska aims to recover from a disappointing loss to Penn State as it fights for an NCAA Tournament berth. The Wolverines (20-6, 12-3 Big Ten) had a chance to take sole possession of first place in the conference but instead fell 75-62 at home to Michigan State on Friday. The loss dropped them a half-game behind the Spartans with five games left in the regular season. Michigan has been strong on the road, posting a 6-2 record away from home, and head coach Dusty May remains confident in his team’s ability to

The Colorado Avalanche returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a strong effort against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, but the results didn’t follow. Despite outshooting Nashville 32-17, the Avalanche couldn’t convert their chances in a 2-1 loss. Defenseman Sam Malinski scored the only goal for Colorado, while Nathan MacKinnon was kept off the scoresheet despite firing eight shots on goal. “If I take the result out of it, then I’m actually really happy with the way that we played,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We had a tough time scoring tonight, and we checked hard. We limited the chances against.” The Avalanche also saw 21 of their shots blocked, something they will need to adjust against a St.