Dana Lane

If the Charlotte Hornets could just stay whole for an extended period, they might be onto something.

The lineup could be close to that when the Miami Heat visit for Sunday afternoon's game in Charlotte, N.C.

The Hornets had LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward back in action Thursday night in a 111-96 victory against the visiting Chicago Bulls. Both players missed the previous games -- Ball sitting out three and Hayward the past two.

"What it does is it takes so much pressure off the perimeter guys," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "Gordon was really good at both ends of the floor. (Ball is) a difference maker. He puts so much pressure on the defense every time he touches the ball."

The Heat have won three games in a row after Friday night's 110-105 victory against the Orlando Magic that came with a second-half rally. Miami is 9-4 in January after entering 2023 just one game above .500.

Tigers are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall

Saints are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 road games following three or more consecutive home games, while Marist is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600

No. 23-ranked Providence will look for its third consecutive victory when it battles Villanova on Sunday in Philadelphia.

The Friars (16-5, 8-2 Big East), who are 12-0 at home, received 16 points from Bryce Hopkins in a 79-58 win over Butler last Wednesday.

Clifton Moore and Corey Floyd Jr. added 12 points each and Devin Carter had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jared Bynum also provided a big lift with four points and three assists in 11 minutes after missing the previous four games with an abdominal strain.

"There's nothing like playing at home," Providence head coach Ed Cooley said. "It gets better and better every time we're here. Our players did a great job. When the game settled in, it was great to get Jared Bynum back involved."

Bynum started 16 games before suffering the injury against then-No. 4 UConn on Jan. 4. Cooley gushed over Bynum's return and how much his presence helped the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost three straight games to the Cincinnati Bengals, including last year's AFC title game, when they blew an early 21-3 lead in an overtime defeat before a sea of stunned fans inside Arrowhead Stadium.

Patrick Mahomes, who expects to lead the Chiefs against the Bengals on a sprained right ankle in Sunday night's rematch, is likewise winless against Bengals counterpart Joe Burrow, the only quarterback to have beaten him three straight times.

In other words, there's a reason the AFC North champions are imbued with a certain degree of confidence as they return to Kansas City, where the burgeoning rivals will once again determine who represents the AFC in the Super Bowl.

"Your preparation leads to confidence. That's just what you see from Joe and all of our players," explained the even-keeled Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who has somehow out-schemed, out-coached, and gotten his team to out-execute Andy Reid and his Chiefs over the past 13 months. "So when they walk on the field on Sunday, they're relaxed."

In fact, the Bengals are so confident that some have taken to calling the Chiefs' home "Burrowhead Stadium."

Which, as you can imagine, doesn't sit well with the AFC West champs.

The late-game meltdowns stick in San Francisco.

Take the Super Bowl against Kansas City following the 2019 season. The 49ers became the third team in Super Bowl history to cough up a 10-point lead in the second half and lost to the Chiefs. Or last season's NFC title game, when a 17-7 lead unraveled because of a dropped interception, a conservative fourth-down call, and an interception on the final drive. Winner, Rams.

Another blown opportunity at a championship that's hard to forget.

"As you go back to last year, we were a couple of plays away from making it to the Super Bowl again," wide receiver Deebo Samuel said. "What's it really going to take for us to get there? We just have to minimize the mistakes and everybody has to be on their assignments."

Near perfection.

That's a pretty heady task for any team, much less one headed into Philadelphia, where the cold, an MVP finalist, and the top-seeded team in the NFC await. It's going to get crazy loud - or is it crazy and loud? - at Lincoln Financial Field.

The 49ers say they're ready. They have won 12 straight games, including seven in a row since rookie Brock Purdy, a seventh-round draft pick, took over at quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo was injured.

The number in this game continues to rise and with Hawaii failing to cover four of their last six games, this to too big of a line.