Four corners: Eastern Washington Eagles

COMING UP: Saturday at Southern Utah, 6:05 p.m.; Monday vs. Portland State, 6:05 p.m.

OUTLOOK: With four wins in five games, Eastern suddenly is the hottest team in the conference, but can’t afford a slipup at Southern Utah, which has taken several teams down to the wire. Last week, the T-birds trailed Idaho State, which two days later knocked off first-place Weber State, by just one point with eight minutes left. A win in Cedar City would set up a chance on Monday to all but clinch a playoff spot with a home win over 10th-place Portland State (6-8, 11-12). The Eagles haven’t forgotten their earlier meeting in Portland, where they gave up 62 second-half points in a 92-83 loss.

@SRJimAllen