WARREN, Mich. – Macomb Men's Basketball has a pair of pivotal games ahead this week as they enter the final full week of the regular season. The Monarchs visit No. 21 Oakland Community College at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 18) in Auburn Hills before hosting Wayne County Community College District at 3 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 21) from the Matthaei Center in Detroit. Saturday's game will feature a Sophomore Day ceremony prior to tip-off.
 
The Monarchs enter the week 15-11 overall and 8-3 in MCCAA Eastern Conference action. They are locked in a three-way tie for first place in the league with No. 11 Schoolcraft College and Henry Ford College.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The postseason picture could get a bit clearer by the end of the night Wednesday as the Monarchs take on Oakland while No. 11 Schoolcraft visits Henry Ford. A Macomb victory at Oakland would maintain a first place tie with the Henry Ford/Schoolcraft winner while a loss would send the Monarchs down to a tie for second place.
 
A Monarchs win on Wednesday would officially clinch a playoff spot and put the Blue & White back in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed out of the MCCAA Eastern Conference.
 
A LOOK AT OAKLAND: The Owls enter the week 19-6 overall and 7-4 in MCCAA East play, sitting a game behind Macomb, Henry Ford, and Schoolcraft in the standings. The Owls dropped both games on the road last week, losing 86-75 at Henry Ford and 85-68 at Schoolcraft. 
 
Jordan Wright averages a team-high 21.3 points per game (fifth in MCCAA) and pulls down a team-best 8.1 rebounds per night. Nick Speiser has recorded 18.1 points and a team-leading 6.0 assists per contest while Aaron Chapman posts 18.0 points per game. Speiser leads the MCCAA in assists with 149. 
 
As a team, the Owls average 89.8 points per night to rank fifth in the MCCAA while they lead the conference in field goal percentage (51.4%). The Owls are led by first-year head coach Jason Rushton. 
 
A LOOK AT WAYNE COUNTY: The Wildcats are 12-12 overall and 5-6 in league action. They most recently earned an 83-59 win over Mott Community College on Saturday in Detroit. 
 
Rahim Alvarade leads the Wildcat offense with 21.7 points per night, which ranks third in the MCCAA. The only other double-digit scorer for Wayne County is Ryan Hatcher, who has netted 12.3 points per contest. 
 
The Wildcats average 75.2 points and 32.8 rebounds per game as a team. Wayne County is led by head coach Rogeric Turner. 
 
A LOOK AT MACOMB: The Monarch offense couldn't get going in a 71-67 road loss at St. Clair County Community College last Saturday. The Monarchs got off to a strong start and led 28-20 but cooled from there in the four-point road setback. 
 
Caron Williams led all players with 23 points and nine rebounds. Malachi Irving was the only other Monarch to reach double figures offensively with 14 points while pulling down seven boards. Tabari Howard chipped in nine points and seven rebounds. 
 
Williams continues to lead the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game. Irving has posted 11.9 points per contest while Donald Wilburn has netted 10.9 points per game. Howard has posted team-highs in rebounding (6.8 RPG) and assists (3.6 APG). Joey Angok has registered 11.8 points per night in 12 games played this season. 
 
Christopher Burns' team is seventh in the MCCAA in rebounding with 42.1 boards per game.
 
Saturday's game on the campus of Wayne State University will be Sophomore Day as the Monarchs will honor their sophomores (Lajuan Holloway, Tabari Howard, Malachi Irving, Jaylon Jackson, Donald Wilburn and Caron Williams) prior to their game against Wayne County.
 
The Monarchs will look to notch a perfect 7-0 regular season record at their temporary home of Wayne State with a victory over Wayne County on Saturday. 
 
EARLIER THIS SEASON: The Monarchs earned an 86-78 victory over the Owls on Jan. 24 at the Matthaei Center in Detroit. Macomb has won eight of the last nine meetings in the series with the lone loss coming on the road last year. 
 
The following Wednesday (Jan. 28), Macomb suffered a 77-71 defeat at Wayne County. The victory was the Wildcats first win over the Monarchs since March 2021. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Oakland will have a live stream of Wednesday's game on their Hudl page. Saturday's Sophomore Day contest will feature live stream and live stats coverage with Tom Cavanaugh and Noah Drury on the call.

UP NEXT: The Monarchs wrap up the regular season Feb. 24 at Jackson College. Tip-off against the Jets is set for 7:30 p.m.