The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's basketball teams have just two home regular season games left and the first of those is coming up Tuesday night when North Platte Community College comes to Cougar Palace.

                Tuesday's action will be a Region IX South sub-region contest for the Cougar men, who are in the hunt to host the Region IX tournament. The women's game with North Platte will just be a regular season game since the Knight women are NJCAA Division II. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. for the women's contest with the men's game to follow.

                Tuesday's game is also WNCC Alumni Night sponsored by the WNCC Alumni Foundation. WNCC alumni get free admission to the contest.

                The men's contest is huge if the Cougars want to host the Region IX tourney. WNCC and Trinidad State are tied for the South conference lead with 8-1 marks. WNCC last hosted the men's Region IX tournament in 2012.

                The Cougar men enter with a 19-8 record and bring an 8-game winning streak into the contest. The 8-game streak is the longest since the 2017-18 season when the men ran off 12 straight wins. WNCC won the Region IX title that season.

                The other factor that is standing out for the Cougar men is one more win would give the Cougars a 20-win season. The last time WNCC had a 20-win season was back in 2019 when the team went 24-8.

                The two teams met once this season when WNCC won 81-80 in overtime in North Platte. That contest saw a tale of two halves as WNCC shot just 30 percent in the first half compared to 46 percent in the second half.

                WNCC trailed in overtime 77-74 before JJ Harris hit a bucket and then buried a 3-pointer for a 79-77 lead. WNCC led 81-77 with four seconds left after two Kayden Nation free throws to get the win 81-80.

                North Platte is one of those teams that is in a battle to host a first-round playoff game as they are a half game from the final spot to host a first-round game. North Platte is 3-6 in conference play and is battling NJC (5-4), McCook (4-6), and Otero (3-6). North Platte is 11-13 overall.

                While the men's contest has plenty of sub-region implications, the women's contest is one where WNCC needs to keep winning to build some confidence. WNCC had a 3-game losing skid before Friday's away game with McCook and ended up winning 72-61 behind a 21-point performance from Amiyah Donaldson.

                The two teams met once this season when WNCC won 50-40 at North Platte in a game that was low scoring. The last time the Cougars combined to score under 100 points with an opponent was back in the 2015-16 season when Casper defeated WNCC 37-24 at the Regional tournament.

                Tuesday's game could be another low-scoring contest like the first meeting when North Platte led the Cougars 23-18 at halftime. The second half saw WNCC outscore North Platte 32-17.

                The contest will also be a return to a local player back to the area as Torrington's Reece Halley is a starter for the Knights. Halley didn't score in the first meeting between the two schools while pulling down four rebounds.

                After Tuesday, the Cougars' last regular season home game will be Tuesday, February 27 when they host Lamar Community College in sophomore recognition night. There is a chance the two teams may also host a first-round playoff match the weekend of March 9-10.