David Backes scored twice in a three-goal second period as the Blues beat the Blackhawks 3-2 at the United Center.  Patrick Kane staked Chicago to a 1-0 lead with his 22nd goal of the season in the first period.  Backes tied the game at 11:34 of the second, and he and Jay McClement added goals just over a minute apart late in the frame to put St. Louis ahead 3-1.  Marian Hossa scored shorthanded early in the third to get the Blackhawks close, but the Blues held on from there.  Chris Mason made 32 saves for St. Louis, which had lost four of its previous six games.  The Blues are back home tonight to host the West-leading Sharks at Scottrade Center, then St. Louis will  host Chicago on Saturday.

The streak is over.  David Loubeau scored 12 of his 17 points after intermission to lead Texas A&M to a 77-74 win over Missouri at Mizzou Arena.  The Tigers went cold in the second half, going more than 10 minutes without a basket and seeing their 32-game home winning streak come to an end.  Kim English had 15 points to pace Mizzou, which fell to 16-and-6 overall and 4-and-3 in the Big 12.  Laurence Bowers added 11 points and 10 rebounds for MU, which was just two shy of the school record home winning streak.  The Tigers take on Colorado in Boulder on Saturday.

Kwamain Mitchell scored 16 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, including the go-ahead bucket with 1.4 seconds left, as Saint Louis beat St. Bonaventure 67-65 at Chaifetz Arena.  Willie Reed added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Billikens, who snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 13-and-8 overall and 4-and-3 in the Atlantic 10.  The Bonnies have lost six-of-eight to drop to 9-and-11 and 2-and-5.  SLU will play at La Salle Saturday afternoon.

Demetri McCarney totaled 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as Illinois scored a 57-49 win at Iowa.  Mike Tisdale added 14 points and seven boards as the Fighting Illini won their third straight to improve to 15-and-8 overall and 7-and-3 in the Big Ten.  Next up for Illinois is a Saturday night home game against conference-leading Michigan State.  The Spartans are 19-and-4.

Top-ranked Kansas survived last night, but number-eight Georgetown did not.  KU outlasted Colorado 72-66 in overtime in Boulder to improve to 21-and-1.  South Florida outscored the Hoyas 46-29 in the second half and beat Georgetown 72-64 in D.C.  The Hoyas fell to 16-and-5.

The Lakers beat the Bobcats 99-97 in Los Angeles to make Phil Jackson the winningest coach in franchise history.  The "Zen Master" notched his 534th regular-season win with LA to surpass Pat Riley.  The former Bulls coach now has 1,079 total wins to rank fifth in NBA history.