It’s rare for the University of Hawaii to produce Big West Champions in basketball — even more rare to capture titles in both the women’s and men’s divisions in the same year. Congrats to the UH Rainbow Warriors and Wahine, who are both headed to the Big Dance.

The Warriors take on fourth-seed California in Spokane, Wash., on Friday while the Wahine take on No. 3 seed UCLA in Los Angeles Saturday. There were tense moments, especially during the Warriors’ 64-60 win against Long Beach State Saturday. But both teams would not be denied, and for diehard UH sports fans, victory was doubly sweet.

Keeping a drones-eye view on humpbacks

Unlike humans, whales can’t object to invasion of privacy — and for researchers, that’s a good thing.

Using aerial drones, researchers have gotten some cool, up-close photos of humpback whales in waters off Maui in a recent two-week study. The remotely piloted drones are expected to be used again next year, to monitor and assess ways to best help whales entangled by fishing lines or nets.