KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have become known for big-name stars such as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. They are some of the best players in the NFL and have helped the Chiefs reach their sixth straight AFC title game. But the Chiefs wouldn't be heading to Baltimore on Sunday for a shot at their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years if not for all of their draft steals over the years. That includes players like Chamarri Conner, who played a crucial role in beating Buffalo in last weekend's divisional round, and leading rusher Isiah Pacheco, a former seventh-round pick.
PROVO, Utah (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 23 points to lead No. 4 Houston to a 75-68 victory over No. 21 BYU. Jamal Shead chipped in 16 points and Damian Dunn added 10 for Houston, who scored 17 points off 13 BYU turnovers and finished with a 15-7 advantage in second chance points. Noah Waterman led BYU with 17 points and Jaxson Robinson added 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting. BYU outscored Houston 28-22 in the paint and 13-7 in fastbreak points but only shot 29% from 3-point range.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Max Abmas scored 22 points and Texas beat No. 11 Oklahoma 75-60. Dylan Disu had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Dillon Mitchell added eight points and 13 boards for the Longhorns. Abmas went 4 of 8 on 3-pointers and shot 8 of 14 from the field overall. Texas shot 50% from the floor to win its sixth straight in the series. The Longhorns were coming off a victory over then-No. 9 Baylor on Saturday. Jalon Moore scored 15 points and Otega Oweh added 10 for the Sooners, who had won two straight.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Emanuel Miller scored 21 points and Micah Peavy scored 16 points, and TCU rallied from a first-half deficit to beat Oklahoma State 74-69. John Michael-Wright scored 16 points for Oklahoma State. Hicklen made two foul shots for the Cowboys to reduce their deficit to 72-69 with 1:02 left but failed to score again, missing a pair of 3-pointers in the last 32 seconds.
ORLANDO (AP) — Jaylin Sellers scored 18 points, Ibrahima Diallo had 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and UCF beat West Virginia 72-59. UCF scored the opening eight points and added a 9-0 run for a 19-7 lead. The Knights led by double digits for the final eight minutes of the first half, taking a 37-24 lead on Thierno Sylla’s open 3-pointer from the corner as the horn sounded. It was UCF’s first halftime lead in Big 12 play this season. UCF led by as many as 21 points in the second half before West Virginia got as close as 66-56 with 1:36 remaining on Seth Wilson’s 3-pointer. Diallo answered at the other end with a lob dunk off a pass from Antwann Jones, and Darius Johnson sealed it with free throws.
NEW YORK (AP) — Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer have been elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame while Billy Wagner and Gary Sheffield fell short. Beltré was picked on 366 of 385 ballots in his first appearance for 95.1%. Helton, making his sixth ballot appearance, got 307 votes for 79.7%, 18 more than the needed 289 for 75% after falling 11 votes short last year. Mauer also was elected on his first try, receiving 293 votes for 76.1%. The three players will be inducted at Cooperstown on July 21 along with manager Jim Leyland, elected last month.
Rhys Hoskins and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a $34 million, two-year contract, filling the team’s opening at first base. A person familiar with the move confirmed it to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical. Milwaukee won the NL Central last year with a 92-70 record before getting eliminated by Arizona in their Wild Card Series. The addition of Hoskins gives the Brewers another power bat for the middle of their lineup. They had Rowdy Tellez and Carlos Santana at first base in 2023, but they let go of Tellez after the season and he signed with Pittsburgh in December. Santana remains a free agent.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks have fired coach Adrian Griffin after just 43 games despite having one of the league’s top records midway through his first season. Milwaukee is 30-13 to tie the Minnesota Timberwolves for the league’s second-best record. The Bucks are 3 1/2 games behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. But the dip in Milwaukee’s defensive performance had raised concerns about the Bucks’ viability as a championship contender. Milwaukee had given Griffin his first head coaching job this summer after firing Mike Budenholzer. Joe Prunty, who had been an assistant coach on Griffin’s staff, will serve as the Bucks’ interim head coach.
TUESDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Purdue 99 Michigan 67
Final (4)Houston 75 (21)BYU 68
Final South Carolina 79 (6)Kentucky 62
Final Texas 75 (11)Oklahoma 60
Final (12)Duke 83 Louisville 69
Final (13)Wisconsin 61 Minnesota 59
Final (16)Dayton 66 La Salle 54
Final (17)Creighton 85 Xavier 78
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Denver 114 Indiana 109
Final New York 108 Brooklyn 103
Final New Orleans 153 Utah 124
Final Oklahoma City 111 Portland 109
Final L.A. Clippers 127 L.A. Lakers 116
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Ottawa 4 Montreal 1
Final Dallas 5 Detroit 4
Final Tampa Bay 6 Philadelphia 3
Final Vegas 3 N-Y Islanders 2
Final Minnesota 5 Washington 3
Final Edmonton 4 Columbus 1
Final St. Louis 4 Calgary 3
Final Anaheim 4 Buffalo 2