KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Big 12 Tournament begins on Tuesday in Kansas City and it promises to look a whole lot different. Arizona, Colorado, Arizona State and Utah are in and Texas and Oklahoma are out. And some of the perennial heavyweights, such as Kansas, will have a tough road after difficult seasons. The Jayhawks are seeded sixth and will play a second-round game Wednesday. The top seed is Houston, which has won 10 straight games entering the tournament. The Cougars lost to Iowa State in the title game last year.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech sophomore forward JT Toppin has been selected by Big 12 coaches as the league’s player and newcomer of the year. The awards were announced Monday. The transfer from New Mexico is the only Big 12 player who ranks top three in scoring and rebounding. Toppin is the first player in the league's 29 seasons to be voted by coaches as the top player and top newcomer in the same season. Houston’s Kelvin Sampson was selected by his peers as the top coach. The 27-4 Cougars have won the Big 12 regular-season title in both years since joining the league.
UNDATED (AP) — Duke has ended Auburn’s eight-week stay at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. The Tigers dropped to third behind Houston after a pair of losses. The Blue Devils are in the top spot for the first time since November 2021. Oregon and Illinois return to the poll while Arizona and Mississippi State dropped out.
UNDATED (AP) — The No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament along with the last spots in the 68-team field will be riding on the outcome of a plethora of conference tournaments this week. Duke, Houston and Auburn could be playing for the top spot, depending on how they fare in the ACC, Big 12 and SEC tourneys. Meanwhile, teams such as Vanderbilt and Georgia in the SEC, North Carolina and Wake Forest in the ACC and Xavier in the Big East are looking at their tournament openers as must-win games. And then there are mid-majors such as UC San Diego, UC Irvine and Utah State that could very well steal a bid from a power conference.
UNDATED (AP) — Big Ten champion UCLA has jumped back to No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll. The Bruins, who spent 12 weeks atop the poll, received 16 first-place votes to go from fourth to first. South Carolina rose to second after topping previous No. 1 Texas in the SEC championship game. UConn, USC and Texas found out the top five. TCU climbed to sixth for the school's best ranking ever after winning the Big 12 title.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will have season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Tuesday. The Yankees said the 34-year-old right-hander was examined Monday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. ElAttrache, the Dodgers’ head team physician, will operate. Cole experienced discomfort following his second spring training outing Thursday. New York also is missing another starting pitcher, AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, who will be sidelined for at least three months because of a strained lat muscle.
LONDON (AP) — Manchester United has unveiled plans to build the biggest stadium in the United Kingdom. A proposed 100,000-seater arena would be the “world’s greatest football stadium,” part owner Jim Ratcliffe says. Under the plans, the 20-time English champion says it will build next to its existing Old Trafford ground. That means it will not need to relocate during the construction process. United did not say how much the stadium would cost to build or reveal a timeline for its completion. British billionaire Ratcliffe paid $1.3 billion for an initial 25% stake in United last year and made the construction of a new stadium one of his priorities.
UNDATED (AP) — Quarterback Sam Darnold has agreed on a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because teams can’t sign free agents until Wednesday. Darnold had his best season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, leading them to 14 wins. He replaces Geno Smith, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders last week.
UNDATED (AP) — A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that the New York Jets and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields have agreed to a two-year contract worth $40 million. Fields would step in as New York’s starter in place of Aaron Rodgers, who the Jets announced last month they are moving forward without after two seasons. The deal for Fields includes $30 million guaranteed, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement wasn’t announced by the team. The Jets also agreed to terms with former Baltimore cornerback Brandon Stephens and former Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco.
MONDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 4 Atlanta 3
Final Philadelphia 4 Minnesota 1
Final Milwaukee 7 Seattle 5
Final Chicago Cubs 7 Cleveland 4
Final L.A. Angels 12 Colorado 3
Final Baltimore 6 Pittsburgh 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final N.Y. Yankees 10 Detroit 2
Final Toronto 8 Houston 3
Final Cleveland 5 Kansas City 2
Final Chicago White Sox 10 Athletics 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 Arizona 2
Final San Francisco 8 Colorado 2
Final Cincinnati 9 San Diego 3
Final N.Y. Mets 8 St. Louis 0
Final Miami 10 Washington 5
Final Washington 9 Miami 9
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (19)Saint Mary's (Cal.) 74 Pepperdine 59
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Toronto 119 Washington 104
Final Boston 114 Utah 108
Final Atlanta 132 Philadelphia 123
Final Charlotte 105 Miami 102
Final Brooklyn 111 L.A. Lakers 108
Final Chicago 121 Indiana 103
Final Denver 140 Oklahoma City 127
Final Houston 97 Orlando 84
Final Memphis 120 Phoenix 118
Final Dallas 133 San Antonio 129
Final Golden State 130 Portland 120
Final New York 133 Sacramento 104
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Buffalo 3 Edmonton 2
Final Ottawa 2 Detroit 1
Final Colorado 3 Chicago 0