HOUSTON (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 22 points and No. 3 Houston won its ninth straight game with a 65-59 victory over Kansas. Emanuel Sharp added 12 points off the bench, including two free throws that pushed Houston’s lead to 63-59 with 20 seconds left. The Cougars went 4 for 4 from the foul line down the stretch. Cryer had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the first half as Houston took a 30-27 lead into the break. Milos Uzan finished with 10 points, and Mylik Wilson had 10 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Cougars. Hunter Dickinson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks. KJ Adams Jr. added 15 points and David Coit had 14 off the bench.
UNDATED (AP) — Auburn and Duke remain atop the AP Top 25. The rest of the poll was a jumble. Auburn was the unanimous pick at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel. The Tigers held the top spot for the eighth straight week following lopsided wins over Ole Miss and Kentucky. Duke held steady at No. 2 for the second straight week, with Houston, Tennessee and Florida rounding out the top five. No. 6 St. John's has its highest ranking since 1990-91 after clinching its first Big East regular-season title in 40 years.
UNDATED (AP) — The Big Ten has eight teams that should be locks to reach the NCAA Tournament. For the league to hit double figures, teams on the bubble will have to have a strong finish to the season. Indiana appeared to be on the outside looking in less than a month ago, but has reeled off four wins in five games to move onto the bubble. Ohio State has moved in the opposite direction. In good shape a couple of weeks ago, the Buckeyes lost three straight before knocking off USC 87-82 last Wednesday. Nebraska and Northwestern also are hoping to make late pushes into the field of 68.
UNDATED (AP) — With the calendar turning to March, conference tournaments get underway this week — the last chance for teams to try to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Getting a win or two in the conference tournaments could be huge for teams like Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Arizona and Saint Joseph’s to help solidify their NCAA Tournament resume.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Fans wanted to see Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter work out at two positions and how the top quarterback duel would go when the NFL scouting combine opened. Those hopes were dashed in Indianapolis. Hunter skipped both on-field opportunities and quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders joined the growing list of top prospects who opted to work out at their college pro days instead of at the combine. Fans must now wait days or weeks for the full picture to come into view, though the combine still was filled with interesting twists and intriguing plots that will be discussed between now and the draft, which begins in Green Bay on April 24.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Matthew Stafford chose to stay in Los Angeles. Deebo Samuel was sent to Washington. Many NFL players will be on the move when free agency begins next week and the foundation for a lot of transactions was built at the scouting combine. While 329 college prospects gathered in Indianapolis to showcase their skills, talk to teams and undergo medical evaluations, front office executives had plenty of conversations about players on their rosters and others they plan to pursue either through free agency or trade. There was a ton of buzz about several star players, including Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Myles Garrett.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean McVay insists he never seriously thought his partnership with Matthew Stafford would come to an end this month after four seasons together with the Los Angeles Rams. The head coach still acknowledged he’s “been sleeping better the last couple of days” since the Rams and Stafford ended their widely publicized negotiations by agreeing to a restructured contract that gives a substantial raise to the Super Bowl-winning quarterback. The Rams haven’t revealed the size of Stafford’s pay raise, but McVay said the quarterback didn’t add extra years to his contract.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Katherine Legge will become the first woman in a NASCAR Cup Series race since Danica Patrick in 2018 when the veteran makes her debut Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Legge will drive the No. 78 Chevrolet for Liv Fast Motorsports. She becomes the first woman since Patrick made her final Cup Series start in the Daytona 500 eight years ago. Legge is a 44-year-old native of England. She has five career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. She most recently raced in a NASCAR race at Road America in 2023. She ran the ARCA race last month at Daytona International Speedway.
MONDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 5 Atlanta 4
Final Houston 5 Miami 3
Final Colorado 8 L.A. Angels 4
Final N.Y. Yankees 12 Pittsburgh 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 13 Detroit 3
Final Kansas City 6 Texas 3
Final Seattle 7 Cleveland 2
Final Athletics 5 Chicago White Sox 4
Final Boston 6 Baltimore 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Arizona 10 Chicago Cubs 2
Final Cincinnati 5 Milwaukee 4
Final Miami 1 N.Y. Mets 1
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Duke 93 Wake Forest 60
Final (3)Houston 65 Kansas 59
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Portland 119 Philadelphia 102
Final Golden State 119 Charlotte 101
Final Miami 106 Washington 90
Final Oklahoma City 137 Houston 128
Final Atlanta 132 Memphis 130
Final Sacramento 122 Dallas 98
Final Detroit 134 Utah 106
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final N-Y Rangers 4 N-Y Islanders 0
Final SO Washington 5 Ottawa 4
Final Florida 2 Tampa Bay 1
Final OT Montreal 4 Buffalo 3
Final SO San Jose 3 Toronto 2