Texas is new women’s No. 1

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Longhorns celebrate by going on the road, throttling Georgia

Texas guard Rori Harmon (3) drives the ball against Georgia guard Trinity Turner (0) during Monday’s game against Georgia in Athens, Ga. ERIK RANK — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Texas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll for the first time in 21 years and the third different team to hold the top spot in the past three weeks.

The Longhorns moved atop the poll Monday after previous No. 1 Notre Dame lost in double overtime to North Carolina State. UCLA had been No. 1 the 12 prior weeks to the Irish.

It is only the fifth time since 2001 that three different schools have been No. 1 in a three-week span. Add in South Carolina being No. 1 to start the season and there have been four teams atop the rankings this season, just the sixth time that has happened since the poll began in 1976. It has never happened with five schools.

Texas 57, Georgia 26 >> Texas leaned on its defense to overcome a sluggish start and beat Georgia.

Taylor Jones had 17 points and matched her career high 16 rebounds as Texas (27-2, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) extended its winning streak to 11 games.

Baylor 79, Kansas State 62 >> Aaronette Vonleh had a season-high 24 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and No. 17 Baylor beat No. 14 Kansas State for its season-long ninth straight victory.

Baylor (25-5, 15-2 Big 12) kept its hopes of an outright Big 12 championship alive, with a regular-season finale against No. 10 TCU on Sunday.

Auburn remains No. 1 in AP men’s Top 25 poll

Auburn remained atop the AP Top 25 for the seventh straight week on Monday, while preseason No. 1 Kansas dropped out of the men’s basketball poll for the first time in nearly four years, ending the Jayhawks’ ranked run at 80 consecutive weeks.

The Jayhawks were dropped from the poll for the first time since Feb. 8, 2021, when the season was played amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That had ended a record 231 consecutive weeks in the Top 25 for Kansas.

The Jayhawks’ were dropped this week after a 74-67 loss at Utah and a 91-57 blowout loss at BYU, the biggest margin of defeat in school history for a ranked Kansas team against an unranked opponent.

Houston 69, Texas Tech 61 >> Milos Uzan scored a career-high 22 points and No. 4 Houston clinched at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title with a victory over 10th-ranked Texas Tech.

Michigan 49, Nebraska 46 >> Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 12 points and Tre Donaldson made two free throws with four seconds left to give No. 15 Michigan a win over Nebraska, the fewest points the Wolverines have scored in a victory in 17 years.

It marked the third time in 11 years that a team won a Big Ten game with fewer than 50 points.

Briefly

Utah >> The University of Utah fired men’s basketball coach Craig Smith on Monday, a day after a 76-72 loss at Central Florida that dropped the Utes to 15-12 this season.