Minnesota women’s basketball moved up a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday, ranked No. 23 after splitting a pair of road games last week.

The Gophers (17-2 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) rallied to beat Northwestern on Sunday after a late rally at No. 8 Maryland fell short last Tuesday. Next up, No. 24 Michigan Wednesday night at Williams Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Wolverines (13-5, 4-3) entered the poll on Monday.

In head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s second season, the Gophers are ranked for the first time since 2019. They received 62 votes in the media poll, 15 more than they received last week. Other ranked Big Ten teams were No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 21 Michigan State.

Grace Grocholski leads the Gophers in scoring with an 11.8-point average. Mallory Heyer is averaging a team-best 6.7 rebounds a game, and Amaya Battle a team-best 4.4 assists.

— Staff report

South Carolina gains a first-place vote

South Carolina has so far cruised through the difficult part of its conference schedule and remained No. 2 in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25, picking up a first-place vote to gain a bit of ground on top-ranked UCLA.

The Gamecocks are in the midst of a five-game stretch against ranked opponents. So far they’ve beaten Texas by 17, Alabama by 18 and Oklahoma by 41 on Sunday. They face No. 5 LSU on Thursday and No. 17 Tennessee on Jan. 27.

UCLA received 27 first-place ballots this week while No. 3 Notre Dame got the other two. USC remained No. 4.

After LSU were UConn, Texas and Maryland — the Longhorns routed the Terrapins 89-51 later Monday in the Coretta Scott King Classic — and TCU and Kansas State moved up to ninth and 10th, respectively, after losses by Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Kansas State’s Lee out indefinitely

Kansas State forward Ayoka Lee will be sidelined indefinitely after an X-ray and MRI exam revealed the All-American fractured a bone in her foot in the second quarter of the No. 10 Wildcats’ win over Arizona State.

The school called it “probable” that Lee will return before the end of the season, but more will be known in the coming weeks.

“It’s not good,” Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie said after the 81-69 win Sunday over Arizona State. “It’s not going to be a week or two.”

Lee only played 13 minutes in the game, leaving for good with 4:21 left in the first half.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Auburn a unanimous No. 1, Duke now No. 2

A wild week of upsets and court stormings led to a massive shakeup in the AP Top 25.

There was one constant: Auburn.

The Tigers were the unanimous pick at No. 1 in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, holding on to the top spot following a week in which 19 ranked teams lost at least once — including seven teams in the top 10.

Auburn claimed the program’s second No. 1 ranking last week and won both its games despite playing without injured big man Johni Broome. The Tigers rolled over No. 14 Mississippi State 88-66 and survived a late comeback to beat then-No. 19 Georgia 70-68.

No. 2 Duke moved up a spot after winning both of its games last week and swapped places with No. 3 Iowa State, which blew out No. 12 Kansas but lost to No. 23 West Virginia. Alabama and Florida rounded out the top five despite each losing a game last week.

Only three teams — Alabama, Florida and No. 6 Tennessee — held the same spot from a week ago. The chaotic week allowed No. 8 Michigan State to move into the top 10 for the first time this season and No. 22 Missouri into the poll for the first time since 2022-23.

NHL

Jets’ first NHL coach McVie dies at 89

Tom McVie, who coached the Winnipeg Jets to the 1979 World Hockey Association championship over Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers in the final year before the franchises were absorbed into the NHL, has died. He was 89.

McVie was also the Jets’ first coach in the NHL and the Devils’ second after they moved from Colorado in 1982. He also coached the Washington Capitals, compiling an overall NHL record of 126-263 with 73 ties in parts of eight seasons from 1975-92.

The Trail, British Columbia, native joined the Bruins as an assistant coach in 1992 and got his name on the Stanley Cup as a team ambassador when it won the 2011 championship.

McVie made his NHL head coaching debut when he succeeded Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt in Washington on New Year’s Eve in 1975, but he never finished higher than fourth before heading to the WHA. He took over the Jets, whose roster included a 40-year-old Bobby Hull, and won the 1979 Avco World Trophy.

COLLEGE SPORTS

Indiana cuts 25 jobs ahead of revenue sharing

The new revenue-sharing model in college sports is forcing the Indiana University athletic department to cut costs — even if it means cutting jobs.

School officials have eliminated 25 athletic department positions, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because the school had not made a public announcement.

It’s clear the Hoosiers and many other schools are facing an unprecedented dilemma — pay players market value or risk becoming less competitive on the field. In Bloomington, the solution appears to be running a leaner department.

The Hoosiers gave football coach Curt Cignetti, the Associated Press Coach of the Year, a pay raise after he won a school-record 11 games and led Indiana into the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.

BRIEFLY

NBA >> Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will miss at least a week with a strained left calf.

NHL >> Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin said he’s open to making a trade of star Canucks center J.T. Miller — as long as the deal makes sense for the team.

EPL >> Manchester City made its first move of what could be a busy January transfer window for the English champion by signing 20-year-old center back Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens for an initial 40 million euros ($41.5 million).

— From news services