Darrion Williams scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-12 shooting, including four of Texas Tech’s 10 3-pointers, and the host Red Raiders never trailed in a 79-50 win over sixth-ranked Kansas on Monday night.

Williams, a sophomore transfer from Nevada, also had 11 rebounds. He hit a 3 on the first shot of the game by the Red Raiders (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), who were 8 of 12 from long range over the first 13 minutes while jumping ahead 27-14.

It was a frustrating night for Kansas (19-6, 7-5), which played its second game in a row without injured Big 12 leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr.

Nicolas Timberlake and Johnny Furphy each had 13 points for Kansas. Hunter Dickinson was limited to five points while missing 10 of his 12 shots.

McCullar, who averages 19.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, is in his second season with the Jayhawks. He started 49 of his 78 games while part of two NCAA Tournament teams in his three seasons at Texas Tech from 2019-22.

NO. 9 DUKE 77, WAKE FOREST 69 >> Mark Mitchell scored 23 points, Kyle Filipowski had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3 ACC) fought off the visiting Demon Deacons (16-8, 8-5).

• Indiana State’s balanced scoring, free-flowing offense and its goggle-wearing big man have the program off to one of its best starts in years.

Now the Sycamores have something that hasn’t happened since Larry Bird played in Terre Haute: a spot in the AP Top 25.

Riding a nine-game winning streak, Indiana State debuted at No. 23 in The Associated Press men’s poll, the Sycamores’ first ranking since reaching No. 1 in 1978-79.

“It’s a group that the community can really wrap their arms around and I think they have. It’s great to see,” Indiana State coach Josh Schertz told reporters recently. “I know Terre Haute. They love basketball. I know there’s a great history and tradition, from Larry Bird to John Wooden to Clarence Walker.”

Connecticut and Purdue kept the top two spots in the Top 25. The defending national champion Huskies received 45 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel and the Boilermakers had 16.

Houston moved up two spots to No. 3, Marquette rose three places to No. 4 and Arizona climbed three spots to fifth following a sweep of the Pac-12’s mountain schools. Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Duke and Iowa State rounded out the top 10.

Indiana State (22-3) has been on a roll in Schertz’s third season, winning all 11 home games while taking a two-game lead over Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference at 11-1.

The Sycamores have five players scoring in double figures, led by dynamic 5-foot-10 guard Isaiah Swope’s 17.7 points per game. Big man Robbie Avila has become a fan favorite with his goggles, averaging 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.

Indiana State is fifth nationally in scoring at 85.6 points per game and ninth in 3-point percentage (39%). The combination has the Sycamores eyeing their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011.

• Ohio State is up to No. 2 in The AP Top 25 women’s, matching the best ranking in school history.

The Buckeyes, who were fifth last week, have won 11 straight games and their only losses this season have come to USC, UCLA and Michigan. The Buckeyes started as No. 7 in the preseason poll before falling to 20th on Jan. 1. They were 18th on Jan. 15 and have been on the rise ever since.

South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 choice, grabbing all 35 first-place votes again after routing Missouri and then-No. 11 UConn.

Stanford moved up three places to No. 3. Iowa dropped to fourth and Texas climbed to fifth.

It’s the sixth consecutive week that there’s a different No. 2 team after Iowa blew a double-digit lead to Nebraska on Sunday.

N.C. State dropped three spots to sixth. Colorado fell four spots to eighth. Kansas State remained seventh. UCLA and USC stayed in ninth and 10th.

Oregon State made the biggest leap, moving up six spots to 11th after sweeping Utah and Colorado. The Beavers are currently third in the Pac-12 standings behind Stanford and the Buffaloes. They have won five straight and host UCLA and USC this week.

Zimmer will be Cowboys defensive coordinator

The Dallas Cowboys have settled on a coaching reunion by deciding to bring back Mike Zimmer as defensive coordinator to replace Dan Quinn.

Zimmer is rejoining the Cowboys 18 years after serving in the same role for Dallas. He later spent eight years as Minnesota’s head coach.

The Cowboys had an opening after Quinn accepted the head coaching job in Washington.

Quinn spent three seasons with the Cowboys, quickly turning around one of the worst defenses in franchise history.

The 67-year-old Zimmer spent 14 years as a defensive coordinator before taking over the Vikings in 2014. The first seven of those seasons were with the Cowboys before one in Atlanta and six with Cincinnati.

Zimmer’s debut as defensive coordinator in Dallas was 2000, the first of three 5-11 seasons under former coach Dave Campo. Zimmer remained on the staff after Bill Parcells was hired.

He has been out of the NFL since being fired by the Vikings with an overall record of 72-56-1 following the 2021 season, their second losing season in a row.

• The Pittsburgh Steelers cut quarterback Mitch Trubisky, sending the former No. 2 overall draft pick into free agency after two disappointing seasons.

Trubisky signed with the Steelers in March 2022 and was given first crack at replacing the retired Ben Roethlisberger. Trubisky started four games before being benched in favor of then-rookie Kenny Pickett. Trubisky struggled again this season while filling in for an injured Pickett before being replaced by third-stringer Mason Rudolph.

Trubisky went 2-5 as a starter with the Steelers, throwing for eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The 29-year-old Trubisky lasted four seasons with the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in 2017, and spent a year as a backup for Buffalo.

Pirates sign veteran catcher Grandal

The Pittsburgh Pirates and two-time All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal have agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $2.5 million.

Pittsburgh is searching for depth at catcher with Endy Rodríguez — who started 57 games in 2023 as a rookie — ruled out for 2024 after Tommy John surgery in December. He got injured while playing winter ball in his native Dominican Republic.

Grandal, 35, joins a catching situation that includes former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, Jason Delay and Ali Sánchez.

Grandal is a career .237 hitter with 185 home runs while playing for four teams across 12 seasons, including the last four with the Chicago White Sox. Grandal hit .234 with eight homers and 33 RBIs in 118 games in 2023.

He’s topped 20 home runs five times, most recently with Chicago in 2021. He made a pair of All-Star teams, in 2015 while playing for the Dodgers and in 2019 while with the Milwaukee Brewers.