South Carolina is starting the season where it finished off last year — ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll.

The Gamecocks received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in the preseason rankings from a national media panel Tuesday. South Carolina returns four starters from the national championship team that went undefeated last year, capping off the historic season over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the title game.

UConn is No. 2, USC is No. 3 and Texas and UCLA round out the top five.

South Carolina has been No. 1 in the preseason poll four of the past five years. Last season, they started sixth in the preseason before moving up to No. 1 for the remainder of the year.

“We knew we’d have a target on our backs this season as the reigning champions and this preseason ranking just confirms that,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told the AP. “We appreciate the recognition, but I know our coaching staff and our team are more focused on what we see in the gym every day. And that’s every player working extremely hard to get better individually and as a team.”

UConn received two first-place votes. The Huskies have been ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll for 30 straight years now. Geno Auriemma’s team went through major injury issues last year but the Huskies look to be healthy for the most part to start this season.

Third-ranked USC is led by phenomenal sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and the team added two talented transfers in Kiki Iriafen and Talia von Oelhoffen. The Trojans received the other first place vote.

UCLA added its own solid group of transfers to a strong team with Charlisse Leger-Walker and Timea Gardiner joining Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice.

NBA

Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George did not appear to suffer any long-term damage to a hyperextended left knee suffered in a preseason game.

“Everything checks out OK,” coach Nick Nurse told reporters Tuesday at the team’s New Jersey complex.

George attended Tuesday’s practice and was scheduled for more tests later in the day.

Even before the injury, George was not scheduled to play in tonight’s preseason game against Brooklyn. Nurse said there was no additional timetable for how long George could be out and more would be known after additional imaging is completed.

George was injured when his knee buckled on a defensive play in the second quarter of Monday’s game against Atlanta.

The Sixers signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract as a free agent this summer. He played 76 games last season for the Clippers, the first time he played more than 56 since 2018-19.

MLB

Angels right fielder Jo Adell and right-hander Griffin Canning were named on Tuesday as finalists for Gold Glove Awards. The winners will be announced on Nov. 3.

Canning won a Gold Glove in 2020. The other two finalists are Kansas City Royals pitchers Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans.

Adell’s selection is an indication of his dramatic defensive improvement. He had been considered well below average defensively when he first broke into the majors.

The other two finalists in right field are Juan Soto of the New York Yankees and Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox.

— Jeff Fletcher

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

Another opponent of San Jose State has grappled with whether to play the school in volleyball.

The University of Nevada made it clear Monday that its Oct. 26 match against San Jose State would go on as scheduled after the team’s players released an independent statement a day prior saying they would forfeit.

“We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld,” the players’ statement read. “We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”

Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming previously canceled matches this season against San Jose State, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

The Republican governors of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports.

Nevada’s athletic department cited state equality laws as the reason it couldn’t back out of its match, while acknowledging most of the players said they wouldn’t take the court.

The athletic department also stated the university is “governed by federal law as well as the rules and regulations of the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference, which include providing competition in an inclusive and supportive environment.”

Nevada’s Republican lieutenant governor also supported a cancellation before the school corrected its course.

The athletic department said players will not be subject to disciplinary action if they refuse to participate in the match.

“The players’ decision and statement were made independently, and without consultation with the University or the athletic department,” Nevada athletics’ statement read. “The players’ decision also does not represent the position of the University.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

No. 2 Oregon had 12 men on the field late in its 32-31 win over No. 4 Ohio State, with the resulting penalty causing precious seconds to wind off the clock.

Turns out, it was on purpose.

“We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations and some situations don’t come up very often in college football, but this was obviously something we had worked on,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said Monday night. “You can see the result.”

Oregon took the lead with 1:47 left on Atticus Sappington’s 19-yard field goal in Saturday night’s game, giving the Buckeyes time to drive down the field for a potential winning field goal. With Ohio State facing a third-and-25 from Oregon’s 43-yard line, the Ducks called a timeout with 10 seconds left.

Just before the ball was snapped, Oregon defensive back Dontae Manning walked onto the field, giving the Ducks an extra defender. Ohio State failed to complete a pass against Oregon’s 12-man defense on the next play, and the Ducks were flagged for an illegal substitution penalty.

Ohio State gained five yards on the penalty, but lost four seconds off the clock since the penalty was deemed a live-ball foul. The Buckeyes were left with six seconds on the clock, and QB Will Howard scrambled up the middle, sliding a second too late for Ohio State to call a timeout for a potential game-winning field goal at Oregon’s 26.