Gradey Dick scored 19 points, Kevin McCullar Jr. had 15 and third-ranked Kansas extended its winning streak to five games with a 63-58 win over No. 24 TCU on Monday night.
Jalen Wilson had 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks (23-5, 11-4 Big 12), which began the night tied with idle eighth-ranked Texas for the conference lead. They have won seven of eight.
Damion Baugh missed a potential tying 3-pointer with five seconds left for TCU (18-10, 7-8).
• Dawson Baker scored 20 points to lead UC Irvine to a 59-56 win over Cal Poly. Baker scored six of the Anteaters’ last seven points, including a layup with 28 seconds left to give UCI a 58-56 lead.
• Lachlan Olbrich scored 22 points to lead UC Riverside to a 96-76 win over Cal State Northridge.
• Max Jones scored 18 points and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 15 to leads Cal State Fullerton to a 74-60 win over UC Santa Barbara.
• Houston returned to No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll for the third time this season. Alabama dropped only one spot after losing to Tennessee and routing Georgia in their lone week at No. 1. Kansas is No. 3, UCLA remained at No. 4 and Purdue slid two spots to round out of the top five.
• South Carolina remains No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll. The Gamecocks (27-0) topped Mississippi in overtime Sunday to win their 33rd consecutive game and secure the top spot in the poll for a 35th consecutive week. That is the third-longest run atop the poll.
Indiana stayed second in the poll. Stanford, UConn and LSU round out the top five teams.
Sparks newcomer Talbot will miss season with torn ACL
Three weeks after signing with the Sparks, forward Stephanie Talbot will miss the upcoming WNBA season after getting hurt in her native Australia.
The Sparks said they learned that Talbot suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the Adelaide Lightning of the WNBL, where she was league MVP in 2020.
Talbot signed a two-year deal with the Sparks on Feb. 1. She was 10th in the WNBA in 3-point shooting last year. She averaged 5.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 34 games with the Seattle Storm.
Also, the Sparks have signed guard Yang Liwei, who will become the second China-born player to suit up for the team. Yang recently led China to a silver medal in the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Galaxy sign midfielder Boyd
Midfielder Tyler Boyd signed a one-year contract with the Galaxy. This will be Boyd’s first appearance in Major League Soccer after playing in New Zealand, Portugal and Turkey. He also has made 10 appearances and six starts for the U.S. Men’s National Team, where he scored two goals and had one assist.
Trainer Asmussen reaches the 10,000-win mark
Steve Asmussen became the first trainer with 10,000 victories in North America when Bet He’s Ready won the fifth race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. He’s already the all-time winningest trainer in the United States and Canada, having the set mark of 9,446 on Aug. 7, 2021, at Saratoga to surpass Dale Baird.
The 57-year-old was joined in the winner’s circle at Oaklawn by family members. The Arkansas track said it would donate $10,000 to charity in his name.
Asmussen has trained such champions as Curlin, the Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008; filly Rachel Alexandra, Horse of the Year in 2009; and Gun Runner, 2017 Horse of the Year.
Canada ties Rivalry Series with U.S., setting up Game 7
After the United States took the first three games of the seven-game national women’s Rivalry Series, Canada has bounced back with three consecutive wins, including a 5-1 victory at the sold-out Colisee Videotron in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.
The seventh and deciding game will be played Wednesday at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.
Sarah Nurse and Rebecca Johnston scored first-period goals to give Canada a 2-0 lead. In the third period, Kelly Pannek brought the U.S. within one, but Claire Thompson put Canada up 3-1 and Brianne Jenner and Marie-Philip Poulin scored empty-net goals to seal the deal for Canada.
Nations: No clarity on neutrality, no Olympics for Russia
The governments of 34 nations released a statement calling on the IOC to clarify the definition of “neutrality” as it seeks a way to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into international sports and, ultimately, next year’s Paris Olympics.
“As long as these fundamental issues and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition,” read the statement.
Among those signing the statement were officials from the United States, Britain, France, Canada and Germany. Those five countries brought nearly one-fifth of all athletes to the Tokyo Games in 2021. Other countries that had suggested an Olympic boycott was possible if the war continues — such as Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Denmark — also signed onto the statement, which did not go so far as to mention a boycott.