Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his NASCAR debut in next month’s Daytona 500 with Trackhouse Racing.

Castroneves, one of the most popular drivers in IndyCar history, has been trying for two years to get a Daytona 500 seat and finally landed one Monday as part of Trackhouse’s “Project 91” designed to give renowned racers from outside of NASCAR a shot in a stock car.

He will attempt to qualify for the “Great American Race” in the No. 91 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Wendy’s. Darian Grubb will be his crew chief.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enter a NASCAR race and certainly not the Daytona 500 with a team like Trackhouse Racing,” Castroneves said. “This is an opportunity that nobody in their right mind could ever turn down. I am so thankful to Wendy’s for allowing me to wear their uniform and drive their car.”

Men’s basketball

Tennessee lone undefeated team, remains No. 1 in AP poll >> Tennessee tightened its grip on No. 1 in the AP Top 25 following a pair of lopsided wins, including one over SEC rival Arkansas, that left the Volunteers as the only undefeated team in men’s Division I college basketball.

The Vols picked up four more first-place votes and had 45 of 60 from the national panel to remain atop the poll for the fifth straight week. Auburn earned the other 15 first-place nods and stayed at No. 2, while Iowa State, Duke and Alabama rounded out a top five that was unchanged following the first week of conference play for many leagues around the country.

Women’s basketball

SEC and Big Ten have 4 top 10 teams in AP poll >> The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference both have arguments to be considered the top league in women’s basketball.

Each has seven teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, including four apiece in the first 10. Both leagues have been bolstered this season by conference realignment, with No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC joining the Big Ten while No. 5 Texas and No. 10 Oklahoma are new to the SEC.

UCLA was once again the top choice in the poll after receiving 30 of 32 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Bruins have been the solid No. 1 team since knocking off former top team South Carolina in late November. The Gamecocks, who remained No. 2, host No. 5 Texas on Sunday.

Notre Dame remained third, garnering the other two first place votes, taking one away from the Gamecocks.

LSU and UConn were next after the Longhorns. Undefeated Maryland was eighth with Ohio State moving up one spot to ninth after Oklahoma split a pair of games with Texas and then-No. 15 Tennessee.

UCONN coach encouraged Bueckers injury isn’t too serious >> Geno Auriemma has seen more than his fair share of “freaky” injuries over the last few years.

When UConn star guard Paige Bueckers went down with a knee injury late in the third quarter going for a loose ball, he hoped this wouldn’t be another one of those.

The early reports the Hall of Fame coach said of the severity of it were encouraging.

NFL

Jaguars fire coach Pederson, keep GM >> Doug Pederson is out as Jacksonville’s head coach after the franchise’s “best team assembled” won just four games.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Pederson on Monday, a day after a 26-23 loss at Indianapolis in overtime. It was the team’s 18th loss in its last 23 games. But Khan kept general manager Trent Baalke, a questionable decision that surely will affect who will become Jacksonville’s next coach.

Giants keeping GM and Coach >> The New York Giants are sticking with general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll.

Team president and co-owner John Mara announced Monday that he and co-owner Steve Tisch decided to move forward with the Giants’ current leadership even after a 3-14 season that ranks among the franchise’s worst.

Mara said he spoke to Schoen and Daboll for “several hours” last Friday before deciding to bring them both back.

Patriots owner vows to correct course after firing head coach >> When Robert Kraft hired Jerod Mayo a year ago, he felt he’d identified the right person to follow the championship legacy left by Bill Belichick.

In hindsight, Kraft now believes Mayo wasn’t quite ready to be an NFL head coach.

The Patriots team owner said that his abrupt firing of Mayo just minutes after he completed his first season in the job is an effort to correct that mistake.

Ravens’ Flowers considered day-to-day >> Baltimore Ravens receiver Zay Flowers’ knee injury is not season ending, coach John Harbaugh said, but he gave no assurances about a quick return.

“It’s just going to be day to day, try to do everything he can do to get back as soon as he can,” said Harbaugh, who held a video conference with reporters on a snowy day in the Baltimore area. “We’ll see where that takes us.”

Flowers hurt his knee in Saturday’s victory over Cleveland, which ensured the Ravens would open the playoffs at home.