MORNING ROUNDUP

OU men’s basketball cracks AP Top 25 for first time in Moser era

The OU men's basketball team is ranked No. 25 in the latest AP poll, which released on Monday.

It marks the first time the Sooners have cracked the AP Top 25 under Porter Moser, who became their head coach on April 2, 2021.

OU (6-0) remained undefeated with a 72-70 win over then-No. 23 USC in the championship round of the Rady Children's Invitational on Friday. The Sooners were led by Javian McCollum, who scored a gamehigh 18 points to go along with three assists.

OU is set to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. Thursday inside McCasland Field House. It'll be the team's first regularseason game there since 2012, and only OU students are allowed to attend.

OSU releases 2024 softball slate

The Oklahoma State softball team's quest for a fifth straight Women's College World Series appearance begins on the coasts. The Cowgirls will open the season Feb. 8 in Southern California — including a game at softball powerhouse UCLA — followed by back-to-back weeks in Florida for the Clearwater Elite Invitational and the South Florida Classic in Tampa.

OSU's home opener comes in the form of a doubleheader against South Dakota State on Feb. 27.

In all, the Cowgirls are set to face 23 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last year, with many familiar faces in the nonconference season, like Tulsa, North Texas and Wichita State.

Panthers fire Reich after 11 games

The Frank Reich era in Carolina is over after only 11 games.

The Carolina Panthers fired their coach on Monday following the team's NFL-worst 1-10 start in his first year at the helm. Panthers owner David Tepper announced the move hours after several news outlets reported that he used a profanity as he was leaving the locker room following a 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Tepper hired Reich to fix one of the league's worst offenses over the past few seasons and develop Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick whom he gave up four draft picks and top wide receiver D.J. Moore to acquire this past offseason in the hopes of winning multiple Super Bowls. Instead, the Panthers are assured a franchise-record sixth straight losing season. The Panthers are 30-63 since Tepper bought the team from Jerry Richardson in 2018 for $2.275 billion and have never made the playoffs.

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will take over as interim head coach. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will become the team's play caller, with senior assistant Jim Caldwell serving as his special adviser. LATE SUNDAY: Rookie Zay Flowers had a touchdown catch and ran for a game-sealing score late in the fourth quarter, Baltimore forced four turnovers, and the AFCbest Ravens beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-10. Lamar Jackson threw for 177 yards and ran for 39 on 11 carries, becoming the fourth quarterback in NFL history to exceed 5,000 rushing yards. Baltimore is 9-3 and heads into its bye week one-half game ahead of Kansas City, Jacksonville and Miami for the best record in the conference. Justin Herbert was 29 of 44 for 217 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Chargers, who have lost three straight.

Extra points

MLB: The St. Louis Cardinals agreed with AL Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray on a three-year contract Monday to anchor their staff heading into next season. The 34year-old Gray went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA for Minnesota last season. He turned down a qualifying offer from the Twins, and St. Louis will lose its second-highest draft pick next year for signing him. The Cardinals went 71-91 last season for their worst record in more than three decades. Their rotation had a 5.08 ERA, the fifth-worst in the majors, and when you add the bullpen to the mix, they had a 4.79 ERA that ranked in the bottom half of the league. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Stellar freshman Juju Watkins helped USC climb the AP Top 25 to the team's best ranking in 29 years. The Trojans moved up to sixth in The AP women's basketball poll Monday, its highest mark since the 1994 season when they reached No. 4. Watkins has been a huge reason why, already with three 30-pointplus games this season to match the school record for freshmen held by Trojan greats Lisa Leslie and Paula McGee. Washington St. and Oklahoma fell out of the rankings.