Houston, the lone unbeaten in hoops, jumps KU at No. 2
Purdue held its place atop the AP Top 25 on Monday following its win over Illinois in a top-10 showdown, while Houston jumped Kansas into second place as the last unbeaten team in Division I men's college basketball.
The Boilermakers, who beat the No. 9 Illini 83-78 last week, picked up five more first-place votes and had 54 of the 63 possible to remain at No. 1 for the fourth straight week. The Cougars received seven first-place votes and were second, while the Jayhawks had the other two firstplace votes but fell a spot to third after their downto-the-wire win over TCU.
Houston is 14-0 for the third time in school history after beginning its Big 12 tenure with a romp past West Virginia. Losses by James Madison and Ole Miss left the Cougars with the only unblemished record.
“I think our kids have always had a bit of a chip on their shoulders here,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We've had to get some of our own fans to understand that we're pretty good. They were so bad for so long. Some of them still have not figured it out. Our kids have, and our coaches have, and we know who we are. And what we're capable of doing.”
In truth, the Cougars have been doing it for a while now. They went to the Final Four three years ago, the Elite Eight two years ago and the Sweet 16 last season, when they spent seven week atop the AP poll.
“Every team is different,” said Cougars guard Jamal Shead. “I think with this team, just like all the other teams, we're bonded off the court. I think that plays a big part in being able to get onto each other in game and be able to say anything to each other. We know we aren't going to take it the wrong way, so we're able to get on each other and keep pushing.”
Defending
national
champion UConn remained at No. 4, Tennessee was fifth and Kentucky sixth. North Carolina moved up one spot to seventh, Arizona and Oklahoma each bumped up two, and Illinois fell one spot to round out the top 10.
Marquette dropped four spots into a tie at No. 11 with Duke following its loss to Seton Hall, which made quite a statement last week and nearly entered the poll after a pair of wins over ranked teams; the Pirates also defeated Providence.
College football
MOSS, FITZGERALD ARE AMONG 19 PLAYERS AND 3 COACHES VOTED INTO HOF >>
Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald were among 19 players and three coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame class announced.
Warrick Dunn of Florida State, Toby Gerhart of Stanford, Julius Peppers of North Carolina and Danny Woodhead of Chadron State also were elected to the Atlanta-based hall by the National Football Foundation.
Coaches elected were Frank Solich of Nebraska and Ohio, Mark Dantonio of Cincinnati and Michigan State and Danny Hale of Division II West Chester and Bloomsburg.
Moss, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, was one of college football's most electric performers in his two seasons at Marshall. He was an
All-American as both a receiver and return man.
Golf
WOODS, NIKE INDICATE A SPLIT AFTER MORE THAN 27 YEARS >>
Tiger Woods and Nike indicated Monday they have parted ways after more than 27 years.
Woods in a social media post thanked Nike cofounder Phil Knight for his “passion and vision” that brought Nike and the Nike Golf partnership with Woods together.
“Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world,” Woods wrote. “The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever.”
Nike also posted to social media, saying in a photo, “It was a hell of a round, Tiger.”
Woods has won 15 major championships, each clinched while wearing his trademark red shirt on Sunday with the Nike Swoosh on the front. His 82 PGA tournament victories are tied with Sam Snead for most all-time.
Women's basketball IOWA UP TO NO. 3 BEHIND SOUTH CAROLINA, UCLA IN AP TOP 25 >>
South Carolina remained No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll and is now one of three unbeaten teams left.
The New Year began with seven undefeated teams, but only South Carolina, No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 Baylor remain.
Iowa moved up to third after previously unbeaten N.C. State lost in the last second to Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack fell to sixth.
Colorado was fifth. LSU, which won at Mississippi on Sunday in front of a program-record crowd of 9,074 for the Rebels, was No. 7 behind N.C. State and Stanford, USC and Texas rounded out the top 10.
Gymnastics
MARY LOU RETTON RECUPERATES AT HOME FOLLOWING PNEUMONIA SCARE >>
Olympic gymnastics great Mary Lou Retton said she faces a long battle recuperating at home from a rare form of pneumonia in which doctors weren't sure whether she would survive.
In an interview that aired Monday on NBC's “Today” show, Retton said while wearing a breathing tube pumping oxygen through her nose that she was sent home after a few days in a Texas hospital but had an immediate setback that required her to be put in intensive care in October.
Retton, 55, was supposed to meet her daughters at a football game in Dallas but never showed up. A neighbor noticed a car door left open in her driveway, went to alert Retton and found her alone at home. The neighbor drove Retton to an emergency room.
Soccer
GERMAN GREAT BECKENBAUER DEAD AT 78 >>
Franz Beckenbauer, the German soccer great who helped his country win the World Cup both as player and coach, has died at age 78.
A statement from his family did not provide a cause of death.
As a player and coach, Beckenbauer did more than most to shape German soccer. He captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1974. He also coached the national side that won the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina.