Houston stays atop AP Top 25 rankings for third week
Houston remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third consecutive week Monday while a couple of the game’s traditional bluebloods made big jumps as they peak just in time for postseason play.
The Cougars received 52 of 62 first-place votes from a national media panel after a week in which they beat UCF and routed then-No. 14 Kansas to clinch the Big 12 regular-season title in their first year in the league. The three straight weeks Houston has spent at No. 1 matches the school’s longest run since the 1967-68 season. Defending national champion UConn, the top seed in the Big East tourney, was second in the poll after picking up six first-place votes, and Purdue — the top seed in the Big Ten tourney — remained at No. 3 after getting four first-place votes.
More college basketball
Southern California moved up to No. 3 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after topping Stanford to win the conference tournament for the first time since 2014, their only other time in the title game. It’s the highest ranking for USC since the final poll of the 1986 season, when the team was also third.
• The brother of LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson was arrested and charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct by the Greenville Police Department
for his role in a fight after his sister was shoved to the court by South Carolina forward Kamilla Cardoso during a Southeastern Conference championship game.
• Kentucky fired women’s basketball coach Kyra Elzy after consecutive losing seasons.
Swimming
Pitt sophomore Cameron Cash and fifth-year senior Dylan Reed qualified for the NCAA diving championships in the men’s 3-meter event. Cash’s performances earned him first overall with a score of 781.30. Reed earned second with a score of 776.70.
Pro football
The Chicago Bears are prepared to provide $2 billion in private funding for a new publicly owned enclosed stadium and park space in the city, the team confirmed. The lakefront site would replace Soldier Field and increase open space on the museum campus by 20%, and provide a prime location to host the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four and year-round community events.
Baseball
Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito will undergo right elbow surgery on Tuesday, potentially ending his first season with the team before it even begins.
• New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will have an MRI of his right elbow after experiencing issues in spring training.
Auto racing
Former driver Felipe Massa said he’s filed a lawsuit in London against auto racing governing body the FIA, series owner Formula One Management and Bernie Ecclestone to try and claim the 2008 title.