College Basketball
Arizona remains the No. 1; Colorado is ranked No. 20
Arizona is No. 1 in The Associated Press college basketball poll for the third consecutive week.
The Wildcats (12-0) again are a runaway choice, receiving 63 No. 1 votes from the 65-member national media panel Monday.
Syracuse drew the other No. 1 votes and was No. 2, with the top eight teams holding their spots from last week.
Ohio State is third, followed by Wisconsin, Michigan State, Louisville, Oklahoma State and Villanova. Duke drops to ninth after it was tied for eighth last week with Villanova. Wichita State is No. 10, its first top-10 ranking since spending two weeks at No. 8 in December 2006.
The rest of the top 25 teams remained the same despite Nos. 20-23 – Colorado, Gonzaga, Massachusetts and Missouri – all losing a game.
UConn a unanimous No. 1; Colorado is ranked No. 12
The UConn women’s basketball team remains the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press poll after two easy wins over ranked foes.
The Huskies turned a showdown with then-No. 2 Duke into a 22-point rout Tuesday before defeating then-No. 21 Cal by 33 on Sunday.
UConn will open up American Athletic Conference play this weekend against Cincinnati.
Notre Dame moved into the No. 2 slot, while the Blue Devils fell to third. Stanford is fourth after beating Tennessee, which dropped two spots to fifth.
Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Baylor and North Carolina round out the first 10.
Oklahoma State moved up to 11th. The Cowgirls are followed by Colorado, South Carolina, Iowa State and Penn State.
College Football
AP national coach of the year makes quick work at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. – Gus Malzahn inherited a demoralized Auburn team that had just gone through the program’s worst season in decades with a pliant defense and a stagnant offense.
As is his way, the coach known for fast play on offense went to work in a hurry. He led the second-ranked Tigers’ transformation into Southeastern Conference champions and has them in the national championship game Jan. 6 against No. 1 Florida State.
Malzahn’s quick work made him The Associated Press national coach of the year.
Malzahn received 33 votes from AP Top 25 college football poll voters to beat out Duke’s David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe received 17 votes after leading Duke (10-3) to its first 10-win season. Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio each received three votes.
Rams’ defensive line coach suspended for his gay slur
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State defensive line coach Greg Lupfer was suspended without pay for two weeks for using a gay slur when yelling at Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday in the New Mexico Bowl last weekend.
Athletic director Jack Graham also ordered Lupfer to undergo anger management and diversity training at his own expense.
Lupfer issued a statement that said he was grateful to keep his job on Jim McElwain’s staff and said “I am deeply sorry for my behavior, which does not represent who I am or my values.”
Lupfer got into a verbal altercation with the Cougars’ quarterback after his first touchdown throw. His slur was caught on ESPN cameras and marred the Rams’ comeback from a 22-point deficit for a last-second 48-45 win to kick off the bowl season.
Tennis
Johnson and Vickery earn wild cards for the Australian
NORCROSS, Ga. – Two-time NCAA singles champion Steve Johnson and Sachia Vickery earned wild-card invitations to the Australian Open by winning U.S. Tennis Association playoffs.
Johnson, 23, is ranked 156th.
Vickery, 18, is ranked 195th.
The Australian Open, the first major of the Grand Slam season, will start Jan. 13.
Associated Press
