CBB

Illinois rewards Underwood with 3-year contract extensionCHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) Illinois rewarded basketball coach Brad Underwood for a significant jump this season with a three-year contract extension through 2026, the school announced Monday.The move comes with the Illini challenging for the Big Ten Conference championship in Underwood's third season....

Associated PressWitness grilled over texts to Kansas college hoops coachBy LARRY NEUMEISTERNEW YORK (AP) Lawyers for a former Adidas executive who's a defendant at a college basketball corruption trial zeroed in on Monday on communications between a recruiting fixer and the head coach at Kansas.On cross-examination in federal...

Duke remains No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll; Kentucky rises to 13thNEW YORK (AP) Duke remains atop an AP Top 25 poll with few major changes after a light Christmas week schedule of games.The Blue Devils earned 35 of 64 first-place votes to stay at No. 1...

AP Sports WriterAP source: High Point hiring Tubby Smith as men's hoop coachBy JOEDY McCREARYTubby Smith is back in the college coaching ranks after a brief hiatus.He has agreed to take over as head men's basketball coach at High Point, said a person familiar with the situation. Smith played...

AP Sports WriterLittle Lipscomb looks to topple Texas for NIT championshipBy DAN GELSTONNEW YORK (AP) Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander walked off the Madison Square Garden court a winner in perhaps the biggest postseason win for the tiny school in program history.The Bisons stole the spotlight in New York...

AP Basketball WriterTop 3 in AP Top 25 lose in the same weekBy JOHN MARSHALLTop-ranked Villanova suffered a surprising loss to unranked St. John's. No. 2 Virginia unexpectedly fell at home to unranked Virginia Tech. No. 3 Purdue lost not just once, but twice.The top three teams, seven of...

Celen leads St. Francis (BKN) past Delaware State 81-62NEW YORK (AP) Deniz Celen scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as St. Francis (Brooklyn) got past Delaware State 81-62 on Sunday.Celen sank 11 of 17 shots from the floor in notching his second double-double of the...

AP Basketball WriterVirginia stays at No. 1 in AP Top 25; Duke jumps to 5thBy AARON BEARDRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Virginia strengthened its hold on No. 1 in the AP Top 25 while Duke jumped back into the top five after a pair of impressive wins.The Cavaliers earned 42...

AP Basketball WriterTOP 25 REWIND: Shared titles abound in power conferencesBy AARON BEARDCHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) A full regular-season schedule didn't provide a clear answer as to who is the best team in the majority of the power conferences.No. 2 Virginia and No. 3 North Carolina ended up...

AP Sports WriterGafford to return for sophomore season at ArkansasBy KURT VOIGTFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford says he will return to the Razorbacks next season, ending speculation about whether the freshman would leave for the NBA after one year in college.The 6-foot-11 Gafford announced his decision...

AP Sports WriterNo. 10 Oregon outlasts No. 5 Michigan 71-70 in OTBy NOAH TRISTERANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) In a stellar matchup of senior point guards, Payton Pritchard prevailed in the end.Pritchard scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime, and No. 10 Oregon outlasted No. 5 Michigan 71-70...

AP Sports WriterStruggling Gators seek more scoring after revamping schemeBy MARK LONGGAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Florida coach Mike White took an unusual, maybe even unprecedented, approach to his team's offensive woes: he scrapped the entire system.White spent fall practice and the first few weeks of the season allowing his...