Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Ochai Agbaji scored 22 points, Dajuan Harris blocked Mike Miles' shot in the final seconds and sixth-ranked Kansas avenged a loss to TCU two days earlier with a 72-68 victory on Thursday night. The win kept the Jayhawks tied atop the Big 12 heading into their regular-season finale against Texas on Saturday. Third-ranked Baylor has the same 13-4 league mark heading into its game Saturday against Iowa State. Emanuel Miller scored 18 points to lead the Horned Frogs, and Damion Baugh finished with 14 points.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Keegan Murray scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half to help No. 24 Iowa build a big lead, and the streaking Hawkeyes went on to beat Michigan 82-71. The Hawkeyes led 47-30 at halftime and coasted to their fifth straight victory and eighth win in nine games. The Wolverines are the only team to beat Iowa since mid-February. Michigan had no shot to win the rematch because it simply could not slow down Iowa's dynamic and balanced offense.
UNDATED (AP) — Third-ranked Baylor has gone on a late-season charge to forge a tie atop the Big 12 heading into its regular-season finale against Iowa State on Saturday night. The Bears will know what they need to do by the time they tip off because sixth-ranked Kansas, which is also 13-4 in the league, plays No. 21 Texas about two hours before at Allen Fieldhouse. No. 21 Texas Tech is one game back, but swept the Bears and split with Kansas, giving the Red Raiders an outside shot at the No. 1 seed in the league tournament heading into their game at Oklahoma State.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 24 Iowa visits No. 20 Illinois on Sunday in the only Big Ten game matching ranked teams this weekend. The Illini can lock up sole possession of second place with a win, or even a share of the regular-season title if Nebraska can knock off No. 10 Wisconsin on the road Sunday. Iowa is the hottest team in the Big Ten as the top four seeds prepare to play their first games in the women's conference tournament Friday. The Hawkeyes headed to Indianapolis off four straight wins and with Big Ten player of the year Caitlin Clark.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jaz Shelley made nine of Nebraska's tournament-record 15 3-pointers in scoring a career-high-tying 32 points, and the sixth-seeded Cornhuskers rolled past 14th-seeded Illinois 92-74 in the second round of the Big Ten tournament. Nebraska takes on third-seeded and 10th-ranked Michigan in Friday's quarterfinals. Shelley was 9 of 13 from the arc, one make shy of her career best but matching the tournament record. Alexis Markowski finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Isabelle Bourne added 15 points and Sam Haiby 10. Adalia McKenzie scored 18 points and Aaliyah Nye and Jayla Oden had 14 each for the Fighting Illini.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill that prohibits transgender females from participating in girls high school sports and women's college athletics, rejecting opponents' argument that she would harm vulnerable children to solve a nonexistent problem. Republican leaders made the bill signed Thursday by the governor effective immediately, which means transgender female students playing on girls or women's teams may be forced to quit. It wasn't immediately clear how many students it would affect. Iowa will join 10 other GOP-run states with such laws. Some have faced court challenges alleging violations of constitutional rights and federal nondiscrimination laws.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Amber Ramirez scored all 17 of her points after halftime, Makayla Daniels had 13 points and 14 rebounds for her first career double-double and No. 8 seed Arkansas used an 9-0 run in overtime to beat ninth-seeded Missouri 61-52 in the second round of the SEC tournament. Arkansas advances to face top-ranked South Carolina in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Razorbacks dropped the only regular-season meeting with the Gamecocks, 61-52 on Jan. 16. Ramirez, who scored 21 and 25 points in the two regular-season matchups with Missouri, was 6 of 15 from the floor and Daniels 3 for 17 as Arkansas shot just 27.3% from the field. Haley Troup scored a career-high 21 points for Missouri.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kobe King and Sheldon Edwards scored 18 points apiece as Valparaiso cruised to an 81-59 victory over Evansville in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Preston Ruedinger added 12 points for the Beacons (13-17), while Ben Krikke and Thomas Kithier each scored 10. Edwards also had seven rebounds. Noah Frederking had 13 points and six rebounds to pace the Purple Aces (6-24).
Update on the latest sports
NBA-SCHEDULE
Heat beat Nets in Durant's return to Brooklyn lineup
UNDATED (AP) — Kevin Durant was back in the Brooklyn Nets' starting lineup, but the team continued to sputter.
Bam Adebayo (ad-eh-BY'-oh) had 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Heat to a 113-107 victory over the Nets.
Tyler Herro (HEE'-roh) added 27 points for the Heat, who bounced back from a tough loss in Milwaukee a night earlier.
Durant had 31 points in his first game since suffering a sprained left knee ligament on Jan. 15. His return from a 21-game absence inspired the Nets to a 16-point lead, but Brooklyn fell to 5-17 since Durant's injury.
Meanwhile, Nets swingman Joe Harris will have more surgery on his left ankle and miss the remainder of the season. Harris had surgery on the ankle Nov. 29 and has missed the last 49 games.
Checking out Thursday's other NBA action:
— Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chihch) delivered 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Mavericks beat the Warriors for the second time in five days, 122-113. Dorian Finney-Smith scored 18 points and Dinwiddie added 17 as the Mavericks took the season series 3-1 with the consecutive victories. Golden State never led but got even for the first time since early in the first quarter during a stretch when Moses Moody scored 13 consecutive Warriors points in the final period.
— Jayson Tatum capped his 24th birthday by scoring 19 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' 120-107 downing of the Grizzlies. Al Horford had 21 points and 15 rebounds for Boston, which shot 51.7 percent and won for the ninth time in 11 games. Memphis guard Ja (jah) Morant led all scorers with 38 points after pouring in a career-high 52 on Monday.
— Trae Young scored 39 points in the Hawks' 130-124 victory over the Bulls. Young had 13 assists and made 7 of 10 3s and all 10 of his free throws. Bogdan Bogdanovic chipped in 20 points, including a 3-pointer that gave Atlanta a 119-118 lead.
— Rookie Cade Cunningham had 22 points and 12 rebounds in the Pistons' sixth consecutive win over the Raptors, 108-106. Jerami Grant scored 26 points and Saddiq Bey (sah-DEEK' bay) added 23 to help coach Dwane Casey beat the team that fired him in 2018. Pascal Siakam (see-A'-kam) provided a game-high 28 points in Toronto's third loss in five games.
— Harrison Barnes had 27 points as the Kings held off San Antonio 115-112, keeping Spurs coach Gregg Popovich a victory shy of tying Don Nelson's NBA record. The Spurs have lost three straight since Popovich reached 1,334 career regular-season victories. De'Aaron Fox added 26 points for Sacramento.
T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Wildcats dump Cardinal
UNDATED (AP) — Second-ranked Arizona took a while to get going on Thursday before beating Stanford.
Bennedict Mathurin (MATH'-ur-ihn) scored 24 points and Christian Koloko added 21 as the Wildcats topped the Cardinal, 81-69. The Wildcats labored through most of the first half after clinching the Pac-12 regular-season title on Tuesday, falling into a nine-point hole before improving to 27-3 overall and 17-2 in the Pac 12.
Arizona kept itself within reach by scoring 16 points off Stanford's 11 turnovers, then hit its final six shots to pull to 39-37 at halftime.
In other top-25 men's basketball action on Thursday:
— Dajuan Harris blocked Mike Miles' shot in the final seconds and sixth-ranked Kansas avenged a loss to TCU two days earlier with a 72-68 victory. Ochai Agbaji (OH-chy ahg-BAH'-zhee) scored 22 points and Christian Braun added 12 for the Jayhawks.
— Fabian White Jr. had 26 points on 11 of 18 shooting as No. 14 Houston earned its sixth straight win, 84-46. The graduate senior has scored at least 20 points in three straight games.
— Da'Monte Williams made four 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 14 points in helping No. 20 Illinois hold off Penn State, 60-55. Williams scored the Illini's final eight points of the first half, knocking down two 3s and a pair of free throws.
— Malaki Branham scored 22 points and 23rd-rated Ohio State snapped a two-game losing streak with an 80-69 win over Michigan State.
— Keegan Murray furnished 15 of his 23 points in the first half to help No. 24 Iowa build a big lead in an 82-71 decision over Michigan.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-PITINO-MARYLAND
Pitino shoots down Maryland rumors
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — Well-traveled basketball coach Rick Pitino says College Park, Maryland, won't be his next destination.
Pitino swatted away speculation he could be a candidate for the Maryland job, saying he loves coaching at Iona. The Terrapins have been seeking a head coach since Mark Turgeon stepped down in December.
Pitino has won national titles coaching Kentucky and Louisville. He's 24-5 in his second season at Iona.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Caps end 2 skids by blanking Canes
UNDATED (AP) — The Washington Capitals had dropped six straight at home before knocking off the Metropolitan Division leaders.
Alex Ovechkin (oh-VEHCH'-kihn) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (kooz-NEHT'-sahv) scored power-play goals and Vitek Vanecek (VAN'-eh-chehk) stopped all 36 shots he faced in the Caps' 4-0 shutout of the Hurricanes. Ovechkin scored his 33rd goal of the season and his 763rd in the NHL to move three back of Jaromir Jagr (YAH'-roh-meer) YAH'-gur) for third place on the career list.
Carolina has lost two in a row and had its point streak snapped at seven games. Frederik Andersen made 28 saves for the Hurricanes.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Nick Schmaltz scored early in the third period and Karel Vejmelka stopped 42 shots to send the struggling Coyotes past the league-leading Avalanche, 2-1. Loui Eriksson also had a goal for the Coyotes, who trail Montreal by a point for the fewest in the league. Devon Toews (deh-VAHN tayvz) scored the lone goal for Colorado, which still has the most points in the NHL with 84.
— The Panthers earned a 3-0 win over the Senators as Sergei Bobrovsky (bah-BRAHF'-skee) stopped 18 shots in his 36th career shutout. Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Lomberg scored 12 seconds apart in the third period to break it open. Hornqvist and Mason Marchment each had a goal and an assist in Florida's first win in four games.
— Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists for the Penguins in a 5-1 thumping of the Lightning. Sidney Crosby, Danton Heinen, Brock McGinn and Jake Guentzel (GEHNT'-sul) also scored as Pittsburgh won for the eighth time in its last nine road games. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was given a game misconduct for arguing with officials with 53.7 seconds remaining in the second period after the Lightning received an extra minor penalty stemming from a scrum.
— Craig Smith notched his third career hat trick and David Pastrnak (PAHS'-tur-nak) scored twice in the Bruins' 5-2 verdict over the Golden Knights. Pastrnak's 23 goals since Jan. 1 lead the NHL. The Bruins improved to 4-1-0 on their six-game road trip, and 9-3-2 in their last 14 away from home.
— The Wild's four-game winning streak is over after Jonas Brodin (broh-DEEN') and Matt Boldy scored 25 seconds apart in the third period to lead Minnesota's 5-4 comeback over the Flyers. Ryan Hartman scored twice and Cam Talbot turned back 26 shots for the winners. Philadelphia has lost 21 of their last 24 games and five of six on a club-record eight-game homestand.
— Ben Chiarot (shah-RAHT') scored his second goal of the game 1:03 into overtime to give the Canadiens a 5-4 victory over the Flames. Jeff Petry, Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman also scored for Montreal and Andrew Hammond made 30 saves. Pacific Division leading Calgary missed a chance to set a franchise record of 12 consecutive home victories.
— Nils Hoglander and rookie Vasily Podkolzin scored 45 seconds apart midway through the third period to give the Canucks a 4-3 comeback win over the Islanders. Anthony Beauvillier (boh-VIH'-lee-ay) put the Islanders ahead 3-2 early in the third before Vancouver rallied. Vancouver has won seven of their last 10 games and are 19-8-4 since Bruce Boudreau replaced Travis Green as coach in early December.
— Alex DeBrincat (deh-BRIHN'-kat) scored 2:23 into overtime as the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 4-3. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for Chicago, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves. Evander Kane scored twice for Edmonton, which closed out a 2-3 road trip.
NHL-OUTDOOR GAME
Caps to clash with Canes outside
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Capitals will be the Carolina Hurricanes' opponent in the NHL's outdoor Stadium Series game next season.
The game is scheduled to take place Feb. 18, 2023 at NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium across the parking lot from the Hurricanes' home arena.
It would be Carolina's first outdoor game and Washington's fourth.
MLB-LOCKOUT
MLB, union meet for 1 1/2 hours, discuss next step in talks
NEW YORK (AP) — Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem and chief union negotiator Bruce Meyer met for 1 1/2 hours Thursday and discussed the major issues in the stalled talks to reach a deal that would end Major League Baseball's lockout.
Union general counsel Ian Penny and MLB Executive Vice President Morgan Sword also participated in the session.
Negotiations broke off Tuesday after the ninth straight day of meetings in Jupiter, Florida. That led baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to announce that opening day on March 31 and the first two series for each team this season had been canceled.
PGA-BAY HILL
McIlroy leads after 65
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Rory McIlroy has a two-shot lead over Billy Horschel, Beau Hossler and J.J. Spaun through one round at Bay Hill.
McIlroy fired a 7-under 65 that included three birdies and a 40-foot eagle on the par 5s. He opened with a 66 each of the last two years, both times failing to break par on the weekend.
TENNIS-FRENCH OPEN-DJOKOVIC
Djokovic could play at Roland Garrod
UNDATED (AP) — France is easing its vaccination rules later this month, which could pave the way for Novak Djokovic to compete at this year's French Open.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex says people will no longer have to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to access venues such as sports stadiums and restaurants from March 14. That means the unvaccinated Djokovic could be allowed to compete at Roland Garros in May unless the restrictions are tightened again.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
NFL suspends all COVID protocols, cites 'encouraging trends'
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL has suspended all aspects of its COVID-19 protocols, citing recent trends showing that the spread of the coronavirus is declining.
The league is also eliminating social distancing requirements and mandatory testing of players and staff, regardless of vaccination status. Should the NFL find reasons to reimpose any aspects of the protocols, it will do so in conjunction with the NFL Players Association.
The NHL previously dropped virus testing for individuals without symptoms and other distancing protocols. The NBA hasn't changed its protocols.
In other virus-related news:
— Over a hundred minor league baseball and more than a dozen minor league hockey teams are hoping to get COVID-19 relief from the U.S. government to offset millions of dollars of losses from the pandemic. Minor league sports teams and their facilities were left out of the first round of small business subsidies. Most had to rely on Paycheck Protection Program loans to keep staffs together. An influx of funds from a bill that could go through Congress as soon as next week would allow teams to hire more people, pay back debts and dig out of the hole they are in after the past two years.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-SPORTS
Russians face more sports sanctions, including Paralympics
UNDATED (AP) — In a stunning reversal, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from the Paralympics for their countries' roles in the war in Ukraine.
The International Paralympic Committee announced the about-face Thursday, less than 24 hours after the IPC said it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete when the Games open on Friday. They were to compete as neutral athletes with colors, flags and other national symbols removed.
The IPC received immediate criticism for its initial decision.
In other developments related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine:
— Formula One says it has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix following the country's invasion of Ukraine. F1 says Russia "will not have a race" in the future. This year's race had been scheduled to be held in Sochi on Sept. 25 but was already canceled.
— The Union of European Football Associations has barred all Belarus teams from hosting international soccer games as punishment for joining Russia's war on Ukraine. Belarus could still join Russia in being expelled from UEFA's European competitions. The next scheduled international game in Belarus is on April 7.
— Eight foreign soccer players have left Russian Premier League club Krasnodar in a continuing exodus of players and staff since Russia invaded Ukraine last week. Krasnodar says the eight players asked for their contracts to be suspended but not canceled, so they could live and train elsewhere. Coach Daniel Farke quit on Wednesday along with his assistants after less than two months in the job and without overseeing a game.
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