Here is the latest Big 12 Conference sports news from The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Big 12 will continue to operate without divisions in football next season. That's when Central Florida, Cincinnati, BYU and Houston join the league to create a 14-team conference. It will end the current round-robin scheduling framework. Every school will play nine conference games, just like they have since it became a 10-team league, and schools will play each other at least once in each two-year period. Traditional rivalries, or at least those left after realignments, will be preserved. The schedule is due out in December.
UNDATED (AP) — Just about every game in the Big 12 this season has come down to the final minutes. Of the 17 so far, 12 have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Nine games have been decided by one possession and three in overtime. Iowa State has lost four times by a combined 14 points. TCU and Kansas State are still unbeaten in Big 12. They have combined to win four one-possession games. The Horned Frogs and Wildcats play each other on Saturday.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina is the unanimous No. 1 team in the preseason AP Top 25 women's basketball poll. The defending national champions went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team last year and have been the top team for 20 straight weeks. Stanford, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee round out the top five. UConn is sixth, the first time since 2006 that the Huskies aren't in the first five in the preseason poll. Louisville, Iowa State, Notre Dame and N.C. State is the rest of the top 10.
UNDATED (AP) — The first half of the college football season has been defined by coaching changes, downtrodden programs finding success and several traditional powers hitting the skids. Over the next seven weeks, there will be more head coaches fired and at least a few hired. Expect more season-altering upsets, too. AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo says the Heisman Trophy race will be decided on conference championship weekend again. He is also picking Ohio State over Alabama in the national title game.
UNDATED (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, two Big Ten running backs and Alabama pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. highlight The Associated Press midseason All-America team. The team was selected by AP Top 25 voters. Hooker is second in the country in passer efficiency rating at 187.7 and has accounted for 18 touchdowns. Joining Hooker in the backfield is Illinois' Chase Brown, who leads the nation in yards rushing, and Michigan's Blake Corum, who has scored 13 touchdowns for the fourth-ranked Wolverines.
UNDATED (AP) — North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll. The national runner-up from last season returns four of five starters and received 47 of 62 first-place votes. Gonzaga is No. 2, followed by Houston and Kentucky. Kansas and Baylor, the last two national champions, are tied for fifth. Duke, led by new coach Jon Scheyer, is seventh with UCLA, Creighton and Arkansas rounding out the top 10. The Big 12 and SEC lead the way with five teams apiece in the Top 25.