Sports
Top 25 roundup: No. 9 Kansas ends No. 1 Arizona's perfect run
Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) hugs Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self after defeating Arizona Wildcats in the game inside Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 9, 2026. Flory Bidunga scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas handed top-ranked Arizona its first loss of the season, 82-78 on Monday at Lawrence, Kan.
The Wildcats (23-1, 10-1 Big 12) achieved the best start in Big 12 history at 23-0 overall before the defeat. Kansas (19-5, 9-2) beat the No. 1 team at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time ever after losing five such games, including to Arizona the last time in 2003.
The Jayhawks won their eighth straight game overall despite playing without freshman star Darryn Peterson, who had flu-like symptoms. It was the 11th game Kansas played without Peterson, who has dealt with an ankle sprain, hamstring strain and chronic cramping.
Arizona led by 11 with 17:02 to go before Kansas rallied, scoring seven straight points in little more than a minute, then keeping the score within six until a Bidunga field goal gave the Jayhawks the lead with 9:32 to go. Kansas never trailed again. Miami (Ohio) is the nation’s lone remaining unbeaten at 24-0.
No. 17 St. John’s 87, Xavier 82 (OT)
Zuby Ejiofor scored six points in overtime for the Red Storm, who fended off an upset bid by the Musketeers to win in New York, giving coach Rick Pitino another milestone win against his son Richard.
The win was the 904th on-court victory for the elder Pitino, who snapped a tie with Roy Williams for third-place all-time. On Jan. 24, the Red Storm beat the Musketeers for Rick Pitino’s 900th win. The NCAA recognizes Rick Pitino with 781 wins after he was stripped of 123 victories due to violations at Louisville.
Ejiofor finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. John’s (19-5, 12-1 Big East), which has won 10 straight — the third 10-game winning streak in the last two seasons under Rick Pitino. Tre Carroll had 21 points and eight rebounds but missed a potential game-winning shot at the regulation buzzer for Xavier (12-12, 4-9).
No. 24 Louisville 118, North Carolina State 77
Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tied the Louisville single-game scoring mark with 45 points and matched another single-game record with 10 3-pointers to lead the Cardinals past the visiting Wolfpack.
Brown matched Wes Unseld’s single-game school record set against Georgetown (Ky.) College on Dec. 1, 1967. Brown’s point total set the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman record, and his 10 3-pointers tied the school record established by Reyne Smith last season against SMU.
Ryan Conwell added 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals (18-6, 8-4 ACC), who have won four in a row. North Carolina State (18-7, 9-3) got 20 points from Ven-Allen Lubin but had a six-game winning streak end.
–Field Level Media
Sports
UCLA's Lauren Betts among 15 to attend WNBA draft
UCLA Bruins players Lauren Betts, from left, and Kiki Rice celebrate with teammates their 79-51 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks to claim the NCAA women’s basketball national championship at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 5, 2026. National champion center Lauren Betts and four of her UCLA teammates are among the 15 prospects who will attend Monday’s 2026 WNBA Draft in New York City.
Bets will be joined by Bruins forward Angela Dugalic and guards Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens.
UCLA defeated South Carolina 79-51 on Sunday to win the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time.
The other prospects who will be in attendance are forward Nell Angloma (France), center Awa Fam Thiam (Spain), guard Azzi Fudd (UConn), guard Flau’jae Johnson (LSU), guard Raven Johnson (South Carolina), guard Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina), forward Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss), guard Olivia Mils (TCU), center Madina Okot (South Carolina/Kenya) and forward Marta Suarez (TCU/Spain).
Monday’s draft will be carried live on ESPN starting at 7 p.m. ET.
The Dallas Wings hold the top pick in the draft, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at No. 2 and the Seattle Storm at No. 3. The Washington Mystics have the fourth selection, and the Chicago Sky have the fifth. The expansion Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will select sixth and seventh, respectively.
–Field Level Media
Sports
76ers C Joel Embiid (appendicitis) out vs. Rockets
Apr 3, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo surgery on Thursday afternoon in Houston, the team announced.
Embiid initially was ruled out for the game against the Rockets on Thursday night due to an illness.
The eighth-place 76ers (43-36) remain in a tight battle with several teams in the Eastern Conference, attempting to avoid the postseason play-in tournament. They are one full game in back of the sixth-place Toronto Raptors (44-35) with three games to play.
Embiid, 32, is averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 games (all starts) this season.
The 2022-23 MVP and a seven-time All-Star, Embiid is averaging 27.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in 490 career games (all starts) since being selected by Philadelphia with the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NBA clears Kings, says coach made mistake vs. Warriors
Apr 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie yells during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The NBA announced Thursday that Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie made an honest mistake in his team’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The league was investigating Christie after he instructed forward Doug McDermott to intentionally foul Warriors guard Seth Curry with his team leading by one with 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game.
“The league’s investigation determined that Christie mistakenly believed that the Warriors were not in the penalty and therefore instructed his team to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and utilize one of the team’s remaining timeouts,” the NBA’s statement said. “The investigation found that Christie made no intentional effort to give the Warriors a shooting foul, or to cause the Kings to lose the game.”
Curry made one of two free throws to tie the game at 101-101. The Kings (21-59) went on to lose the game, 110-105.
–Field Level Media
UCLA's Lauren Betts among 15 to attend WNBA draft
76ers C Joel Embiid (appendicitis) out vs. Rockets
