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Arizona stays No. 1 while Illinois leaps into top five

NCAA Basketball: Arizona at Arizona StateJan 31, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) screams as he slam dunks the ball against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the second half at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona remained the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll this week, while Illinois vaulted into the top five.

Arizona (22-0) continued its undefeated run by pulling off a pair of massive victories last week, earning an 86-83 win over then-No. 13 BYU on Monday and taking down rival Arizona State 87-74 on Saturday.

The Wildcats, who set a program record for consecutive wins to start a season, were followed by No. 2 Michigan (20-1), which moves up a spot, No. 3 UConn (21-1), which fell one spot, No. 4 Duke (20-1) and Illinois (19-3).

The Big Ten Conference had four teams in the top 10, while the Big 12 led all conferences with six teams in the Top 25.

Illinois was the biggest upward mover in this week’s poll, jumping four spots after a 78-69 victory at then-No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday.

Rounding out the top-10 were Gonzaga (22-1), Iowa State (20-2), Houston (19-2), Nebraska (20-2) and Michigan State (19-3), which dropped three spots after an 83-71 home loss to rival Michigan.

Three teams moved up three spots in the poll with Kansas (16-5) jumping to No. 11, Vanderbilt (19-3) rising to No. 15 and St. John’s (16-5) moving to No. 22.

Arizona and No. 23 Miami (Ohio) (22-0), are the only undefeated teams in Division I.

Associated Press Top 25

1. Arizona (22-0)

2. Michigan (20-1)

3. UConn (21-1)

4. Duke (21-1)

5. Illinois (19-3)

6. Gonzaga (21-1)

7. Iowa State (20-2)

8. Houston (19-2)

9. Nebraska (20-2)

10. Michigan State (19-3)

11. Kansas (16-5)

12. Purdue (18-4)

13. Texas Tech (16-5)

14. North Carolina (17-4)

15. Vanderbilt (19-3)

16. BYU (17-4)

17. Florida (16-6)

18. Virginia (18-3)

19. Saint Louis (21-1)

20. Clemson (18-4)

21. Arkansas (16-6)

22. St. John’s (16-5)

23. Miami (Ohio) (22-0)

24. Louisville (15-6)

25. Tennessee (15-6)

–Field Level Media

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Luke Kennard's last-second shot beats Magic; Lakers' win streak at 9

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando MagicMar 21, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) reacts after hitting a game winning basket at the buzzer against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Luke Kennard drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining on Saturday to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 105-104 victory over the host Orlando Magic.

Trailing by two with 2.6 seconds left, Marcus Smart inbounded a pass to a wide-open Kennard, with the Lakers’ sharpshooter hitting his third 3-pointer of the game and clinching the team’s ninth straight win.

Los Angeles (46-25) was led by Luka Doncic’s 33 points and eight assists, while Austin Reaves had 26 points and Kennard had 13. LeBron James scored 12 points and passed Robert Parish for most games played in NBA history with 1,612.

Orlando (38-32) was paced by Paolo Banchero’s 16 points and Jalen Suggs’ 14. Wendell Carter Jr. and Jevon Carter added 13 apiece for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight.

Trailing by four in the third quarter, Los Angeles’ 12-0 run was capped with James’ layup to give the visitors a 78-70 edge.

From there, Orlando finished the third on a 17-4 run, holding the Lakers to just one made field goal across the final six minutes of the quarter.

After falling behind by seven to start the fourth, Los Angeles went on a 10-2 run — which included Reaves’ six points — to take a 92-91 advantage with 6:31 left.

James’ layup cut the Lakers’ deficit to a point at the 2:02 mark, before Banchero’s basket gave Orlando a 100-97 lead. Doncic and Carter then traded jumpers on the team’s subsequent possessions.

Banchero then hit two free throws to push the Magic’s lead to five with 50 seconds remaining.

After Reaves’ layup, the Lakers forced an Orlando miss on the other end. Reaves then missed a game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Deandre Ayton got the offensive rebound and was fouled, splitting the free throws to leave the Lakers’ deficit at two.

Suggs then threw the ball away for an Orlando turnover with 4.1 seconds left, leading to Kennard’s game-winner.

After setting the new record, James’ fast-break dunk helped Los Angeles grab an early 6-0 lead.

Doncic’s fadeaway jumper gave the Lakers their first double-digit lead at 30-20. The margin grew to 14 on Reaves’ dunk, before Orlando finished the opening quarter on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit in half.

The run continued into the second quarter as the Magic answered Reaves’ floater with a 13-0 run, stamped with Tristan da Silva’s floater to put Orlando ahead by six.

After Suggs’ stepback trey, Reaves beat the first-half buzzer with a mid-range jumper, trimming the Lakers’ halftime deficit to 65-62.

–Field Level Media

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Senators continue playoff push with resilient win over Maple Leafs

NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa SenatorsMar 21, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Jordan Spence (10) lines up a shot past Toronto Maple Leafs center Bo Groulx (29) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images

The Ottawa Senators did themselves a world of good in the playoff picture, withstanding a late push to top the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Saturday night.

Defensemen Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence led the way for the Senators (36-24-9, 81 points) with two assists each. Linus Ullmark turned away 12 of 14 shots for Ottawa, which has won four of its last five.

Rookie Easton Cowan tallied a goal and an assist for the floundering Maple Leafs (29-29-13, 71 points). Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll finished with 38 saves when he was forced to man the posts for the second night in a row after Anthony Stolarz was hit in the throat by a puck during pregame warmups.

Tim Stutzle opened the scoring late in the first period on the man advantage, walking the puck into the right faceoff circle and sniping it under the arm of Woll. It was his first power-play marker since the return from the Olympic break.

Claude Giroux extended Ottawa’s lead at 9:09 of the second period, pouncing on Kleven’s low shot from the point to flip the puck up and over the pad of Woll. The goal snapped the 38-year-old’s 13-game scoring slump.

Deadline acquisition Warren Foegele made it 3-0 when he pounced on an ill-advised pass by Toronto in its defensive zone. Foegele’s soft shot deflected off Simon Benoit and into the net for his fourth tally in eight games with the Senators.

John Tavares responded with one of the Leafs’ few creative sequences on the night, trading puck possession with linemate Cowan and beating Ullmark blocker side for his 25th goal of the season.

The Senators outshot the Leafs 19-5 in a dominant middle-frame showing. Toronto has now been outshot in eight consecutive games.

The Leafs made it interesting early in the third. Cowan scored 4:52 into the period when he scored on a rebound of a Benoit shot.

But Michael Amadio quickly quashed any hope of a comeback with a goal less than five minutes later. Ridly Greig extended Ottawa’s lead back to three with 6:49 left, putting the game to rest.

The Senators sustained another injury to their defense when Dennis Gilbert left the game after taking a hard hit from Oliver Ekman-Larsson late in the third.

The Leafs were without defenseman Morgan Rielly, who aggravated a lower-body injury Friday against Carolina.

–Field Level Media

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Achol Akot stars as Oklahoma State beats Princeton (Sacramento 2)

NCAA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round-Princeton at Oklahoma StateMar 21, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Achol Akot (11) defends Princeton Tigers guard Fadima Tall (5) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Achol Akot poured in a season-high 28 points on 12-for-15 shooting and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds as eighth-seeded Oklahoma State rolled past ninth-seeded Princeton, 82-68, at Los Angeles.

Oklahoma State (24-9) will face the California Baptist-UCLA winner in Monday’s second round after shooting 52.5% from the field in the opening round.

Jaydn Wooten came off the bench for 18 points, Micah Gray posted 16 points and Haleigh Timmer added 10 points for the Cowgirls, who led 48-33 at halftime.

Madison St. Rose had 17 points and Ashley Chea and Skye Belker both had 14 points for ninth-seeded Princeton (26-4). Olivia Hutcherson added 10 points, but the Tigers didn’t have enough strength in the lane to contend with the Cowgirls.

Princeton got within 61-53 by the end of the third quarter and Belker’s 3-pointer supplied the first points of the fourth quarter. Wooten responded with two baskets to ignite a 9-0 run that helped Oklahoma State take its edge to 72-58.

A 35-26 rebounding edge for Oklahoma State included 11 offensive boards.

Akot entered the game averaging less than 12 points per game.

–Field Level Media

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