UNC back in Top 25; Gonzaga still No. 5

North Carolina rejoined the Top 25 in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll Monday after a two-week absence while the top five teams remained the same.

Connecticut, which beat two ranked teams last week, was a runaway No. 1 for the third straight week. The Huskies (20-1), who beat Pittsburgh and Indiana, received 68 first-place votes and 1,796 points from the national media panel.

Duke, which beat Boston College 83-81 and Florida State 97-96 in overtime, held second and was No. 1 on three ballots, receiving 1,723 points. Memphis, Villanova and Gonzaga were third through fifth. Villanova received the other first-place vote.

P.J. Tucker scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to lead No. 6 Texas (20-3, 8-1 Big 12) to a 65-44 victory over Texas Tech (12-11,4-5) in Lubbock on Monday.

Louisiana Tech joined the women’s poll tied for 24th with Texas A&M, the first time they’ve been ranked since the week of Nov. 29, 2004. When Tech dropped out the following week, it ended a string of 221 consecutive appearances in the poll.

North Carolina, the nation’s only unbeaten team, was a unanimous choice at No. 1 for the second straight week as the top seven stayed the same.

Monique Currie overcame foul trouble to score 21 points as No. 2 Duke (21-1, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Virginia Tech (15-6, 2-6) 73-62 in Blacksburg, Va., on Monday.

Mike Eades, Ray Natili and Ed Corbett, the referee crew who worked the Florida State-Duke game Saturday, were given a one-game suspension for an unnecessary technical foul on a Seminoles player, the Atlantic Coast Conference said.

Former NBA and Virginia star Ralph Sampson pleaded not guilty in Richmond, Va., to charges that he lied about his finances to obtain court- appointed counsel in a federal child support case.

Josh Hinz of Beloit (Wis.) College scored 50 points and grabbed 36 rebounds in a 120-112 victory over Grinnell on Saturday. His rebounding total tied the single-game NCAA Division III record.

Olympics

Koznick may miss Turin

U.S. skier Kristina Koznick might miss the Turin Olympics with a knee injury, although she’s putting off surgery in hopes of being able to rehab enough to compete.

Koznick wrote on her personal Web site that she partially tore a knee ligament during training in Ofterschwang, Germany, on Saturday.

Italian police have no plans to raid the Olympic village in search of banned substances, Italian officials said, but athletes who test positive will be sent to court under Italy’s criminal anti-doping laws.

U.S. bobsledder Pavle Jovanovic has filed a lawsuit against the maker of a protein powder he blames for causing him to fail a drug test and miss the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.

Miscellany

Wonderboy injured

Stevie Wonderboy has a small fracture in his right front leg that will keep the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion and Eclipse winner out of the Kentucky Derby.

Jason Lawrence had a goal and two assists as Boston University beat No. 17 Harvard 5-3 in Boston to advance to the final of the 54th annual Beanpot hockey tournament. The Terriers will play fifth-ranked Boston College, which beat Northeastern 5-2.

The Indianapolis 500 will start an hour later because of Indiana’s switch to daylight-saving time.

Former NFL cornerback Willie Middlebrooks pleaded guilty in Littleton, Colo., to assaulting a female friend in her home last year. Middlebrooks received an 18-month deferred jail sentence.

Longtime Wisconsin assistant head football coach John Palermo has accepted a job as defensive line coach at Miami.