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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Almost Tucker-ed out, Texas wins big

Associated Press

Daniel Gibson had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Texas shook off any distractions about P.J. Tucker’s future with an impressive 75-61 victory over Oklahoma State on Monday night in Austin, Texas.

Tucker, who spent most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble, scored 15 points in the second for the No. 15 Longhorns (14-3, 3-1, Big 12) – but it might have been his final game of the season. The team’s leading scorer has said academic problems could keep him off the court during the spring semester, which starts today.

Texas coach Rick Barnes and school officials have declined comment, citing federal privacy laws protecting student records.

Ivan McFarlin scored 19 points to lead the No. 5 Cowboys (13-2, 3-1).

(16) Connecticut 77, Seton Hall 68: At East Rutherford, N.J., Josh Boone scored 20 points and Connecticut’s frontcourt dominated on an off night by the guards in the Huskies’ (11-3, 3-1 Big East) victory over the Pirates (8-7, 0-4). Freshman Rudy Gay added 18 points for Connecticut. Andre Sweet had 22 points for the Pirates.

Same 1-2 for seventh week

Illinois and Kansas are ranked 1-2 in the Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll for the seventh straight week, the longest such run in six years.

The Illini (18-0) beat Penn State and Northwestern last week for the best start in school history. They received 58 first-place votes and 1,759 points from the national media panel.

Kansas (13-0) won road games against Iowa State and Colorado to hold second place for the ninth straight week – the Jayhawks were No. 1 in the preseason poll and the first of the regular season. They were No. 1 on the 13 other ballots and had 1,710 points.

The last time two schools were 1-2 for this long was when Connecticut and Duke did it for eight weeks in the 1998-99 season. They switched places the next two polls.

Wisconsin was the week’s lone newcomer at No. 24, jumping back in after a five-week absence and replacing George Washington, which fell out from No. 21.

Wake Forest, Duke and Oklahoma State each moved up one spot to third through fifth.

Washington moved up four spots to round out the Top 10, and Gonzaga jumped five places to 11th.

Crawford returns to Kentucky

Freshman guard Joe Crawford rejoined Kentucky’s basketball team after leaving the squad last week because of a dispute over playing time.

Coach Tubby Smith said during a conference call Monday that Crawford will face “some sanctions,” but he did not say what they would be.

Women

(1) Duke 82, Georgia Tech 59: At Durham, N.C., Monique Currie scored 27 points and Jessica Foley made seven of Duke’s school-record 13 3-pointers, helping the Blue Devils (17-1, 3-0 ACC) rally from their largest deficit of the season to beat the Yellow Jackets (10-5, 1-3). … (9) North Carolina 83, Miami 52: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Ivory Latta scored 24 points to lift the Tar Heels (14-2, 2-1 ACC) past the Hurricanes (8-8, 0-3). … (13) Connecticut 73, (15) Texas 57: At Hartford, Conn., freshman Charde Houston scored a career-high 25 points and Ann Strother added 20, leading the Huskies (11-4) over the Longhorns (9-6). … N.C. State 76, (23) Virginia Tech 75 (OT): At Blacksburg, Va., Marquetta Dickens’ three-point play with 22 seconds left in overtime gave the Wolfpack (13-4, 2-2 ACC) a win over the Hokies (11-4, 1-2).

Duke remains No. 1

Duke remained No. 1 in the Associated Press women’s poll and Ohio State matched its highest ranking in school history with a jump to third.

No newcomers broke into the poll, just the second time that has happened this season. Purdue and UCLA clung to their spots in the Top 25 after each lost twice during the past week.

Duke received 31 of 45 first-place votes from a national media panel and held the top spot for the second straight week with 1,104 points – 14 more than No. 2 LSU.