Irish find rare road win over No. 2 Panthers

Men’s basketball: Ben Hansbrough scored 19 points, Carl Scott had 16 and No. 15 Notre Dame upset No. 2 Pittsburgh 56-51 on Monday night in Pittsburgh.

Scott went 5 of 6 from 3-point range as Notre Dame (17-4, 6-3 Big East) earned its first road win of the season. Reserve Scott Martin made three 3s and finished with 10 points.

Gilbert Brown had 13 points for the Panthers (19-2, 7-1), who shot 41 percent (18 of 44) from the field in their first conference loss of the season. It also was Pitt’s first home loss since Jan. 20, 2010, against Georgetown.

• Ohio State holds top ranking: Ohio State is again the runaway No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, receiving all but two first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel.

Pittsburgh jumped to second and Duke moved up one place to third. Both received one first-place vote.

San Diego State moves from sixth to fourth and Connecticut jumps three spots to fifth.

Saint Mary’s fell out of the Top 25.

Lavender, Buckeyes top Hawkeyes

Women’s Basketball: Jantel Lavender hit double figures for the 121st consecutive game, scoring 22 points to lead No. 24 Ohio State (13-6, 4-3 Big Ten) to an 81-67 win over No. 18 Iowa (15-5, 3-4) in Columbus, Ohio.

Lavender, the Big Ten’s leading scorer and rebounder, also had eight rebounds and six assists.

• Baylor still No. 1: The Baylor Lady Bears remained No. 1 while after receiving 24 first-place votes in the poll by the Associated Press. They beat Kansas and Texas Tech this past week.

Connecticut stayed second with 13 first-place ballots.

Duke, Stanford and Tennessee complete the first five.

Paul helps Hornets surge past Thunder

NBA: Chris Paul made a critical steal with just more than 10 seconds left, David West swished a 17-foot fadeaway with 0.5 on the clock and the Hornets pulled out their ninth straight victory, 91-89 over the Oklahoma City Thunder in New Orleans.

Paul finished with 24 points, nine assists and three steals. West had 20 points for New Orleans, which overcame a 15-point first-half hole and then held Oklahoma City to one basket during the final 4:19.

• Kings handle Blazers: Tyreke Evans scored 26 points and the Sacramento Kings earned a 96-81 win over the Trail Blazers in Portland.

Evans, who shot 9 of 16 from the field, had six rebounds and six assists.

Wesley Matthews led the Trail Blazers with 21 points.

The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Portland.

Rangers best Capitals in shootout

NHL: Artem Anisimov scored the decisive goal in a shootout, backup goaltender Martin Biron had 22 saves, and the New York Rangers earned a 2-1 victory over the Capitals in Washington.

Each team scored twice in the shootout before Anisimov ended the duel by beating rookie goalie Braden Holtby.

Holtby finished with 28 saves.

• Crosby will not attend All-Star game: Sidney Crosby won’t even attend the NHL All-Star game this weekend because he’s still recovering from a concussion.

“Sidney is making progress in his recovery but still is not completely symptom-free,” general manager Ray Shero said. “In this situation, when he has not even skated for two and a half weeks and still has not been cleared to resume physical activity we think it’s best for him to focus totally on his recovery.”

Olympic Stadium decision on hold

Olympics: A decision on the future of the Olympic Stadium in London was postponed after weeks of heated debate on whether the venue should retain a running track after the 2012 London Games.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company had been scheduled to announce its decision on Friday but said it needs more time to study the bids from Premier League clubs Tottenham and West Ham.

Tottenham proposes tearing down the 537-million pound ($853 million) arena after the Olympics and building its own stadium on the site without a running track. West Ham would convert the stadium into a venue for soccer and other athletics.

Chizik wins coach of the year award

College Football: Auburn’s Gene Chizik has won the Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award.

The winner is selected by the Over the Mountain Touchdown Club in Birmingham and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Bowden will present the award to Chizik on March 6 at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center in Birmingham.