SPORTS HEADLINES

Unranked Creighton knocks off No. 1 Kansas behind Pop Isaacs’ season-high 27 points

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Pop Isaacs helped unranked Creighton upset No. 1 Kansas 76-63 on Wednesday night, scoring a season-high 27 points and matching his career high with six 3-pointers. Kansas cut a 13-point deficit to one early in the second half, but Isaacs hit back-to-back 3s to rebuild the lead as the Bluejays (6-3) pulled away for their second straight win over a top-ranked opponent. They knocked off Connecticut 85-66 in Omaha in February. The Jayhawks (7-1) lost a regular-season game against an unranked nonconference opponent for the first time in three years. Creighton had been in 16 straight Associated Press polls before dropping out this week. Students rushed the court at the final buzzer as flames shot out of the top of the goal standards.

LPGA and USGA to require players to be assigned female at birth or transition before male puberty

The LPGA and the USGA have updated gender policies that will require players to be assigned female at birth or to have transitioned to female before going through male puberty. The policies begin in 2025 and follow more than a year of study. The groups concluded that going through male puberty allows for competitive advantages in golf. The USGA has seven championships for females next year. The new policies rule out eligibility for Hailey Davidson. She missed U.S. Women’s Open qualifying by one shot this year and tried LPGA Q-school. Davidson began hormone treatments when she was in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA’s previous gender policy.

Miami’s playoff hopes nosedive as Alabama rises in the latest College Football Playoff rankings

Miami’s playoff hopes took a nosedive while Alabama’s got a boost in the last rankings before the College Football Playoff bracket is set next weekend. The Hurricanes moved down six spots to No. 12 after suffering their second loss of the season. They are one spot behind the Crimson Tide, who won won last week and moved up two spots to No. 11. Alabama is projected as the last team in and the fourth from the Southeastern Conference. Oregon stayed at No. 1 for the fifth straight week and will head into Saturday’s Big Ten title game as the only undefeated team in big-time college football.

SEC and Big Ten powers lead the way on signing day as prospects finalize their college selections

Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Oregon and Ohio State are bringing in the nation’s top recruiting class as high school prospects across the country finalize their college plans. The identity of the No. 1 class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports may not be determined until Friday because of the uncertainty surrounding a couple of top-10 prospects. But most top recruits already committed to a school well before the signing period arrived Wednesday.

The CFP rankings — and ‘data points’ — have left Miami, Ole Miss and South Carolina puzzled

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami wants things reconsidered. So does South Carolina. The Big 12 is puzzled. And Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin turned toward social media to ask the College Football Playoff committee a question. “You guys actually meet for days and come up with these rankings??” Kiffin wrote. The fallout and, for some, anger stemming from the release of the latest CFP ranking — one that almost certainly means Miami (10-2), South Carolina (9-3) and Ole Miss (9-3) all have no chance of getting into the 12-team field — continued Wednesday as the schools on the outside looking in continued making their case, even though all hope for them seems to be gone.

League upholds 3-game suspension for Houston LB Azeez Al-Shaair following hit on Trevor Lawrence

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL and the NFL players association are upholding Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s three-game suspension without pay for repeated violations of player safety rules. Al-Shaair’s violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence left the quarterback with a concussion and on injured reserve. Hearing officer Ramon Foster, jointly appointed by the league and the players’ union, ruled a day after Al-Shaair’s punishment was announced. NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan handed down the punishment and said Al-Shaair had multiple offenses for personal fouls and sportsmanship-related rules violations in recent seasons. His most egregious one came in a 23-20 win at Jacksonville on Sunday.

Michigan flipped QB Bryce Underwood with some help from Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Tom Brady

BELLEVILLE, Mich. (AP) — Bryce Underwood was relieved to make his commitment to Michigan official with his signature as signing day in college football kicked off on Wednesday. Underwood says it’s time for the next level. There are certainly levels to recruiting highly touted players in this era and Underwood made the most of his opportunities. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback played at Belleville High School and told LSU nearly a year ago that he intended to play there. Michigan never stopped pursuing him. He flipped after Oracle founder Larry Ellison and seven-time Super Bowl Tom Brady got involved in the recruitment.

McNeeley scores 17 points as No. 25 UConn rallies to a 76-72 win over No. 15 Baylor

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Liam McNeeley scored 17 points and No. 25 UConn came back from an early deficit to beat No. 15 Baylor 76-72 in the Big 12-Big East Battle. Solo Ball made two late free throws and finished with 11 points as the Huskies iced the game from the foul line. Samson Johnson had 13 points for UConn, the two-time defending national champion. Robert Wright III had 22 points, Langston Love scored 16 and Norchad Omier finished with 14 for Baylor, the 2021 NCAA champion.

NFL tweaks its drug policy, increasing levels for a positive THC test

The NFL and the league’s players’ union agreed to modify their substance abuse policy, increasing the THC level for a positive test, according to a memo that was sent to agents and players on Wednesday. The positive THC level was increased from 150 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) to 350 ng/ml, according to the memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press. Tetrahydrocannabinol is the substance that’s primarily responsible for the effects of marijuana on a person’s mental state. Teams will only be informed of the penalty and that the violation was caused by a positive test and/or a missed test. They will no longer be notified of the substance which caused the positive.

‘Embarrassing’: The Lakers have lost their last 2 games by a combined 70 points

MIAMI (AP) — A 29-point loss in Minnesota on Monday. A 41-point loss in Miami on Wednesday. Add it up, and it’s the worst two-game stretch in Los Angeles Lakers history. The Lakers lost to the Heat 134-93 on Wednesday, that loss coming two days after a 109-80 loss to the Timberwolves. The 70-point margin is an all-time, two-game low for the Lakers; they were outscored by 67 over two separate two-game spans of 2016-17.