Here is the latest Big 12 Conference sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — Maryland enters February with momentum and an AP Top 25 ranking. The Terrapins cracked Monday's poll at No. 18 for the program's first appearance since February 2023. Maryland has won four straight and six of seven. They have games this week against Ohio State and Rutgers. That's part of an AP Top 25 schedule that includes No. 1 Auburn playing No. 6 Florida. There's also No. 2 Duke facing what could be its toughest Atlantic Coast Conference test with Saturday's trip to Clemson.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — No. 16 Kansas turned up the defense and shut down eighth-ranked Iowa State in a 69-52 victory that helped to keep the Jayhawks in the Big 12 title race. Kansas moved into a tie with the Cyclones at 7-4 in the league, 2 1/2 games back of Houston and Arizona. Iowa State has now lost three in a row. Zeke Mayo scored 17 points and Hunter Dickinson added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks. They bounced back after blowing a 19-point halftime lead at Baylor last weekend.

UNDATED (AP) — Auburn and Duke remain 1-2 atop The Associated Press Topo 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers held the No. 1 ranking for the fourth consecutive week. Alabama moved up to No. 3, followed by Tennessee and Houston in the top five. Maryland is No. 18 in that program's first appearance since February 2023. The Terrapins were joined by No. 20 Arizona and No. 24 Michigan as the new additions. Oregon, Louisville and Vanderbilt fell out from last week. The SEC had at least nine teams in the poll for the seventh straight week,

UNDATED (AP) — Indiana and North Carolina are trying to strengthen their cases for NCAA Tournament bids. The Hoosiers have lost five of six entering the week but have games against No. 21 Wisconsin and No. 24 Michigan that could help their postseason resume. The Tar Heels have lost four of five. They have a weekend home game agianst Pittsburgh before visiting Clemson next week. The week also offers opportunities for teams like Georgia, Wake Forest, Stanford and VCU.

UNDATED (AP) — Southern Cal’s second loss of the season has dropped the Trojans to seventh in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The Trojans lost at Iowa in an upset over the weekend. UCLA, South Carolina and Notre Dame remain the top three teams in the rankings. The Bruins received all 32 first-place votes. Texas, UConn and LSU all moved up a spot to follow the Fighting Irish. Ohio State, TCU and Duke remained eight through 10.

UNDATED (AP) — With six weeks until the NCAA Tournament, some teams are starting to need to get quality wins to potentially get off the selection bubble. Iowa got a huge victory over then-No. 4 USC on Sunday to give the Hawkeyes a definite resume-building victory. Illinois also had a nice win over then-No. 14 Maryland on the road to give itself a quality victory. Arizona and Colorado both need another quality win or two to help get themselves into the field.