MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The most talked about topic during the DIRTcar Nationals at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park was the trio of engine manufacturers now competing in 410 sprint car racing.

The newest being Toyota, which debuted its engine in February.

Chevrolet-based engines have dominated sprint car racing for decades, but Ford reentered the fray in 2019 with Tony Stewart Racing.

Gio Scelzi wheeled the KPC Racing No. 18 sprint car with Toyota power throughout Speedweeks. Scelzi feels the new engine is showing signs of strength in the areas that he knows are needed if one wants to be a winner with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Donny Schatz, who is the lead driver in the TSR/Ford camp, says they are still anxiously awaiting some new parts — engine castings to be specific. Schatz had told us during the Last Call in November that he was hoping to have the parts by early spring. Unfortunately, the challenges of the past year have delayed them further.

As much as the 10-time WoO champion is looking forward to the engine upgrades that are on the way, Schatz knows he has a proven winner in his engine bay, as he searches for his 300th series victory — one he very well may have achieved by the time you read this column.

Drivers such as Sheldon Haudenschild who compete with the dominant Chevy engine remain confident that the rest of the engine manufacturers are chasing them and will be for a while. When asked what the Chevy needs to stay on top, Haudenschild replied, “Nothing!”

– Our most recent “SPEED SPORT LIVE FROM” production for MAVTV originated from Speedweeks in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Featuring motorsports coverage from Daytona Int’l Speedway, New Smyrna Speedway and Volusia Speedway Park, no other outlet had more stories, video, social media posts and pictures from all over Speedweeks than SPEED SPORT.

We were at all of the tracks with coverage on a wide variety of media platforms.

– One of the best motorsports moments I have seen lately on television was the tour nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen gave viewers of his man cave during NBC Sports’ coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to see some pretty cool and impressive racing-themed man caves, but Kristensen’s is jaw-dropping. While I have never been there in person, Kristensen gave the racing world a personal tour with his laptop during the race.

One wall features a huge display of literally every helmet he has ever worn, including some from his amateur racing days. He apparently wore a lot of them during his career. Other helmets came from his most recent stints behind the wheel.

Then, there are the trophies. When you have had a legendary career like Tom Kristensen, you collect a lot of trophies. He actually has a two-story trophy tree that is spectacular.

Kristensen later turned the camera on the laptop toward his nine Le Mans trophies. Each of the very recognizable trophies is in its own case and all nine are lined up next to each other, showcased on a declining mantle with a massive nighttime photo from the Sarthe as a backdrop.

As if all of this isn’t cool enough, there are a variety of cars and motorcycles in the room. The most significant of which is Kristensen’s Le Mans-winning Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro. Kristensen shared the car with Loic Duval and Allan McNish en route to his ninth and final Le Mans triumph.

This fantastic car is a stunning centerpiece to cap off one of the greatest racing man caves on the planet. If you didn’t catch Tom’s tour during the broadcast, it can be easily located on YouTube. It’s worth the search.

– Jarett Andretti is doing a tremendous job carrying on the family name and making his dad, the late John Andretti, proud. Yes, he is successful behind the wheel of a race car. However, he is doing a stellar job in continuing the charity work that his father was so passionate about.

John’s Race-4-Riley program has been a huge success for the Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Jarett has worked hard to continue the growth of the Race-4-Riley program, which is now in its 25th year.

One of the best things about Race-4-Riley is that all of the money goes directly to helping the kids. If you would like to help Jarett with the Race-4-Riley program, email him at [email protected]

The Andretti family has also launched The CheckIt4Andretti Charitable Foundation to continue John Andretti’s mission of educating people about the importance of cancer screenings.

The third-generation Andretti racer has a busy racing schedule this season as well. It includes running an IMSA LMP3 car, 15 or so non-winged sprint car races and maybe even a couple of midget shows.

Keep those elbows up and keep digging — on and off the track!

LEWISBURG, Tenn. – With saturated grounds at Duck River Raceway Park and more rainstorms projected throughout the week, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and track officials have been forced to cancel Friday’s event at the raceway.

Saturday’s Tennessee Tipoff event at Smoky Mountain Speedway is still on as scheduled with $12,000 to win on the line.

For Duck River Raceway Park ticket information, contact the track at 931-685-1009.

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – For drivers such as Tim Wagaman and Freddie Rahmer, the significance of Saturday’s Ice Breaker at Lincoln Speedway depended on their perspective.

Modest teams, like Wagaman at Tyler Esh Motorsports, savor the complete reward of winning central Pennsylvania’s opening race. The slate is clean, the crowd is typically in tune, and the atmosphere was filled with anticipation.

It’s all the ingredients that only elevate frugal squads like Wagaman’s.

“I don’t think an Ice Breaker relates to the National Open or anything like that … but an Ice Breaker is a nice one,” Wagaman said after winning the event Saturday at Lincoln Speedway. “It’s the first race of the year. Everyone is watching. You see the atmosphere. It’s a cool deal.”

For Rahmer, as well as Danny Dietrich, Saturday’s outlook depended on the pill draw.

Rahmer was scheduled to start 16th in the 30-lap feature, but decided to start-and-park since the track provided unfavorable conditions for someone starting toward the rear.

“The way the track was, it didn’t make sense,” said Rahmer, who was credited with a 26th-place finish.

“These day races are more situational than anything,” Rahmer tipped before the race.

Dietrich, meanwhile, drew the highest pill and only logged nine laps in the feature. Central Pennsylvania’s winningest driver from a year ago ran 18th before he pulled in the pits, taking home a paycheck that paid the same from 16th on back.

Rahmer and Dietrich didn’t think much of Saturday, but Wagaman, Kyle Moody, and Tim Glatfelter sure did. For Wagaman, it lifted the weight of a six-year winless drought and the moved the pressure of getting win No. 1 of the season out of the way.

“I think it makes your tensions go down,” Wagaman said after winning the Ice Breaker on Saturday. “You get [a win], and you calm down and drive.”

For Moody, an Ice Breaker ranks high on his list of events he wants to win, largely because of the exposure. The 30-year-old finished second on Saturday, the fifth straight year he’s finished in the top-seven of the Ice Breaker.

Moody finds no consolation in this stat, though, especially since he started on the pole Saturday and lost the lead five laps in.

“I just want one of these opening day Ice Breaker wins so damn bad,” Moody said. “We’ve been close so many times.”

Glatfelter, meanwhile, cashed in on a third-place finish. Last year, he finished on the podium just once in 27 races. 

– Lincoln Speedway held a moment of silence prior to Saturday’s events, honoring racing figures who lost their lives over the winter break.

At the top of that list was Mike Yeaple, 50, the longtime Lincoln Speedway track worker who officiated the start line in turn three. The track has now named the start line after Yeaple in his memory.

“He was a fixture here,” Lincoln Speedway co-owner Scott Gobrecht said. “He always had that sign, ‘At the line,’ pointing his rolled up yellow flag to.”

Others remembered included:

• Al Hamilton, 91, one of the winningest car owners in central Pennsylvania history
• Bob Jones, 89, the former promoter of Williams Grove Speedway
• Randy Lisi, 68, a long-time sprint car owner
• Ed Powell, 84, a long-time late model and sprint car owner
• Stan Lobitz, 86, a long-time supporter of central Pennsylvania sprint car racing
• Bobby Rudisill, 51, a former sprint car driver
• Nathan Durbarow, 63, one of the most decorated late model racers in the south-central Pennsylvania area

– Tim Shaffer finished 12th from 24th in his Central Pennsylvania debut for Heffner Racing Enterprises.

If it wasn’t for a bad pill draw, Shaffer, who was the fastest in hot laps, might have been the car to beat Saturday at Lincoln Speedway.

By the race’s first stoppage on lap five, Shaffer had rocketed 10 spots to 14th before maintaining over the final 25 laps.

– Matt Campbell placed fifth in his first race of the new year in the Premier Racing Team No. 21, the same car Brian Montieth raced to eight Lincoln Speedway track titles with.

Campbell challenged for the lead with under 10 laps to go, but was subsequently knocked out of the line, losing three spots in the closing stages.

– Anthony Macri plotted his way to a sixth-place effort from 12th. Last year, Lincoln Speedway was a weakness for the 21-year-old, who won eight of his nine 410 sprint car features at Port Royal Speedway.

A solid run like Saturday will only help Macri once he returns to bigger shows at the speedway later in the year.

– Brandon Rahmer finished seventh from 14th, while Justin Peck salvaged ninth from 18th.

– Pennsylvania-based teams Kerry Madsen, Brent Marks, Lucas Wolfe, and Brock Zearfoss did not show up to Saturday’s Ice Breaker.

Madsen, who is driving Michael Barshinger’s familiar No. 24 this year, stayed home in Knoxville, Iowa, over the weekend. He is planning to race Lincoln Speedway next Saturday and the Port Royal Speedway opener next Sunday.

Marks, meanwhile, will race the next six NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series races, through the Drydene Texas Two-Step at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas, on March 19-20.

– Jordan Mackison raced the iconic Apple Motorsports No. 12 for the first time since 2014 in the final race last year on Nov. 14 at BAPS Motor Speedway.

The 23-year-old returned to action Saturday in the Ice Breaker, not in the Apple No. 12, but in his No. 1080 family car.

Mackison said that nothing has progressed regarding a potential revival of Apple Motorsports since the team’s one-off return with accomplished crew chief Lee Stauffer last November.

Mackison is set to race for his family team on a part-time basis this season.

Collin Morikawa is back inside the top 5 in the world rankings.

The 25-year-old Morikawa moved up two spots to fourth in the latest Official World Golf Ranking after winning the WGC-Workday Championship, his fourth career PGA Tour win, on Sunday at The Concession Golf Club. Morikawa, who sits behind only Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, has previously been No. 4 in the world on a few occasions, including most recently after his T-7 showing at the Sony Open earlier this year.

Speaking with the media after Sunday’s triumph, Morikawa said he had to “reset” before November’s Masters, which capped a fall stretch that included missed cuts at the U.S. Open and Shriners Open and no top-10s in five starts.

“It wasn't like, ‘Oh, man, I should be winning every single week,’ but it just almost in that kind of fall portion, it was like, ‘Oh, I should be playing good golf, or on my bad days I should still be contending,’” Morikawa said. “When I sat down after my last event on the Tour, which was the Masters … I sat down with Rick, my coach, and I told him the honest truth, that I got complacent. I was getting lazy. I was getting a sense of where I didn't want to just be the best every single week. And that doesn't mean I wasn't practicing right … it was just a mental state of coming out and being ready to play great golf Thursday through Sunday.

“So, I kind of reset that before the Masters, I was able to work on that throughout December, a couple times on the European Tour. By the time this year started, my game felt really, really good.”

Morikawa now has three top-7s, including a victory, in four Tour starts this year.

With Morikawa’s rise, Xander Schauffele and Tyrrell Hatton each dropped a spot, to Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Patrick Reed also moved up two spots, to No. 9, knocking Bryson DeChambeau outside of the top 10. DeChambeau, now No. 11, tied for 22^nd at Concession after missing the Genesis Invitational cut.

There are fewer than 10 weeks left until the Walker Cup, and on Monday the USGA unveiled the 10-man team that will represent the U.S. in the May 8-9 matches at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.

While former Georgia Tech standout Tyler Strafaci, the 22-year-old reigning U.S. Amateur winner, had already been announced as exempt into captain Nathaniel Crosby’s squad, the remaining seven players are now officially released. That included three players – Georgia senior Davis Thompson, Florida sophomore Ricky Castillo and Florida State senior John Pak – who qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking on Feb. 10, as well as six USGA working group picks: mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad, Texas juniors Cole Hammer and Pierceson Coody, Oklahoma senior Quade Cummins, Oklahoma State senior Austin Eckroat and Pepperdine sophomore William Mouw.

All 10 team members are ranked No. 23 or better in the WAGR, including four in the top 10 – Thompson (1), Pak (5), Castillo (6) and Coody (9).

Pak, Hammer and Hagestad were members of the 2019 team, also captained by Crosby, that defeated Great Britain and Ireland, 15.5-10.5, at Royal Liverpool, the first American victory on foreign soil since 2007. Pak went 3-0 that week.

Hagestad will play in his third straight Walker Cup, as he also was on the victorious 2017 squad. The 29-year-old Newport Beach, California, native, who won the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur, was low amateur at the 2017 Masters and last summer reached the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals at Bandon Dunes, is the first three-time U.S. Walker Cup participant since Nathan Smith in 2013 and only the fifth in the past 10 editions.

The U.S. holds a 37-9-1 all-time advantage in the Walker Cup, though the Americans are just 9-7 against GB&I since 1989.

This year’s Walker Cup will be the first contested in May. The decision, which was made because Seminole is closed in early September, along with the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a unique qualifying process. Normally, the summer amateur schedule, which culminates with the U.S. Amateur, carries heavy weight. However, many such events were canceled last summer, and with a spring Walker Cup there wasn't the opportunity for a player to make a late run like Jordan Niebrugge or Cameron Champ in recent years.

That put more emphasis on fall and winter amateur tournaments, including a late summer/early fall U.S. Open, a new Maridoe Amateur, the South Beach International Amateur and Jones Cup, which was the last tournament considered in the team-selection process. Hammer won the South Beach and was runner-up at the Jones Cup, two performances that likely solidified his place on the team. Pak and Thompson made the cut at Winged Foot, where Castillo and Eckroat also teed it up.

Coody, Cummins and Mouw all had strong summers, with Coody winning the Western Amateur and Mouw reaching the Round of 16 at Bandon. Cummins won a GCAA Amateur Series event after posting top-10s at the Southern and Sunnehanna amateurs last summer.

Pak was the only current college player on the team that didn’t play college golf last fall because of the ACC’s pandemic decision to not compete, though it’s not believed that college events were greatly considered in picking the team. Strafaci decided not to return for his extra year at Georgia Tech last fall and plans to turn professional after the Walker Cup.

SMU senior Mac Meissner and Oklahoma senior Garett Reband were named first and second alternates, respectively. Meissner, who won the Southern Amateur last summer, is No. 22 in the WAGR while Reband, who missed last summer’s U.S. Amateur while recovering from a broken right hand, is No. 16.

The GB&I side has yet to announced its team, though it's expected that the visiting side will feature several players from U.S. colleges, including Texas Tech's Sandy Scott, Minnesota's Angus Flanagan and Wake Forest teammates Alex Fitzpatrick and Mark Power.

2021 U.S. Walker Cup team

• Tyler Strafaci, 22, Davie, Fla., Georgia Tech (alum)
• Davis Thompson, 21, St. Simons Island, Ga., Georgia (senior)
• Ricky Castillo, 20, Yorba Linda, Calif., Florida (sophomore)
• John Pak, 22, Scotch Plains, N.J., Florida State (senior)
• Pierceson Coody, 21, Plano, Texas, Texas (junior)
• Cole Hammer, 21, Houston, Texas, Texas (junior)
• Stewart Hagestad, 29, Newport Beach, Calif., USC (alum)
• Quade Cummins, 24, Weatherford, Okla., Oklahoma (senior)
• Austin Eckroat, 22, Edmond, Okla., Oklahoma State (senior)
• William Mouw, 20, Chino, Calif., Pepperdine (sophomore)

On the eve of the return of significant fans for the first time in nearly a year and the perception that a return to the Florida swing will bring something closer to normal, the PGA Tour announced a reminder Monday that the pandemic continues.

The Tour extended its partnership with Sanford Health to provide on-site COVID-19 testing of players, caddies and essential personnel.

Sanford Health has led the Tour’s testing efforts since the circuit returned to competition last June and has conducted more than 18,500 tests from its three mobile laboratories.

“With health and safety continuing to be our No. 1 priority, we are thrilled to extend this game-changing partnership with Sanford Health, utilizing their expertise in testing players, caddies and essential personnel,” said Andy Levinson, a senior vice president of tournament administration for the Tour.

Sanford Health’s technicians administer between 500-700 tests each week.

This week's Arnold Palmer Invitational is expected to allow up to 8,000 fans per day on site at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.

AC Milan will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the Europa League round-of-16 clash with Manchester United, sources have told ESPN.

The Swedish forward was substituted midway through Milan's 2-1 victory over AS Roma on Sunday, having picked up an abductor muscle injury.

- Stream LIVE games and replays on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Sources have told ESPN that Ibrahimovic will be assessed in 10 days' time in order to determine the full period required on the sidelines and that will be March 11 -- the day Milan face United.

It is unclear whether the match, with United the designated home side, will be staged in England as recent European matches involving Premier League sides have been played at neutral venues due to a enforced coronavirus travel ban.

Should the game go ahead at Old Trafford as planned, it would have meant Ibrahimovic returning to the stadium he spent 18 months at from 2017-18. During his time at United, he won two major trophies: the EFL Cup and Europa League.

Ibrahimovic's absence comes as he is due to host the annual San Remo music festival, which take places from March 2-6. His commitments were not due to keep him out of the matches against Udinese (March 3) and Hellas Verona (March 7) as sources told ESPN that Milan had detailed a schedule for him train regularly and be available for matches.

However, this injury will keep him out of both matches. Milan's next match after their clash with United is a home game with Napoli on March 14 for which he may be available.

Milan are four points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan, having suffered back-to-back defeats before their win over Roma, with 12 matches remaining.

Jack Leach and Jeetan Patel have backed Dom Bess to recover from the disappointment of being dropped and play a major role if selected for England's fourth Test in India as they look to square the series 2-2.

Bess took 17 wickets at 22.75 across both of England's Tests in Sri Lanka and the first Test in Chennai - all three of which England won - but was left out of the side for the second Chennai Test with Moeen Ali preferred, and was again omitted in the third Test at Ahmedabad as England opted for a seam-heavy line-up.

England are unlikely to consider either of the back-up spinners in their touring group for the final Test, with Matt Parkinson and Amar Virdi still categorised as 'reserves' after Mason Crane flew home before the start of the third Test. As a result, Bess will be in line for a recall if they decide to revert to a side with two frontline spin options, having relied on Joe Root's part-time offbreaks last week.

Patel, who was unveiled as England's full-time spin-bowling coach on Monday having travelled to Asia in a consultancy role, said that Bess was in "very good spirits" despite his disappointment at missing out on selection.

"I think Dom's pretty good," Patel said. "I spoke to him yesterday and he's in a very good state, actually. He knows that this last Test match is a big Test match for England: to go 2-2 in this series, through four Test matches, would be a fantastic effort.

"I think he's in very good spirits. It's fair to say he was a bit disappointed he wasn't selected in that third Test that's just gone, but the feeling was that the pink ball would react differently and it didn't go the way we thought it would go. We had a plan and it didn't quite work, so that's okay."

Leach, Bess' long-term team-mate at Somerset before their respective breakthroughs for England, said that he had encouraged Bess to view being dropped as an opportunity to learn and get better.

"Dom's worked hard: he's been working hard in the nets and he's a great character, and he will see it as a good learning experience," Leach said. "I'm sure if called upon in this last Test he'll be more than ready to go.

"From my experience, whenever I've had a low moment it's always turned out to be a good thing, I think. It's all about how you view that low moment: it's not nice at the time but if you approach cricket in the right way then I think good things can come from it. That's definitely what we're talking about and how we're thinking."

Leach, who has taken twice as many wickets in the series (16 at 26.75) as any other England bowler, said that his performances against some of the world's best players of spin provided a major boost to his confidence after a year out of the Test side.

"This series has given me a lot of confidence in general," he said. "The guys you are bowling against are world-class batters and playing them in their own backyard I feel it's a challenging experience. I feel like I've stood up to that pretty well and got some good wickets and it is a confidence boost.

"I don't think I could really have expected much more of myself than how I've done and how I've got better through the tour. It has given me a lot of confidence that I can go on and play a lot for England and that I'm going to get better and better.

"My belief in myself is more than it has been in the past, and again, doing it out here in India against some top batters has given me lots of confidence. I know I still have lots of hard work to do but I've seen how I can come back from disappointment or tough times in games and put in good performances. That's more pleasing to me than having it all my own way and bowling sides out."

Patel and Leach also talked up Root's credentials as an offspinner, after his haul of 5 for 8 in the first innings of the third Test. "Nicked a five-for off me, didn't he?" Leach joked. "He bowled really well and he's a really good offspin bowler. I think he should definitely think of himself as a genuine option."

Patel added: "If you take two frontline spinners in Leach and Bess, you know you have Root to then break that up. It is on Rooty himself to say 'I can bowl, I can offer'. I think he has got a huge offering in that line-up, because he gets the ball to arrive differently and at a different pace and he gets it to do different things. In some ways, he is different to the other two.

"The one thing that Rooty has is a fantastic mind for cricket. He understands batting techniques, pitches, the flow of the game. And so to be able to use those skills as well as some spin skill that he has - when I say some, he's still advancing his spin skill as well - coupled with his knowledge of the game… he's got a lot to offer this group."

Novak Djokovic tied Roger Federer's tennis record for most weeks as ATP world No. 1 on Monday, holding the top spot for the 310th week.

Djokovic's ninth Australian Open title last month guaranteed that he will surpass Federer's record on March 8.

Having reached another career milestone, Djokovic had said he would look to adjust his calendar and make passing Federer's and Rafael Nadal's record of 20 Grand Slam titles his top priority.

"Now, after achieving the historic No. 1 for the longest weeks at No. 1, it's going to be a relief for me because I'm going to focus all my attention on Slams mostly," Djokovic said after his title triumph at Melbourne Park.

"When you are going for No. 1 ranking, you kind of have to be playing the entire season and you have to be playing well, you have to play all the tournaments.

"My goals will adapt and will shift a little bit, which means that I will have to adjust also my calendar -- not have to, but I will have an opportunity to do that which, as a father and a husband, I'm really looking forward to that."

This is Djokovic's fifth stint atop the world rankings. The 33-year-old reclaimed the top spot from Nadal in February last year and finished as the year-end No. 1 for the sixth time -- tying the record set by Pete Sampras.

Michigan finally broke the stranglehold of Gonzaga and Baylor atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll on Monday, taking advantage of the Bears' loss at Kansas to leap into the No. 2 spot behind the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga continued to hold down the top spot in the Top 25, just as it has all season, receiving 59 of 63 first-place votes among national media members. But the Wolverines picked up the other four to climb into second while the Bears, whose unbeaten season was foiled by the Jayhawks on Saturday night, dropped back to third place.

Illinois climbed one spot to fourth and Iowa gave the Big Ten three teams in the top five.

"We look at it like there's room for improvement," said Wolverines coach Juwan Howard, whose team pushed its winning streak to seven with an easy win over Indiana on Saturday. "Our guys have that kind of growth mindset, 'What can we do better?' I don't think there's ever such a thing as playing a perfect game, (but) one possession at a time, competing for 40 minutes, from start to finish, that's been our mindset going into ballgames."

Now the question is whether the Wolverines can hold onto its No. 2 spot. They have a showdown with the Illini on Tuesday night before wrapping up the regular season with a home-and-home series against Michigan State.

"No question, they deserve all of the whatever the word you want to use -- accolades, praise. They deserve it all," Hoosiers coach Archie Miller said. "They have a great spirit about them. That's one thing you'd probably have to look at Michigan and just look at the way that they vibe and they play, both ends of the floor. They get after you, they play hard for one another, they have a great bounce to them, so you can tell they're very together. That's a big part of what they're doing."

West Virginia continued its steady climb, up four spots to No. 6 after its third consecutive win. Ohio State fell three spots to seventh after its loss to the Hawkeyes. Alabama, Houston and Villanova rounded out the top 10.

Florida State was next while Arkansas leaped eight spots to No. 12 after running its winning streak to six, including victories over then-No. 10 Missouri and the Crimson Tide. It's the highest the Razorbacks have been ranked since Feb. 16, 1998.

Also making a big move was No. 13 Kansas, fresh off its win over the Bears; the Jayhawks have won six of seven after their record 12-year streak in the Top 25 came to an end, with the loss coming to then-No. 14 Texas in overtime.

Creighton dropped one spot to No. 14, followed by the Longhorns. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were next, followed by Big 12 rival Texas Tech, with San Diego State and Loyola Chicago rounding out the top 20.

Virginia was No. 21, followed by Virginia Tech, Purdue, Colorado and Wisconsin. The newcomer Boilermakers and sliding Badgers give the Big Ten six teams in the Top 25, one fewer than the poll-leading Big 12.

MORE ON THE BEARS

Baylor has struggled since coming off a three-week pause for COVID-19 issues, needing a frantic rally to beat bottom-dwelling Iowa State before falling in Allen Fieldhouse. Bears coach Scott Drew was quick to congratulate the Jayhawks on the win, but he also made it clear that his team is still trying to find its legs after a long break.

"Anyone that's had COVID would know, when you come back, you're not 100%," Drew said. "The people that didn't and weren't able to practice or work out, I would say that's rust. And then the last thing I would say, it's a chemistry game."

IN AND OUT

Oklahoma State went from the first team out all the way to No. 17 on the strength of Top 25 wins over the Red Raiders and Sooners last week. Purdue entered at No. 23 after blowing out Penn State for its third consecutive win, and Colorado went from barely on the radar to No. 24 after back-to-back wins over then-No. 19 USC and UCLA.

They replaced the Trojans, Tennessee and Missouri. USC has lost three of its last four, the Vols have dropped three of their last five and the Tigers, who were No. 10 at the start of February, have lost four of their last five.

ON THE DOORSTEP

BYU was the first team out of the poll after the Cougars' fourth straight win solidified their place behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. Florida appeared on seven ballots after not appearing on any last week, and St. Bonaventure found its way onto eight ballots after the Bonnies edged Davidson in back-to-back games and routed George Washington.