UNDATED (AP) — UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline the preseason AP All-America women’s college basketball team. The team, released Thursday, also includes Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, Texas forward Madison Booker, and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo. Strong, the reigning AP Player of the Year, earned 30 votes from the 31-member national media panel. Hidalgo and Booker each received 28 votes, Blakes had 27, and Watkins 26. Watkins is returning after an ACL tear in 2025. Strong averaged 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds last season. Booker and Hidalgo have been honored as preseason picks for three consecutive years.
UNDATED (AP) — Virginia Tech's trip to Clemson marks a key game on the week's Atlantic Coast Conference schedule. The Hokies are 2-2 in the league in their first year under James Franklin. Now they're facing a Tigers team trying to go to 3-1 in the league chase for a spot in the ACC championship game. The week's schedule includes Miami playing for the first time since climbing to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 when it hosts Pittsburgh. There's also Duke's trip to Virginia on Friday in a rematch of last year's ACC title game won by the Blue Devils.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The 2001 Miami Hurricanes, known for their unbeaten season and national championship win, are reuniting this weekend. They'll be honored during a halftime ceremony as Miami, now the top-ranked team, faces Pitt. Coach Mario Cristobal sees parallels between the current team and the legendary 2001 squad. Miami has risen to No. 1 for the first time since 2002. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi acknowledges Miami's talent and recruiting prowess. The Hurricanes have a strong history as the nation's top team, while Pitt has struggled against No. 1 ranked teams.
UNDATED (AP) — Florida's Thomas Haugh and Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. highlight the preseason AP All-America team. Fears received 57 votes from a 58-person media panel and Haugh earned 56. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner received 43 votes, Illinois forward David Mirkovic had 24 and Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas 17 to round out the team.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami is about to take the field as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press' college football rankings for the first time since 2002. The Hurricanes aren't fazed by that whatsoever. Staying true to the process is among the biggest keys for unbeaten Miami this week as the top-ranked Hurricanes get set to play host to Pitt on Saturday afternoon. Getting wrapped up in the national rankings would be a recipe for failure, says coach Mario Cristobal. He wants Miami simply to think about the next task and nothing else.
UNDATED (AP) — Beware, Miami, when Pittsburgh comes to town Saturday. The No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 has lost to unranked opponents two straight weeks. Oklahoma knocked off Texas and then Auburn upset Georgia. Unranked teams are 9-198 against No. 1s since 2000. That's according to Sportradar. The only other year No. 1 teams lost twice to non-Top 25 opponents over that span was 2007. Auburn is one of two schools with two wins over No. 1s as an unranked team since 2000. The other is Texas A&M.
UNDATED (AP) — College football fans should get a chance to catch their breath Saturday. Week 8 doesn’t set up to be nearly as upside down as Week 7. There were six Top 25 matchups last week and five of the top seven teams lost on the same day in a regular season for the first time in the 90 years of The Associated Press poll. This week there are just two Top 25 matchups with No. 7 Mississippi at No. 19 Texas and No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah. There also is a new No. 1 team in Miami.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Bar says it has fired an employee over online messages that were sent to a Miami football player after the Hurricanes beat Florida State last weekend. Kade McLendon worked at the Bar for about two years as a computer technician and was identified Tuesday as the Bar employee under investigation. He was fired Wednesday, the Bar said. An account from a person using McLendon’s name sent a number of messages to Miami’s Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes’ 43-35 victory, including several racist and homophobic slurs. It’s unclear why the private messages were sent to Wilson, who is in his first season at Miami.
