Monday's top-25 basketball schedule featured a trio of upsets, none greater than what Syracuse did at Durham. Syracuse held Duke to 2-of-8 shooting in overtime and to just 21 percent from 3-point range in a 95-91 victory over the top-ranked Blue Devils.
Tyus Battle scored a season-high 32 points for the Orange, who used a 2-3 zone to befuddle Duke on its home court. Paschal Chukwu added 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, while Elijah Hughes added 20 points. Zion Williamson had a career-high 35 points and 10 rebounds, and his free throw with 16.2 seconds left in regulation tied it at 85 for Duke. The night took an ominous turn for the Blue Devils when starting point guard Tre Jones suffered a right shoulder injury before the first TV timeout.
Pittsburgh and Nebraska authored the other upsets. Pittsburgh ended a 13-game losing streak against ranked teams by pulling away in a 75-62 victory against No. 11 Florida State. Trey McGowens had 30 points and seven rebounds, while Xavier Johnson scored 16 for the Panthers. No. 25 Indiana suffered its third straight loss as Glynn Watson Jr. scored 15 points in Nebraska's 66-51 upset at Bloomington. Romeo Langford had 18 points and Juwan Morgan finished with 17 on a miserable shooting night for the Hoosiers.
In other Top-25 matchups, Lagerald Vick scored 21 points and Marcus Garrett added a career-high 20 as seventh-ranked Kansas escaped with an 80-78 victory against visiting Texas. Dedric Lawson added 17 points and eight rebounds for the 15-2 Jayhawks, who couldn't celebrate until the Longhorns missed a 3-point try at the buzzer.
Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 21 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to give No. 18 Maryland breathing room in a 64-60 win over Wisconsin. The Terrapins blew a 21-point lead but improved to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten.
In college basketball news, Michigan and Virginia remain the only unbeaten teams in Division One basketball, but they couldn't move up in the latest Associated Press men's basketball poll. Duke remains No. 1 for the fourth straight win after receiving 36 of 64 first-place votes. The second-ranked Wolverines picked up nine first-place votes, No. 3 Tennessee had 13 and the fourth-rated Cavaliers had the remaining six. There were no changes among the top 10, which means No. 5 Gonzaga is followed by Michigan State, Kansas, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech and Nevada. No. 18 Mississippi is a poll newcomer, as are No. 19 Maryland, No. 22 Villanova and No. 23 Iowa. The Terrapins, Wildcats and Hawkeyes were in the poll earlier this season.
NBA
D'Angelo Russell contributed 18 of his 34 points while the Nets were outscoring the Celtics 44-21 in the third quarter of a 109-102 victory at Brooklyn. Jarrett Allen added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who scored 15 straight in the third period and won for the ninth time in their last 10 home games. The Celtics finished 0-3 on their road trip despite Jayson Tatum's 34 points.
Checking out Monday's other NBA action, James Harden's string of 30-point games continues. The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player reached the 30-point mark by halftime on Monday before finishing with a season-high 57 in the Rockets' 112-94 rout of the Grizzlies. It's the franchise-record 14th time Harden has scored 40 this season and the eighth time in his last 11 games. It's also the longest string of 30-point performances since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 20 straight 55 years ago. Houston has lost just four times during Harden's scoring surge to take a one-game lead over San Antonio in the Southwest Division.
The Spurs suffered their second consecutive loss as Kemba Walker shot 7-for-13 from 3-point range while scoring 33 in the Hornets' 108-93 victory at San Antonio. Lamb had 19 points and seven rebounds as Charlotte stopped a three-game slide.
The Pelicans earned a 121-117 victory over the Clippers behind Anthony Davis, who pumped in 46 points and had 16 rebounds. Julius Randle added 27 points and combined with Davis to score 24 of New Orleans' 28 third-quarter points.
The Jazz pulled out a 100-94 win against the Pistons as Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and Rudy Gobert added 18 to go with a career high with 25 rebounds. Kyle Korver had 19 points, including five 3-pointers, to help Utah win for the sixth time in seven games.
De'Aaron Fox scored 16 points, collected nine assists and made a key 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining in the Kings' third straight win, 115-107 over Portland. Damian Lillard scored 35 points to become the fastest player in Trail Blazers history to reach 12,000 for his career.
In NBA news, the NBA has cleared the Cavaliers of any wrongdoing in their brief alliance with forward Patrick McCaw. The Cavs gave McCaw a two-year, $6 million offer sheet that was wasn't matched by the Warriors, but he played just three games before being released earlier this month. Golden State asked the league to investigate the transaction.
NHL
Jeff Petry scored just 15 seconds into overtime to push the Canadiens past the Bruins, 3-2. Petry also set up Brendan Gallagher's goal and Paul Byron scored while short-handed to back Carey Price, who stopped 41 shots.
The Oilers blew out the Sabres, 7-2 as Milan Lucic and Zack Kassian each scored twice. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl also scored as Edmonton won for the second time in three games.
Kyle Palmieri and Blake Coleman each scored twice and the Devils overcame a four-point night by Patrick Kane to beat the Blackhawks, 8-5. Kane had two goals and two assists for Chicago, which has allowed at least seven goals in five games this season.
The Flyers also won for just the second time in 11 games as James van Riemsdyk recorded a hat trick in a 7-4 downing of the Wild. Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds each scored twice for Philadelphia, which entered the night with the fewest points in the league.
Elsewhere on NHL ice, the St. Louis Blues have their first three-game winning streak of the season after knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champions. Vince Dunn scored his first goal in 33 games and David Perron extended his point streak to 11 games by downing the Capitals, 4-1 in Washington. Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring with his league-leading 33rd goal of the season, but the Blues took control on goals by Ivan Barbashev, Dunn and Perron in a 4:42 span of the second period. Jake Allen made 28 saves to pick up his first victory since Jan. 3.
Colorado had dropped nine of 10 and seven straight on the road until Carl Soderberg's first career hat trick led the Avalanche past the Maple Leafs, 6-3 in Toronto. Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen made 32 saves in his return to the starting lineup after missing eight games with a groin injury.
In NHL news, a couple of Stanley Cup playoff hopefuls have swapped unproductive forwards. The Dallas Stars have acquired Andrew Cogliano from the Anaheim Ducks for Devin Shore. Cogliano has just three goals and 11 points in 46 games this season, while Shore has produced five goals and 12 assists in 42 contests. The Stars began the day third in the NHL's Central Division, while the Ducks are on a team-record 11-game losing streak that has them battling for one of the two Western Conference wild-card berths.
The Sharks have given forward Marcus Sorensen a two-year contract extension through the 2020-21 season. Sorensen has career highs of eight goals and seven assists in 47 games this season.
MLB
Former New York Yankees ace and longtime pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre has died at 77. A five-time All-Star and three-time 20-game winner, Stottlemyre went 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA in 11 seasons, all with the Yankees. He also won five World Series rings as pitching coach of the Mets and Yankees.
In other MLB news, the Yankees and Gold Glove-winning second baseman DJ LeMahieu have finalized a two-year, $24 million package. The 30-year-old LeMahieu spent the previous eight seasons with Colorado at hitter-friendly Coors Field and won the NL batting title in 2016 with a .348 average. He hit .276 last year.
Left-hander Derek Holland is staying with the San Francisco Giants, agreeing to a one-year contract that guarantees $7 million. The 32-year-old was 7-9 with a 3.57 ERA in 30 starts and six relief appearances over 171 1/3 innings in his first season for San Francisco. Holland spent the first eight of his 10 big league seasons with Texas. He helped fill a void in the rotation when the Giants dealt with injuries Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija.
Avisail Garcia and the Rays have agreed to terms on a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Garcia hit a career-high 19 home runs last season but slumped to .236 with 49 RBIs in 93 games after batting a career-best .330 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs in 136 games in 2017.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal and the Brewers have finalized a one-year $18.25 million contract. Grandal was an All-Star in his first season with the Dodgers in 2015 and hit .241 this year with 24 homers and 68 RBIs as Los Angeles won its second straight NL pennant.
The Twins have finalized a one-year contract with right-handed reliever Blake Parker. The right-hander was 2-1 with 14 saves and a 3.26 ERA in 67 games for the Angels last year.
NFL
The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns introduced their new head coaches on Monday afternoon. Jets coach Adam Gase says he's looking forward to working with quarterback Sam Darnold, the third player taken in last year's NFL draft. Gase also feels practice and repetition will rid the Jets of their recent penchant for blowing fourth-quarter leads. Gase became available when the Dolphins dismissed him following three seasons and a 23-26 record, including a wild-card loss last year.
Freddie Kitchens says the Browns made the best decision by hiring him, adding that they had enough confidence in him that he would figure it out and get the job done. Kitchens began this season as Browns' running backs coach and was elevated to offensive coordinator at midseason. Kitchens has hired Todd Monken as offensive coordinator and Steve Wilks to run his defense.
In other NFL news, the National Weather Service is projecting an arctic blast to settle over Kansas City before Sunday's AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and New England Patriots. Temperatures at kickoff could range from 10 degrees to well below zero, potentially making it the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Will it be the NFL, the Oakland Athletics or both for Kyler Murray? The reigning Heisman Trophy winner has announced he's leaving Oklahoma early to enter the NFL draft. He passed for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns and ran for 1,001 yards and another 12 scores this past season. The A's made the speedy outfielder the ninth overall selection last June, signed him and gave him a $4.66 million signing bonus. The Athletics agreed to let him continue playing football, and he made the most of it by winning the Heisman in his only season as a starter for the Sooners.
TENNIS
Serena Williams and Madison Keys have won their opening-round matches at the Australian Open. Williams dropped just two games in her match, her first at Melbourne since she was pregnant while winning the title in 2017. The 17th-seeded Keys began the Day 2 schedule at Laver Arena by winning in straight sets. She's joined in the second round by seventh seed Karolina Pliskova, 12th seed Elise Mertens and No. 13 Anastasia Sevastova.
American Ryan Harrison advanced to the second round on the men's side with a straight-sets victory, but countryman Sam Querrey was knocked out in four sets. Other winners on the men's side include fourth seed Alexander Zverev, eighth seed Kei Nishikori and No. 11 Borna Coric.
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