South Carolina is a unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a pair of victories to kick off its national championship repeat bid.

North Carolina State quarterback Grayson McCall has announced his retirement from football less than three weeks after a vicious hit knocked him out of a game for the second time this season.

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Four players are back from the 2021 North Carolina State team that was sent home from the College World Series because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

North Carolina State's offense lost its balance in the Final Four loss to Purdue.

South Carolina star center Kamilla Cardoso briefly exited the Gamecocks’ 78-59 win over North Carolina State in the Final Four with a right leg injury.

North Carolina State coach Kevin Keatts’ shoes say everything about the Wolfpack’s improbable Final Four run.

North Carolina State big man DJ Burns Jr. sees himself as a center on the basketball court, not a pulling guard on the football field.

The NCAA says one of the 3-point lines on the court used for the women’s basketball regionals in Portland, Oregon, was 9 inches short of regulation at its apex.

Bruising big man DJ Burns Jr. scored a season-high 29 points, DJ Horne had 20 and 11th-seeded North Carolina State reached its first Final Four in four decades, beating Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke 76-64 in the South Region final.

Aziaha James made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and third-seeded North Carolina State earned its first trip to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament since 1998, beating top-seeded Texas 76-66.

The 3-point line for the women’s NCAA Tournament at Moda Center had a discrepancy in distance at each end of the court that went unnoticed through four games over two days before Texas and North Carolina State were informed of the problem ahead of their Elite Eight matchup.

Aziaha James had 29 points and third-seeded North Carolina State earned its third trip to the women's Elite Eight with a 77-67 victory over second-seeded Stanford.

DJ Horne scored 19 points and North Carolina State kept its magical NCAA Tournament run alive, beating Marquette 67-58 to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986.

DJ Burns Jr. scored 24 points, including a go-ahead putback that ignited a 9-0 run in overtime, and 11th-seeded North Carolina State beat 14th-seeded Oakland 79-73 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA changed one of the officials at the half of the Chattanooga-N.

Last year, a team from New Jersey called Fairleigh Dickinson played its way out of the First Four and then became one of the most improbable bracket-busters in NCAA Tournament history.

North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Region a year after being left out of the bracket.

Conference tournament season took an even more chaotic turn — and that’s bad news for at least a couple teams on the bubble.

DJ Horne scored 18 points, including two clutch free throws with 15 seconds left, and North Carolina State ousted No. 11 Duke 74-69 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

Louisville has fired coach Kenny Payne after going 12-52 in two seasons that marked the worst consecutive finishes in the storied basketball program’s history.

Louisville plans to fire men's basketball coach Kenny Payne after he went 12-52 in two seasons.

RJ Davis poured in four straight 3-pointers during a riveting second-half stretch on his way to a career-high 42 points, and No. 9 North Carolina held off skidding Miami 75-71.

No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 Oregon all moved up a spot in The Associated Press college football poll to give the Pac-12 two top-five teams for the first time since the final ranking of the 2016 season.

UConn guard Azzi Fudd will miss the remainder of the season with a noncontact knee injury she sustained last week during practice.

Saniya Rivers had a career-best 33 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists to help North Carolina State stun second-ranked Connecticut 92-81 on Sunday, earning the program’s first win against the Huskies in more than a quarter-century.

North Carolina State safety Rakeim Ashford was injured and taken off the field on a stretcher Thursday night during the third quarter of the Wolfpack’s season opener against UConn.

With Atlantic Coast Conference university leaders seemingly on the verge of deciding whether to expand with Stanford, California and SMU, two members of North Carolina’s board of trustees announced their opposition to the move.

San Antonio will be hosting the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Series for the first time ever.

Purdue remains atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll despite losing its second game of the season.

North Carolina State says guard Terquavion Smith is day-to-day after a scary fall in Saturday's loss to North Carolina.

Armando Bacot had 23 points and 18 rebounds on a record-setting day, RJ Davis scored 26 points, and North Carolina defeated North Carolina State 80-69.

Taulia Tagovailoa threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Octavian Smith, Chad Ryland kicked three field goals and Maryland outlasted No. 25 North Carolina State 16-12 to win the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Ben Finley threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, and North Carolina State held on to beat Drake Maye and No. 18 North Carolina 30-27 when Noah Burnette duck-hooked a 35-yard field goal try in the second overtime.

Azzi Fudd scored 32 points and No. 5 UConn beat 10th-ranked North Carolina State 91-69 on Sunday in a game that started with a scary moment when longtime Huskies associate head coach Chris Dailey fainted after the national anthem.

First-year quarterback MJ Morris threw for three second-half touchdowns to help No. 24 North Carolina State rally from 18 down in the third quarter to beat Virginia Tech 22-21 on Thursday night.

North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary is out for the season.

DJ Uiagalelei ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third to give No. 5 Clemson its 11th consecutive win and take control of the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division with a 30-20 victory over No. 10 North Carolina State.

Tennessee and North Carolina State have broken into the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll.

Nate Wiggins broke up Sam Hartman’s fourth-down pass in the end zone to help No. 5 Clemson hold off No. 21 Wake Forest 51-45 in double overtime.

Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman will miss “an extended period of time” for treatment of what the school described Wednesday as medical condition unrelated to football.

Raina Perez’s steal at midcourt and go-ahead layup with 14 seconds left lifted top-seeded N.

Kayla Jones scored 18 points to help top-seeded North Carolina State beat Kansas State 89-57 in Monday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament, earning a fourth straight trip to the Sweet 16.

South Carolina finished the season where it started — at No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll.

Third-ranked North Carolina State completed its chase to a third straight Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship, ending Miami’s upset-filled run in a 60-47 victory.

Diamond Johnson scored 11 of her 16 points in a 4 1/2-minute stretch of the fourth quarter, and No. 4 North Carolina State wiped out a 16-point second-half deficit to beat No. 3 Louisville 68-59.

Mark Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks to lead eighth-ranked Duke’s dominant effort inside as the Blue Devils beat North Carolina State 88-73.

The Holiday Bowl has become the fifth postseason college football game to be canceled.

Jenna Staiti had 21 points and 11 rebounds while coming up with a critical defensive stop in the final seconds of overtime to help No. 17 Georgia beat No. 2 North Carolina State 82-80.

Trevion Williams had a season-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and a career-best nine assists to help No. 1 Purdue rally past North Carolina State 82-72 in overtime in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational.

Devin Leary threw two touchdown passes in a 26-second span, with No. 24 North Carolina State recovering an onside kick in between, to stun North Carolina 34-30 on Friday night and remain alive in the ACC Atlantic Division title chase.

Cincinnati held on to the No. 2 ranking by just four points over No. 3 Alabama in The Associated Press college football poll, and Oregon passed Ohio State to move up to No. 5.

The Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball race is headlined by contenders filled with experienced talent.

Clemson has tumbled to No. 25 in The Associated Press college football poll and snapped its streak of 97 straight weeks in the top 10.

For about 45 minutes late Saturday afternoon, college football was on overload.

North Carolina State forced D.

The New York Mets have failed to sign their top pick from last month’s amateur draft, Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker, over concern about his medical scans.

North Carolina State baseball players who were one win away from playing for a national championship reacted with anger and confusion to their team’s removal from the College World Series because of COVID-19 protocols.

Kumar Rocker struck out 11 in six innings and Vanderbilt won 3-1 at the College World Series against a North Carolina State team without half its roster because of COVID-19 issues.

Vanderbilt will advance to the College World Series finals after North Carolina State was forced to drop out because of COVID-19 protocols.

Jonny Butler homered and drove in a career-high five runs, Reid Johnston pitched six strong innings and North Carolina State opened the College World Series with a 10-4 victory over Stanford.

North Carolina State, Texas, Tennessee and Arizona wrapped up their NCAA super regionals and locked up spots in the College World Series.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)The Latest on the first round of the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):___6:50 p.m.Another first-round upset as 12th-seeded Oregon State defeated No. 9 seed Georgia Tech 71-60 on Friday to mark a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament. Senior guard Bubba Parham, who is 5-10, got the start instead as Georgia Tech went with a guard-heavy look. AdIllinois will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago or ninth-seeded Georgia Tech in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Sunday. Ad___2:10 p.m.Players from several NCAA Tournament teams took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before their first-round games.

North Carolina State head coach Wes Moore cuts down the net after his team defeated Louisville in the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference NCAA women's college basketball game in Greensboro, N.C., Sunday, March 7, 2021. 1 seed for the women’s NCAA Tournament. 1 seed for the first time, joining Stanford, South Carolina and Connecticut on the top lines for the San Antonio-themed regions for the women's tourney. 1 teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll this year, including the Huskies, who finished the season at No. Tennessee continued its streak of making the NCAA Tournament all 39 years.

3 North Carolina State beat fifth-ranked Louisville 58-56 in Sunday's championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. On the winning play, Perez initially started to pass to Cunane rolling into the lane, but the point guard had to pull the ball back when the pass wasn't there. Instead, she collected her feet and shook off six straight misses dating to the second quarter to cleanly bury the jumper for the second-seeded Wolfpack (20-2). It was a disappointing final play for Evans after she had struggled with her shot for the previous two games and the first half Sunday. But the Cardinals didn't score again and ultimately came a play or two short of winning the program's second ACC Tournament title.

The freshman had season-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Tar Heels beat the Wolfpack 76-69 on Sunday, marking the third straight season UNC has upended a top-10 N.C. State team. And N.C. State shot the ball poorly until well into the third quarter after UNC had gained confidence early. N.C. State got no closer than four the rest of the way. And it gave N.C. State at least a claim to the top spot in Monday's next poll. UNC: The Tar Heels' game at Boston College for Thursday has been postponed, meaning UNC's next scheduled game comes next Sunday at Pittsburgh.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Kenny Brooks has won nearly 63% of his games since becoming the Virginia Tech women’s basketball coach in 2016. Aisha Sheppard scored 18 of her 28 points in overtime to help Virginia Tech upset No. Virginia Tech had never beaten an opponent ranked higher than No. That was the difference.”AdElizabeth Kitley added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Azana Baines had 16 points for Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech: Hosts North Carolina on Sunday.

(Stu Forster/Pool via AP)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Atlantic Coast Conference says this week’s women’s basketball games with No. The postponement of the Clemson-Boston College women’s basketball game followed coronavirus concerns within the Eagles program. The Atlantic Coast Conference has postponed two women’s basketball games due to COVID-19. ___The Kentucky women’s basketball game at Tennessee has been rescheduled for Sunday. The other Southeastern Conference women’s games Sunday include: Auburn at Alabama, South Carolina at LSU, Florida at Mississippi and Texas A&M at Missouri.

24 North Carolina State 23-21 on Saturday in a chippy TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. “John was definitely looking down on us; Coach Schlarman definitely inspired us all,” said Rose, who was named Kentucky's bowl game MVP. “Those are four really good run defenders against a really good rushing offense,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said. Kentucky: The Wildcats won their third bowl game in as many seasons for the second time in school history. UP NEXTNorth Carolina State: Opens the 2021 season at home against USF on Sept. 2.

24 North Carolina State (8-3) is a 2 ½-point underdog against Kentucky (4-6) in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, a number the Wolfpack consider a slight heading into Saturday's game in Jacksonville. Kentucky was so bad offensively that coach Mark Stoops fired two assistants less than 24 hours after the regular-season finale. “They can put us down all they want, but we know what we have in the locker room, and that’s it,” NC State quarterback Bailey Hockman said. FAMILY AFFAIRHockman has an uncle who played at Kentucky, and the Gator Bowl matchup has prompted some trash talk. It’s family before everything,” said Bailey, who landed at NC State after transferring from Florida State.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Southeastern Conference championship game between No. This will be the ninth time Alabama and Florida have met in the SEC title game, which has been played in Atlanta since 1994. It was moved to take the place of the Michigan-Ohio State game, which was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Wolverines’ program. ___UConn has postponed a second men’s basketball game as it continues to deal with a player’s positive coronavirus test. Should the game be played, the winner of the Washington-Oregon matchup will be Pac-12 North champions and play in the conference title game on Dec. 18.

WELCOME BACKSouth Dakota State is ranked for the first time in 11 years, entering the Top 25 at No. South Dakota State replaced Iowa State, which dropped out. MOVERS AND SHAKERSBesides South Carolina's drop, Baylor slid three spots, UCLA fell two places to No. KEEP AN EYE ONSouth Florida is just outside the Top 25 after an overtime victory over Mississippi State. ___More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25It's the second time in two years that Stanford has reached the top position in

North Carolina State players celebrate with the coaching staff after an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)NEW YORK – It didn't take long for there to be a new No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll. Because it’s early in the season, there are a few teams that have a good shot to ascend to the top, including the Wolfpack. “That was a big win the other night but there's a lot of teams playing well,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. 1 in the women’s basketball poll, so history isn’t on their side.

North Carolina State players celebrate with the coaching staff after an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)COLUMBIA, S.C. – North Carolina State coach Wes Moore channeled two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Parcells after the Wolfpack's landmark victory over No. “In my 21 years (coaching), I've never felt like I did during the game,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. But Zia Cooke's steal and layup drew South Carolina within a basket with 53.4 seconds to go. Expect North Carolina State, as long as they slip up in its next game Sunday, to move up in the rankings. UP NEXTNorth Carolina State: Hosts Coastal Carolina on Sunday.

Zonovan Knight had a 100-yard kickoff return to put NC State (4-3, 4-3) on top in the third quarter. NC State led at halftime on the strength of Hockman’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Cary Angeline with 2:49 left. NC State: Angeline, a redshirt senior, has caught at least one touchdown pass in five of the Wolfpack’s games. With a victory, NC State would have been a candidate to climb back into the rankings. NC State: Host Florida State next Saturday.

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Javonte Williams ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 23 North Carolina State 48-21 in Saturday’s renewal of the longtime state rivalry. But N.C. State managed just 34 yards rushing and had four turnovers. UNC: The Tar Heels had won six straight games before last weekend’s loss at FSU. UNC: The Tar Heels visit Virginia next Saturday.