NCAA

Juju Watkins, the top-ranked women's high school player in the class of 2023, announced her intention to play at USC on Tuesday.

The Sierra Canyon guard is California's Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year and the top player in her class, per ESPN. She chose the Trojans over fellow finalists Stanford and South Carolina.

"I didn't want to rush this process," Watkins said, per Charlotte Gibson of ESPN. "A lot of people in my class had already committed before me, and I definitely was taking my time. But I want to make sure it was 1,000 percent where I wanted to go."

Watkins grew up just 10 minutes from the USC campus, so familiarity likely played a role in the Los Angeles native's decision to play for head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. Landing the top player in the 2023 class is a boon for Gottlieb, whose Trojans finished 12-16 in her first year with the program.

Watkins is just the third top-10 player in ESPN's rankings to sign with USC since 2007, as the program has largely taken a back seat on campus behind football and men's basketball. The arrival of the most dominant prep player in the nation should change the narrative, as Watkins has all the tools to make USC a Final Four team.

USC's women's basketball program was among the nation's best during the 1980s before struggling over the last three-plus decades. The Trojans have made the NCAA tournament just once in the last 15 years and have not reached the second week of the tournament since 1993-94.

Watkins' arrival might spark a much-desired turnaround. She will be joined in the 2023 class by promising point guard Malia Samuels, giving Gottlieb the building blocks of a stellar backcourt for years to come.

Reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe will reportedly make his season debut for Kentucky against Michigan State on Tuesday.

Per Jeff Goodman of Stadium, it has not been determined whether Tshiebwe will start or come off the bench as he continues to recover from a procedure on his right knee.

Wildcats coach John Calipari told reporters Monday that Tshiebwe would play if he made it through practice without swelling:

"He's supposed to practice today so we'll have a better idea. He's been doing the conditioning stuff, he just hasn't been on that court and that's totally different. My guess will be he plays three or four minutes at a stretch if he plays.

"He's going to have to get through [practice] and make sure there's no swelling. From what I'm hearing he doesn't have the lift yet but knowing him, he wants to play but I can't tell you right now."

It would seem Tshiebwe made it through Monday's session well enough to get some playing time, though it's unlikely he's on the floor for 30-plus minutes. No. 4 Kentucky has gotten off to a 2-0 start to the 2022-23 campaign with wins over Howard and Duquesne by a combined 57 points.

Kentucky plays Michigan State on Tuesday as part of the State Farm Champions Classic in Indianapolis. The unranked Spartans are 1-1 to start the season and lost by one point to second-ranked Gonzaga.

Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds last season on his way to sweeping National Player of the Year awards and becoming a consensus first-team All-America selection. His presence will help fortify the middle of Kentucky's defense, which has been anchored by senior Jacob Toppin.

The rankings got shaken up in the first regular-season Associated Press poll for men's college basketball released Monday.

North Carolina remained No. 1 after a 2-0 start, while Gonzaga and Houston also proved themselves with impressive wins. Tennessee fell 11 spots while Villanova and Oregon dropped out entirely after they all suffered upsets in the first week.

Here is the latest Top 25 after the first set of games.

AP Poll

1. North Carolina

2. Gonzaga

3. Houston

4. Kentucky

5. Baylor

6. Kansas

7. Duke

8. UCLA

9. Arkansas

10. Creighton

11. Texas

12. Indiana

13. Auburn

14. Arizona

15. TCU

16. Virginia

17. San Diego State

18. Alabama

19. Illinois

20. Michigan

21. Dayton

22. Tennessee

23. Texas Tech

24. Texas A&M

25. UConn

The most memorable game of the season's first week was a narrow win by Gonzaga over Michigan State on the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Drew Timme showed why he is a National Player of the Year candidate with 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in the unique outdoor game:

That helped Gonzaga overcome a seven-point deficit at halftime to escape with a 64-63 win.

North Carolina had less trouble with double-digit wins over UNC Wilmington and Charleston, although it had rocky starts in both games. Houston did a better job of proving itself as an elite team with two wins by a combined 73 points.

With Marcus Sasser back to full strength after missing much of last season with a toe injury, the Cougars have a strong claim as the top team in college basketball.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tennessee suffered a disappointing 78-66 loss to Colorado on Sunday. KJ Simpson was on fire with 23 points off the bench, hitting clutch shots throughout the game.

Since Colorado has also lost to Grambling, this game might have been more of an indictment of Tennessee, which fell from No. 11 to No. 22.

Villanova dropped out of the Top 25 after ranking 16th last week following a 68-64 loss to Temple.

It puts pressure on new head coach Kyle Neptune to turn things around in a hurry after replacing Jay Wright on the sidelines.

Oregon suffered a home loss to UC Irvine, part of a disappointing start for the Pac-12. Seven of the league's teams lost at least one game last week.

More teams will be tested next week, starting with Tuesday's Champions Classic matchup between Duke and Kansas. Gonzaga will also face both Texas and Kentucky, while UCLA will take on Illinois.

It could lead to a lot more movement in the Top 25 heading into Week 3.

University of Virginia football players D'Sean Perry, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed at the university Sunday night, UVA President Jim Ryan confirmed Monday.

Earlier in the day, Ryan said five people were shot at Culbreth Garage on the university's Central Grounds, three of whom had died. The names of the two who were shot and survived have not been released.

"This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia," Ryan wrote in an email to students and faculty. "This is a traumatic incident for everyone in our community and we have cancelled classes for today."

Police have identified Christopher Darnell Jones as the suspect in the shootings. Jones is a former University of Virginia football player. Jones was later arrested, charged with murder and is in police custody, authorities confirmed at a press conference.

Perry, 22, was a junior linebacker who appeared in seven games this season for the Cavaliers. He recorded seven total tackles in 2022, including two in Saturday's game against Miami.

Chandler was a wide receiver in his first season at Viginia after transferring from Wisconsin. He had not made an appearance in 2022.

Davis was a junior wide receiver who made 16 catches for 371 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Virginia head coach Tony Elliott and athletic director Carla Williams each issued a statement:

Gun violence remains a harrowing issue in the United States. The U.S. ranks among the deadliest countries for gun violence, and gun ownership is higher than any other country in the world. Pushback from groups like the National Rifle Association and politicians have led to a lack of meaningful change in the country despite gun reform being overwhelmingly popular.

There is no official definition of a mass shooting, but there have been around 600 incidents where at least four people were shot in the United States this year. There have been 25 such incidents in the month of November, including three Sunday.

Wisconsin Badgers interim head coach Jim Leonhard addressed the rumors that running back Braelon Allen was considering transferring to Michigan on Saturday.

"I would never accuse any teams of tampering with your players," Leonhard said after the Badgers' 24-10 loss to Iowa on Saturday, via Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "but teams are tampering with other teams’ players."

Leonhard added, via CBS Sports:

"It's unfortunate to see where it's at, but I have to continue to show a clear vision. I've mentioned it a number of times, the uncertainty is going to cause people to look and see what the best decisions for their future are, and we have to be real about that as coaches. It's why we have these conversations almost daily with our team about where we're going, what the plan is and how we're going to get there. That's all we can do at this point, and, like I said, it's unfortunate that a kid has to address that with the media when it's not supposed to be real, right, but obviously it is."

During an appearance on 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee (h/t Potrykus) earlier this week, Allen addressed the rumors of him potentially entering the transfer portal, noting that as long as Leonhard remains head coach, he'll remain at Wisconsin.

"That is honest truth," Allen said. "I haven't had any contact with them. The fact that rumor sprouted up is surprising to me … especially Michigan specifically."

Leonhard is 3-2 as head coach of the Badgers since taking over for Paul Chryst, who was fired just five games into the season after the team started the year 2-3 after being projected to be a contender for the Big Ten West title during the preseason.

Allen, a sophomore, has played a big role in Wisconsin's success. During his 2021 freshman season, he rushed for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. Entering Saturday's game against Iowa, he had rushed for 989 yards and 10 scores in nine games this season.

Losing Allen in 2023 would be a tough blow for the Badgers, but it seems like there's an easy way to prevent that from happening by removing the interim label from Leonhard's title.

The Pac-12's hopes for the College Football Playoff rest solely on USC after Oregon's 37-34 loss to Washington at Autzen Stadium on Saturday night.

Peyton Henry's 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining was the difference for the Huskies. It came after Washington gained possession at Oregon's 34-yard line when Noah Whittington lost his footing on a 4th-and-1 play by the Ducks.

Oregon played that series without star quarterback Bo Nix. He limped off the field during the previous offensive possession. Ty Thompson filled in for one drive, missing on his only pass attempt.

Nix came back on the field for the final drive to either tie it and force overtime or win with a touchdown. He appeared to complete a 15-yard pass to get the Ducks down to Washington's 23-yard line with one second remaining, but officials flagged Troy Franklin for illegal touching when he stepped out of bounds without being touched before the catch.

The final play of the game saw Nix's pass skip in front of his intended target well short of the goal line.

Oregon was ranked No. 6 in the Playoff standings this week, but its second loss of the season will almost certainly end its chances of making the top four.

Here's what Twitter had to say about the Ducks' playoff chances and head coach Dan Lanning's decision to go for it on fourth down in his own territory in a tie game.

There is still the possibility for the Pac-12 to get into the Playoff, but it will require a few things going right over the final three weeks of the regular season. USC entered this week ranked eighth in the Playoff standings.

Four of the teams ahead of the Trojans play each other in the coming weeks. No. 2 Ohio State hosts No. 3 Michigan on Nov. 26. No. 1 Georgia takes on No. 7 LSU in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3.

Oregon had been rolling since its season-opening loss to Georgia. It entered Saturday having won eight straight games.

The news isn't all bad for the Ducks. They are still in the driver's seat for a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game if they can win their final two regular-season games. Their next test will be a showdown against No. 13 Utah at Autzen Stadium on Nov. 19.

The Texas Longhorns are, in fact, not back.

The No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs defeated the No. 18 Longhorns 17-10 on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium as Texas dropped to 6-4 on the season.

It was an abysmal evening for the Longhorns as both the offense and defense had their fair share of issues.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers completed just 17 of 39 passes for 171 yards and no touchdowns against one interception. Jordan Whittington was the team's leading receiver with six catches for 78 yards, while running back Bijan Robinson rushed for 29 yards on 12 carries.

The Texas defense was particularly poor in the second half, allowing TCU running back Kendre Miller to rush 75 yards for a score and then quarterback Max Duggan to connect with Quentin Johnston for a 31-yard touchdown thanks to a breakdown in the secondary.

Duggan completed 19 of 29 passes for 124 yards and one score, and Miller rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.

Following the game, Twitter ripped Texas for its poor performance:

With a talented roster not living up to expectations, Texas has a lot to figure out before the regular season comes to an end, especially if it wants an outside shot at one of the New Year's Six bowl games.

The Longhorns will next travel to face Kansas on Nov. 19 before closing out the regular season at home against Baylor on Nov. 25.