College basketball notes

Portland among seven new to AP poll Portland was among a record-tying seven teams to move into the Associated Press men's basketball rankings Monday, the Pilots' first appearance in the poll since February 1959.

"I heard that team was quite a squad," Portland coach Eric Reveno said with a laugh. "It's been a while."

Kansas was No. 1 for the fourth consecutive poll, this time falling just two votes of being unanimous, while Texas and Villanova both moved up one spot to second and third.

The only time seven new teams entered the AP poll was Dec. 13, 1955, when it was still a top 20. Monday, Florida went from unranked to No. 13 after beating Michigan State. Gonzaga, Florida State, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, UNLV and Portland also entered the top 25.

The Pilots burst onto the national scene with a 74-47 dismantling of UCLA in the first round of the 76 Classic that was followed by a 61-56 semifinal victory over the then-No. 22 Gophers and an 84-66 loss to West Virginia in the title game.

"I felt like we could compete. I know and still know our team is very solid and can compete with a lot of talented teams and this weekend was no different," Reveno said.

• Oklahoma women's starting guard Whitney Hand will miss the rest of the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. Hand was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season as the Sooners reached the Final Four. Her injury leaves the No. 18 Sooners (4-2) with only nine players on the roster.

Big Ten gets leg up thanks to Penn State ACC-BIG TEN CHALLENGE

• PENN STATE 69, VIRGINIA 66: Talor Battle scored 28 of his 32 points in the second half and the Nittany Lions (5-2) withstood a furious rally by the host Cavaliers (4-3) in the last minute in the opener of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

"Coming into this game, I was struggling from the three," Battle said after going 5-for-9 from long range. "I needed a couple of easy baskets, and I got that at the start of the second half, and then I hit a three, and once I hit that one, I started feeling good."

Penn State led 55-43 with about 4 minutes left, but a banked-in three-pointer by Sylven Landesberg and three by Sammy Zeglinski in the final 1:31 got Virginia to within 67-66 with 5.7 seconds left before Battle's two free throws produced the final score.

Penn State became the first Big Ten team to win three in a row in the annual matchup. The Nittany Lions beat Virginia Tech in 2007 and won at Georgia Tech last year.

The Cavs, under new coach Tony Bennett, led 27-21 at halftime, but Battle scored 10 points and had two assists in a 23-7 run after the break.

NATION

• NAVY 65, QUINNIPIAC 62: Chris Harris' half-court heave off the glass fell at the buzzer, giving the Midshipmen (3-4) a victory over the Bobcats (3-4) in Annapolis, Md. Harris' winner, which gave him 31 points for the game, was the only field goal by Navy in the final 10:30 of play as they were 5-for-19 from the field in the second half, helping Quinnipiac erase a 17-point deficit.

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