South Carolina started the new year where it finished off 2023 — atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.

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Marcus Sasser scored 30 points and top-ranked Houston got its 30th win of the season with a 60-46 victory over East Carolina in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

The final week of the regular season is here, the calendar rounding toward March Madness.

The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same.

Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help top-ranked Houston beat East Carolina 76-57 and clinching outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Ivan Melendez hit a three-run home run, Skyler Messinger went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Texas beat ECU 11-1 to win the best-of-three Greenville Super Regional and advance to the College World Series.

Dylan Campbell drove in the winning run with a two-out bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning and No. 9 overall seed Texas overcame a five-run deficit to beat No. 8 seed East Carolina 9-8 and stay alive in the Greenville Super Regional.

Matchups are set for the NCAA baseball super regionals after No. 2 national seed Stanford, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 8 East Carolina and eight other teams won regionals.

Auburn has climbed past Gonzaga and into the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time ever.

Kyler Edwards had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and No. 10 Houston used a big first half to defeat East Carolina, 79-36.

The University of Houston will have a gaping hole to fill on their men's basketball team with leading scorer Marcus Sasser announcing on his Instagram that he is done for the season.

Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and No. 4 Cincinnati completed a perfect regular season by beating East Carolina 35-13.

Reigning national champion Vanderbilt and Stanford swept their NCAA super regionals and became the first teams to lock up spots in the College World Series.

The Houston Cougars baseball team will have to wait to face the top 10 ranked East Carolina.

(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA – Jayden Gardner and East Carolina didn’t get to savor a sea of court-storming home fans after claiming a huge upset. East Carolina shot 47% and made 11 of 24 3-pointers -- and more impressively, the Pirates led for the last 12-plus minutes against a Houston team that struggled to make much of anything after halftime. That’s the program’s highest ranking since the 1983-84 season that ended with the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Cougars reaching the NCAA title game. but we weren’t any of those things tonight.”ECU: East Carolina hadn’t won since beating Tulane at home on Dec. 22. UP NEXTHouston: The Cougars host NAIA program Our Lady of the Lake on Saturday, a game added to the schedule Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jayden Gardner had 21 points and 15 rebounds to help East Carolina stun fifth-ranked Houston 82-73 on Wednesday night, securing the Pirates' first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two decades. Tremont Robinson-White added 17 points for East Carolina, which defied season-long offensive struggles against one of the nation's top defensive teams. East Carolina shot 47% and made 11 of 24 3-pointers — and more impressively, the Pirates led for the last 12-plus minutes against a Houston team that struggled to make much of anything after halftime. East Carolina (8-6, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) hadn't won a game in more than a month between five straight losses and three postponements. AdECU: East Carolina hadn't won since beating Tulane at home on Dec. 22.

Houston's Caleb Mills (2) drives the ball against East Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Greenville, N.C., Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)HOUSTON – University of Houston sophomore guard Caleb Mills has chosen to transfer for personal reasons and will no longer compete with the Cougars. Head coach Kelvin Sampson made the announcement prior to Wednesday’s game against American Athletic Conference rival Wichita State in Houston. “I am grateful to coach Sampson, my coaches and teammates for the opportunities in Houston,” Mills said. In 2020-21, Mills averaged 9.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in four games.

Cincinnati wide receiver Michael Young Jr. holds the ball up as he scores a touchdown during the first half of the team's NCAA college football game against East Carolina, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, in Cincinnati. 7 Cincinnati rout East Carolina 55-17 on Friday night. In Cincinnati's three-point victory over East Carolina last year, the Pirates scored 43 points and piled up 638 yards. Ridder's 16-yard scramble on third-and-12 set up Jerome Ford's 24-yard touchdown run, and Tre Tucker's 45-yard touchdown reception highlighted a 28-point second quarter. BIG PICTURE:East Carolina: Linebackers Bruce Bevins and Dre Terry were ejected for targeting within about five minutes in the second quarter.