Friars fan allegedly violated probation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The brother of a Providence basketball player who ran onto the court to confront a referee was ordered held without bail Tuesday for allegedly violating his probation from a 2005 drug conviction.

Jonathan Xavier came down the stands and jumped over the Providence bench during a nationally televised game on Jan. 17 to confront a referee. He was upset no foul was called after his brother, Providence guard Jeff Xavier, was hit in the face by a Marquette defender's arm while he was driving to the basket.

Xavier, 24, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the disorderly conduct charge. Bail for that charge was set at $10,000.

A hearing has been scheduled Feb. 10 for a judge to decide whether he also violated probation.

"I saw him on the court but that was an unfortunate situation. I wish none of that happened," Jeff Xavier, quoted in The Providence Journal, said after the game. "I just want to move forward."

State prosecutors said Xavier pleaded no contest in 2005 to three drug charges. He received a six-year sentence but had to serve only eight months, with the remainder suspended.

If a judge finds he violated the terms of probation, which required him to stay out of trouble, he could have to serve some or all of the remaining years behind bars.

Providence officials said they would beef up security at games, posting uniformed police officers behind team benches.

Duke carries day as coaches' new No. 1

A member of the Atlantic Coast Conference still lays claim to the No. 1 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. It's just not Wake Forest.

The top ranking changed hands for the third consecutive week as Duke supplanted Wake at No. 1. The Blue Devils (18-1) received 30 of 31 first-place votes, with the other vote going to No. 2 Connecticut (18-1). The Demon Deacons, also 18-1, fell to fourth after losing for the first time, 78-71 to Virginia Tech in their only game last week.

Duke visits Wake Forest on Wednesday night (ESPN, 7 ET).

The Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1 in nine seasons since 1997-98, most of any school. Duke also is the third ACC team (North Carolina and Wake) to be ranked No. 1 this season; since ESPN's association with the coaches' poll began with the 1997-98 season, no conference has had three teams ranked No. 1 in a single season. Pittsburgh, which held the poll's No. 1 spot three weeks ago, moved up to third while Oklahoma maintained its hold at No. 5. North Carolina (17-2), which lost to Wake three weeks ago but has now won three straight, remained sixth.

Louisville (15-3) represents the poll's biggest shaker after settling in at No. 7, a leap of five spots. The Cardinals, ranked third in the preseason, have won seven in a row and share the lead in the Big East with No. 8 Marquette (17-2). Both are 6-0 in the conference.

Michigan State (16-3) fell two spots to ninth after losing to Northwestern last week, while Xavier (17-2), riding an eight-game winning streak, popped into the top 10 from 13th.

Clemson was one of two teams this week to fall out of the top 10, the Tigers (17-2, ninth last week) landing at No. 11 after losing by 24 to North Carolina as part of a 1-1 week. Syracuse (17-4) descended seven spots to 15th after losing by double digits to both Pitt and Louisville.

The rest of the top 20: Texas (14-4) at No. 12, followed by Butler (18-1), Arizona State (16-3), the Orange, UCLA (15-4), Purdue (15-4), Saint Mary's (18-1), Memphis (16-3) and Illinois (17-3).

Big East members Villanova (15-4), Notre Dame (12-6) and Georgetown (12-6), and Minnesota (17-3) and Gonzaga (14-4) round out the Top 25. The Zags' return marked Baylor's fall from the rankings.

Embattled coach Gottfried resigns

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Mark Gottfried resigned as Alabama's basketball coach Monday, leaving in the middle of his 11th season amid criticism of both the team's play and the departure of a star player.

The school said Gottfried will immediately be replaced by assistant coach Philip Pearson. Alabama's next game is Thursday at Arkansas.

Gottfried, who played at Alabama, said he quit during a meeting with athletic director Mal Moore.

"It has been a wonderful decade for me and my family, and I love the University of Alabama, but I feel that it is in the best interests of everyone involved," Gottfried said in a statement released by the university.

The Crimson Tide's record this year is 12-7, 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference.

Gottfried's teams have missed the NCAA tournament the last two years, and the coach was criticized over the recent departure of point guard Ronald Steele, a preseason first-team AP All-American pick two years ago who was later hit by injuries. The school blamed Steele's departure on a recent injury, but Steele said there was more to his decision than that.

Gottfried signed a six-year contract with Alabama in 2005 that made him Alabama's first $1 million basketball coach and gave him a larger salary than that of football coach Mike Shula. The contract ran through 2011 and included a buyout if he were fired, but any financial terms tied to his resignation were not released.

Moore said the school would try to find a new coach immediately.

"Out of respect for our players and coaches, I will not comment on the progress of our search until it has concluded," Moore said in a statement.

The 45-year-old Gottfried took over at Alabama in 1988, replacing David Hobbs. He began a streak of five straight appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2002, reaching the round of eight in 2004 in the program's deepest tournament run, including a victory over top-ranked Stanford.

Gottfried hasn't been able to beat state rival Auburn lately. The Tigers have won four of the last five meetings, including an 85-71 victory on Jan. 17.

His current team was left short-handed with the departure of Steele following Richard Hendrix's early exit to the NBA after last season.

Including three seasons at Murray State, Gottfried has a career record of 278-155 for a winning percentage of .642 in 14 seasons.

Gottfried started 98 straight games at Alabama as a player from 1985-87. He was known for his 3-point shooting, and the Tide made the NCAA tournament round of 16 all three seasons.

Pearson, who lettered at Alabama in 1993, became an assistant coach with Gottfried at Murray State in 1997 and joined Gottfried's staff when he took over at Alabama.

Harris collapses in Alabama game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Kentucky guard Ramon Harris collapsed outside the team's locker room Saturday at halftime of the Alabama game.

Harris was taken by ambulance to the nearby DCH Medical Center, according to a school statement. Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy said Harris' vital signs were good, and tests were run to determine why he had collapsed. Harris was later released from the hospital after several tests and was expected to return to campus on the team charter.

A team source told ESPN.com that Harris was short of breath at halftime, and fell to the floor holding his chest as the team was returning to the court for the second half.

"It's a serious deal when a guy faints," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said. "He threw up and they said after that they started thinking he was feeling a little bit better. They had a little shortness of breath to start, and that's what concerned them the most."

A Kentucky spokesman said Harris was conscious when he left the building.

The start of the second half was delayed a couple of minutes, and Gillispie remained with Harris as the half began. Harris, considered Kentucky's best defensive player, played only seven minutes in the first half and scored one point.

"Ramon started out in the huddle with us. I looked around and A.J. (Stewart) was holding him up," teammate Perry Stevenson said. "Once our coach got back he said that Ramon was going to be fine so keep on playing."

On Dec. 3, Harris was carried off the court on a stretcher and taken to the hospital after colliding with teammate Michael Porter in a game against Lamar. He missed three games with a back and neck injury, returned for one game and then missed two of the next three due to back stiffness.

Thomas, Dentmon spark Huskies to fifth straight home win vs. Bruins

SEATTLE -- Freshman Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points and Justin Dentmon returned from foul trouble to spark the decisive late run that sent resurgent Washington to an 86-75 victory over 13th-ranked UCLA and gave the Pac-10 a new leader on Saturday.

Jon Brockman rebounded from an off night Thursday to score 18 points and add eight rebounds for Washington (15-4), which won for the 13th time in 14 games. The Huskies scored more points than anyone had this season against the rugged Bruins.

"It's a great feeling," Brockman said, before sounding like the senior leader he is. "But there's a lot of league season left."

Josh Shipp scored a career-high 25 points but went scoreless for more than nine minutes of the second half for the Bruins (15-4, 5-2 Pac-10), who lost for the second time in three games.

"Right now, we just don't have enough heart, basically," freshman forward Drew Gordon said after scoring five points and getting a bruised knee from the face of the relentless, diving Brockman. "At the end of the day, the other team wants it more.The Huskies won for the fifth consecutive time over UCLA in Seattle and are 6-1 in the conference for the third time in 25 years.

"I think this game was a good wake-up call. Hopefully, we'll get hungrier."

Dentmon finished with 16 points -- 10 after he returned with 4:59 left from being on the bench for eight minutes with our fouls.

When Dentmon, who had scored at least 20 points in three of his last four games, went to the bench after getting his fourth foul with 12:39 remaining, Thomas was Washington's only guard for a stretch.

Yet "I.T." was all good for the Huskies.

UCLA's Nikola Dragovic, who had missed four of his first five shots, scored five consecutive points to tie the game at 58 midway through the second half. Then Thomas took over. Quincy Pondexter scored for Washington before Thomas made his third consecutive 3-pointer, this one from four steps behind the arc.

The sellout crowd roared, Thomas raised both arms and flashed two thumbs up while the UW students chanted "You can't stop I.T.!" UCLA took a timeout down 63-58.

Darren Collison, who finished with 12 points on just 5-for-14 shooting, made two free throws to draw the Bruins within 67-66 with 6:13 remaining. But the Huskies scored the next 12 points, eight by Dentmon.

He turned his consecutive steals into points, then smoothly drove into the lane and scooped in two more with the shot clock running out to make it 76-66 with 2:50 remaining and effectively give the Pac-10 a new leader.

Two days after Southern California held Brockman without a field goal for the first time since his freshman season, the senior scored seven points in the first 4:17 of the second half. The final ones came on a three-point play when he bulled through J'mison Morgan after getting prime position inside. That gave Washington a 49-46 lead.

How much was this Washington's day? Brockman, a Shaq-like 55-percent free throw shooter, was 8-for-10 from the line.

Dragovic scored eight points and was 3-for-8 from the field after scoring 20 in a two-point win at Washington State on Thursday. That escape had come after a loss at home to No. 17 Arizona State last weekend.

The Bruins, who have won three consecutive conference titles and been to three straight Final Fours, never led over the final 16 minutes on Saturday.

Shipp had 12 points early, thanks to 3-for-4 shooting on 3-pointers. That gave UCLA a 39-38 lead at halftime.

Kay Yow dies at 66

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina State's Kay Yow, the Hall of Fame women's basketball coach who won more than 700 games while earning fans with her decades-long fight against breast cancer, died on Saturday. She was 66.

Yow, first diagnosed with the disease in 1987, died Saturday morning at WakeMed Cary Hospital after being admitted there last week, university spokeswoman Annabelle Myers said.

"I think she understood that keeping going was inspirational to other people who were in the same boat she was in," Dr. Mark Graham, Yow's longtime oncologist, said Saturday.

The Wolfpack's game at Wake Forest on Monday was postponed to Feb. 10. Its next game will be Thursday at home against Boston College. Plans for a memorial service were incomplete.

"She's just been a great friend to so many people; obviously left her footprints all over the place with the kids she has taught and molded," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt told ESPN. "And she is a woman that had fought such a hard fight, but it was always about everyone else, never about Kay."

There were moments of silence to honor Yow before several basketball games Saturday, including the N.C. State-Boston College men's game in Boston.

Duke -- one of N.C. State's closest ACC rivals -- also honored Yow before the men's game against Maryland.

"God bless Kay," Blue Devils men's coach Mike Krzyzewski said to end his postgame news conference. "A fighter until the end."

Yow had a record of 737-344 in 38 years -- 34 years with the Wolfpack -- in a career filled with countless milestones. She coached the U.S. Olympic women's team to a gold medal in 1988; won four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships; earned 20 NCAA tournament bids; and reached the Final Four in 1998.

She also was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002; North Carolina State dedicated "Kay Yow Court" at Reynolds Coliseum in 2007.

But for many fans, Yow was best defined by her unwavering resolve while fighting cancer, from raising awareness and money for research to staying with her team through the debilitating effects of the disease and chemotherapy treatments. In her final months, Yow was on hormonal therapy as the cancer spread to her liver and bones.

She never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the disease progressed. She commonly noted there were other patients with "harder battles than I'm fighting" and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.

"Almost everybody is dealing with something," Yow said in a 2006 interview.

"We're all faced with a lot of tough issues that we're dealing with," she said. "We know we need to just come to the court and let that be our catharsis in a way. You can't bring it on the court with you, but we can all just think of basketball as an escape for a few hours."

ACC commissioner John Swofford said Yow had an impact on many.

"Whether one of her players, an opposing coach, a friend, an associate in the world of sports or one who observed her grace, dignity, elegance, kindness and competitive spirit from a distance, you couldn't help but be touched by her presence in our world," Swofford said. "Kay was a very special lady. All of us associated with the ACC will miss her immensely, and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, loved ones and team."

Yow also was a past president and founding member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The group's president, Sherri Coale, hailed her legacy and her impact on the game.

"In sickness and in health she was a bastion of courage and kindness," said Coale, who is the head coach at Oklahoma. "Her zest for life and her determination to make a difference in this world have galvanized our profession while inspiring millions."

In 2007, Yow established the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund in partnership with The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

"I am honored to have a Fund established in partnership with The V Foundation that bears the name of Kay Yow," V Foundation CEO Nick Valvano said. "Her courage, faith and legacy will continue to live on in the hearts of those she helped to inspire throughout her coaching career and battle with cancer."

"Kay taught us all to live life with passion and to never give up. She carried herself with great faith and dignity," said ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer, who served on the V Foundation board with Yow. "ESPN will always be committed to the Kay Yow Fund of The V Foundation in her memory. She was truly a beautiful person."

Yow announced earlier this month that she would not return to the team this season after she missed four games because of what was described as an extremely low energy level.

The team visited Yow in the hospital before leaving Wednesday for a game at Miami. Associate head coach Stephanie Glance -- who led the team in Yow's previous absences as well -- met with the team Saturday morning to inform them Yow had died, Myers said.

Yow's fight was never more public than when she took a 16-game leave to focus on her treatments during the 2006-07 season. After her return, her inspired Wolfpack won 12 of its final 15 games with wins against highly ranked rivals Duke and North Carolina in a run that attracted plenty of fans wearing pink -- the color of breast-cancer awareness.

Her players also wore pink shoelaces for their coach.

"There were so many times I felt like giving up," forward Khadijah Whittington said after the Wolfpack's loss to Connecticut in the 2007 NCAA tournament's round of 16, "and then I see Coach Yow and she never gives up."

Yow always found ways to keep coaching, even as she fought the disease. She spent most games during that emotional 2007 run sitting on the bench; Glance stood to shout instructions to players, and helped a weakened Yow to her feet.

"She's the Iron Woman, with the Lord's help," Glance said.

Yow was quick to embrace her role as an example for others battling the disease. She often found herself going about her daily activities in Raleigh only to have someone stop her and say they were praying for her or that she was an inspiration to them.

"When they say that, it really gives me a lift because it's at that time I know for sure that I'm not going through it for nothing," Yow said in 2007. "That means a lot to me. I have to go through it. I accept that, and I'm not panicked about it because the Lord is in control. But it just would be so saddening if I had to go through it and I couldn't help people.

"But then I see I'm helping others in a greater way than I ever have. That's the amazing thing, you know?"

Born March 14, 1942, Sandra Kay Yow originally took up coaching to secure a job teaching high school English at Allen Jay High School in High Point, N.C., in the 1960s. Her boss, along with the boys' basketball coach, agreed to help her plan practices and to sit on the bench with her during games. Midway through the season, Yow was on her own.

"Really, it was like love at first sight," she said in 2004.

She spent four years there, followed by another year in her hometown at Gibsonville High, compiling a 92-27 record. She moved on to Elon, going 57-19 in four seasons before being hired at North Carolina State in 1975.

Her original cancer diagnosis came the year before coaching the United States to the gold at the Seoul Olympics. She had a mastectomy as part of her treatment, then discovered a lump in November 2004, close to where cancer was first discovered.

She had surgery that December and started on a regimen of radiation and daily hormone therapy. Still, the cancer came back.

She missed two games of the 2004-05 season while attending an eight-day nutritional modification program, which called for her to eat an organic-food diet, free of meat, dairy products and sugar. She stayed on the diet for eight months, losing 40 pounds by keeping junk food and Southern favorites such as biscuits and gravy off her menu.

Still, she cheated on her organic diet during home recruiting visits because she didn't want to offend anyone by passing on a home-cooked meal.

Over the years, Yow never lost her folksy, easygoing manner and refused to dwell on her health issues, though they colored everything she did almost as much as basketball. Ultimately, her philosophy on both were the same.

"If you start to dwell on the wrong things, it'll take you down fast," Yow said in 2007. "Every morning, I wake up and the first thing I think of is I'm thankful. I'm thankful for another day."

Self's exchange with recruit examined

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas officials are checking to see if basketball coach Bill Self's brief encounter with a top recruit might constitute an NCAA infraction.

Self agrees he said hello to John Wall, a 6-foot-4 guard who had just played in a high school tournament in Springfield, Mo. It happened during an evaluation period last week when college coaches are not allowed contact with prospects other than to exchange greetings.

"We are aware of the report, and the administration is looking into it," said Chris Theisen, a Kansas spokesman.

Wall is rated the No. 6 overall recruit in the class of 2009 and top-rated point guard in the ESPNU 100.

The Springfield News-Leader said the exchange took place between Self and Wall outside Wall's locker room after a game Thursday night.

"Basically, it's accurate," Self said after the Jayhawks defeated Texas A&M 73-53 Monday night. "I don't know if the exact quote is accurate. After the game was over, like I always do, like every coach always does, I had to catch a plane. So I went back to tell the coaches, 'Congratulations, good win.' I was approached and shook a hand and said, 'I can't talk to you, but you played really well.' "

Kansas is in the final year of a three-year NCAA probation for violations in football and men's basketball.

"If that exchange, which is all it was, is a problem, then our administration will deal with it," Self said. "I certainly by no means am I going to deny that basically that happened. But the reason I was back in the back was to say hi to the coaches after the game."

The question is whether the NCAA would consider Self and Wall's exchange as contact.

Wake overtakes Duke as coaches' No. 1

This'll wake up the ACC, particularly the neighbors on Tobacco Road -- the Demon Deacons are No. 1.

After spending last week hovering at No. 3, unbeaten Wake Forest skipped past No. 2 Duke and into the top spot in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll.

The rankings, released Monday, have Wake (16-0) pulling in 25 of the 31 first-place votes at stake, the other six going to the 16-1 Blue Devils. The impetus behind Wake's rise: a win over fellow unbeaten Clemson on the road. Wake is also No. 1 in The Associated Press media poll by a crushing margin, getting 68 first-place votes to No. 2 Duke's four.

If Wake beats Virginia Tech on Wednesday (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET), it'll likely hold on to the No. 1 ranking entering its next game -- at home against Duke on Jan. 28 (ESPN, 7 ET).

Duke, meanwhile, must first attend to home games against North Carolina State on Tuesday and Maryland on Saturday before anyone can entertain thoughts of a 1 versus 2 showdown in Winston-Salem.

It's the first time Wake has been ranked No. 1 since a two-week period early in the 2004-05 season. The Demon Deacons began this season ranked 24th, making them the lowest-ranked team to reach No. 1 during the season since ESPN's association with the poll began in the 1997-98 season.

The Demon Deacons replaced Pittsburgh (16-1) atop the poll after the Panthers, No. 1 the past two weeks, lost at Louisville 69-63 and fell to fourth. Connecticut (16-1) moved up a spot to third and 17-1 Oklahoma held its ground at No. 5.

Former No. 1 North Carolina (16-2) remained sixth for a second straight week as it tries to extricate itself from the middle of the ACC pack.

Michigan State (15-2, 5-0 Big Ten) made a three-spot jump to seventh, with Syracuse (17-2) and Clemson (16-1) holding at Nos. 8 and 9 and Marquette (16-2) making the biggest leap among top-10 teams by moving from 14th to 10th.

UCLA (14-3) was the only team to fall from the top 10, from seventh to 11th after an overtime loss to Arizona State that left the Bruins in a three-way tie for the Pac-10 lead.

Louisville, not surprisingly, was the biggest mover of the week after knocking off Pitt; the Cardinals (13-3) jumped eight spots to 12th. The rest of the second 10: Xavier (15-2), Georgetown (12-4), Texas (13-4), Arizona State (15-3), Butler (16-1), Purdue (14-4), Notre Dame (12-5) and Minnesota (16-2). The Fighting Irish lost six spots this week.

Villanova (14-3), Saint Mary's (17-1), Baylor (14-3) and this week's newcomers, Illinois and Memphis in a tie for 24th, completed the rankings. California and Michigan fell from the poll.

Wake Forest and Duke are the first conference foes to be ranked first and second since Ohio State and Wisconsin held the top two spots on Feb. 19, 2007, and the first ACC teams to do it since Duke and Maryland were ranked 1-2 for three weeks during the 2002-03 season.