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AP college basketball poll (Dec. 25): Oklahoma, Baylor drop out of top 10; Texas slides

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AP college basketball poll (Dec. 25): Oklahoma, Baylor drop out of top 10; Texas slides


Florida Atlantic’s run to the Final Four last season was viewed as a nice story, a small program making a surprise run before sliding back into anonymity.

The Owls are showing this season that that was no fluke.

Coming off a double-overtime win over No. 4 Arizona, FAU moved up seven places to No. 7 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday. It’s the Owls’ highest ranking as a program after being No. 10 in the preseason poll.

“We wanted to play it in the worst way for a lot of reasons,” FAU coach Dusty May said before the 96-95 win over Arizona on Saturday. “National television. Our guys wanted to be challenged. They love the challenge. And we felt our program was at a point where we needed these games to elevate even more than a Final Four run.”

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Purdue maintained its top ranking for the second straight week, receiving 46 first-place votes from a 60-person media panel after blowing out Jacksonville. No. 2 Kansas had five first-place votes and No. 3 Houston received nine. Arizona and UConn rounded out the top five.

Florida Atlantic made massive waves last season, earning the program’s first ranking in the AP Top 25 during the regular season before making a magical run in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls just missed a shot at the national championship game when San Diego State’s Lamont Butler beat them with a buzzer-beating jumper.

Florida Atlantic (10-2) returned nearly everyone from that team and has shown another deep run could be coming.

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The Owls suffered an unexpected slipup with an early home loss to Bryant and lost to then-No. 20 Illinois by seven at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 5. FAU won the ESPN Events Invitational by knocking off then-No. 12 Texas A&M in the semifinals and Virginia Tech in the title game.

The Owls showed plenty of grit in Las Vegas on Saturday, going toe to toe with Arizona in one of the best games of the season so far.

Johnell Davis scored 35 points and FAU dodged Caleb Love’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer to win its fifth game over a ranked opponent over the past two seasons. The Owls had been 1-19 against AP Top 25 teams before last season.

RISING AND FALLING

FAU had the biggest jump of the week within the poll and No. 16 Duke climbed five places after beating No. 17 Baylor 78-70. No. 19 Memphis moved up four places following wins over Virginia and Vanderbilt.

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No. 22 Creighton had the biggest drop of the week, falling 10 places after losing to Villanova in overtime. No. 12 Oklahoma fell five places after losing by 12 to No. 9 North Carolina.

IN AND OUT

No. 25 Providence moved into the poll for the first time since hitting No. 20 last Feb. 27 after beating No. 10 Marquette and Butler last week.

Virginia’s return to the AP Top 25 proved to be short lived. The Cavaliers dropped out this week from No. 22 after the loss to Memphis.

CONFERENCE WATCH

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The Big 12 again had the most ranked teams with six and the Big East had four. The ACC, Big Ten and SEC each had three.

The American Athletic Conference had two ranked teams while the Pac-12, West Coast, Mountain West and Sun Belt conferences had one each.

AP top 25

Team Record Points Prev.
1. Purdue (46) 11-1 1,486 1
2. Kansas (5) 11-1 1,424 2
3. Houston (9) 12-0 1,408 3
4. Arizona 9-2 1,191 4
5. UConn 11-2 1,150 5
6. Tennessee 9-3 1,124 8
7. Florida Atlantic 10-2 1,089 14
8. Kentucky 9-2 1,074 9
9. North Carolina 8-3 954 11
10. Marquette 10-3 928 6
11. Illinois 9-2 902 13
12. Oklahoma 10-1 778 7
13. Gonzaga 9-3 577 15
14. BYU 11-1 575 17
15. Colorado State 11-1 573 16
16. Duke 8-3 551 21
17. Baylor 10-2 532 10
18. Clemson 10-1 513 18
19. Memphis 10-2 493 23
20. James Madison 12-0 417 20
21. Texas 9-2 342 19
22. Creighton 9-3 340 12
23. Wisconsin 9-3 287 24
24. Ole Miss 12-0 243 25
25. Providence 11-2 128 NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Auburn 121, Colorado 64, Miami 51, Utah 45, Virginia 40, Iowa St. 21, Nevada 13, Ohio St. 10, Texas A&M 9, San Diego St. 8, Michigan St. 8, Villanova 6, New Mexico 6, Northwestern 5, Dayton 4, Grand Canyon 3, South Carolina 2, Mississippi St. 2, Alabama 2, Princeton 1.

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    2024 NCAA football transfer portal: Tracking moves for Texas, OU and other area schools

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.



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See Dennis Quaid, Jon Voight and Darci Lynne in first trailer for Oklahoma-made film ‘Reagan’

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See Dennis Quaid, Jon Voight and Darci Lynne in first trailer for Oklahoma-made film ‘Reagan’


Check out the long-awaited first trailer for the upcoming movie “Reagan,” which was filmed primarily in Oklahoma.

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the almost three-minute preview for the biopic of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan gives viewers several looks at the movie’s stars, Dennis Quaid, Jon Voight and Penelope Ann Miller.

But it also offers sneak peeks of Oklahoma talents Rachel Cannon, who plays a housewife who can’t place Ron and Nancy Reagan when they visit her house on the campaign trail, and Darci Lynne, who appears as a damsel in distress rescued by the future president (David Henrie) during his teenage stint as a lifeguard.

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“I was a lifeguard on a river, and I learned how to read the currents: not just the ones on the surface, but also the ones deep underneath the water,” Reagan says in the trailer, which draws parallels between his impressive run saving swimmers to his way of spotting potential geopolitical conflicts as president.

When and where in Oklahoma was the movie ‘Reagan’ filmed?

Due in theaters this summer, the biographical drama about America’s 40th president began filming in the Oklahoma City and Guthrie areas in September 2020. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oklahoma was one of the few states where filming on movies like “Reagan” could continue.

The production was headquartered in Guthrie, with filming centered at the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple. In the trailer, viewers can get a glimpse at how the historic building stood in for the Oval Office at the White House, the fabled Cocoanut Grove supper club in Hollywood and even some locales in Cold War Russia.

Although the production was forced to shut down twice due to COVID, the project, which used the state’s film rebate, created 1,966 local jobs and generated $16.6 million in direct spending in fall 2020, according to the Oklahoma Film + Music Office.

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The production moved to California in early 2021 to film at Reagan’s Rancho Del Cielo ranch outside of Santa Barbara. It returned to Guthrie in summer 2021 to shoot additional footage, including outdoor water sequences from the president’s youth, as well as John Hinckley Jr.’s 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan, which are both featured in the trailer.

Filming also took place on Air Force One, according to a news release.

Reagan served two terms as president, from 1981 to 1989, and died on June 5, 2004, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Who sings ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ in the ‘Reagan’ trailer?

Directed by Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer,” “The Miracle Season”), the biopic follows Ronald Reagan’s life from his childhood in Dixon, Illinois, to his acting career in Hollywood, to the U.S. presidency and the world stage.

The first trailer shows a sampling of all those different time frames, set to a pensive cover of Tears for Fears’ familiar 1980s hit “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

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Independent California singer-songwriter Molly Jenson recorded the moody cover.

Who stars in ‘Reagan’ and how much of Ronald Reagan’s life does the movie cover?

Quaid, who has made at least three movies in Oklahoma with “Reagan,” 2018’s “I Can Only Imagine” and 2021’s “American Underdog,” portrays Reagan as an adult. Tommy Ragen (“Mighty Oak,” the musical “School of Rock”) and Henrie (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) play Reagan as a boy and as a young man, respectively.

Voight (“Deliverance,” “Coming Home”) co-stars as Viktor Petrovich, a fictional KGB agent who trails Reagan throughout his political career. “Reagan” begins as 90-year-old Petrovich — a composite character based on real people — is visited by an up-and-coming Russian leader who wants to know how the Soviet Union was lost.

The spy who knows everything there is to know about Reagan recounts the tale of his adversary — the man he mockingly nicknamed “The Crusader” — beginning in 1922, when 11-year-old Ronald Reagan faces the first crisis of his eventful life.

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Along with providing film fans with a look at the three actors playing the title role as well as Voight as his nemesis, the trailer gives glimpses of Miller as Reagan’s first lady, Nancy Reagan; Mena Suvari as Reagan’s first wife, Jane Wyman; Olek Krupa as Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; and Kevin Dillon as Warner Bros. co-founder Jack Warner.

“Reagan” is inspired by Paul Kengor’s book “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism” and written by Howard Klausner (“Space Cowboys”) and Jonas McCord (“Ask the Dust”).

Which Oklahoma studio helped with de-aging effects for ‘Reagan?’

Producer Mark Joseph told The Oklahoman in an autumn 2022 email that the film’s extensive post-production — especially de-aging special effects for Quaid and Voight — would mean a long wait for “Reagan” to arrive in theaters.

Along with filming in Oklahoma, the makers of “Reagan” also tapped into the Sooner State’s resources for post-production: The Oklahoma City film studio, production house and advertising agency Boiling Point provided visual effects work on the biopic. Several of Boiling Points’ ‘VFX shots appear in the trailer, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

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When is the movie ‘Reagan’ coming to theaters?

“Reagan” is due to open Aug. 30 in movie theaters nationwide.

Advance group tickets are now available for groups of 50 people or more. For information, go to https://www.reaganmovie.com.



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Florida takes WCWS opener from Oklahoma State in pitcher’s duel

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Florida takes WCWS opener from Oklahoma State in pitcher’s duel


OKLAHOMA CITY — Katie Kistler hit a solo homer for the game’s only run and Keagan Rothrock threw a two-hitter as No. 4 seed Florida defeated No. 5 Oklahoma State 1-0 on Thursday night in the Women’s College World Series opener for both teams.

“What a great game,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “Kind of a good old-fashioned softball game. Something we haven’t seen in a long time.”

Rothrock, a freshman, struck out three and walked two. She threw just 94 pitches to claim the win for the Gators (52-13). It was her 31st victory of the season, which ties her for the nation’s lead.

Oklahoma State’s Lexi Kilfoyl, a first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American and a top-three finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, took the loss. She allowed just two hits and struck out five in six innings. It was just her fourth loss in 30 decisions this season.

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“I really think it was a good softball game,” Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski said. “We just came up on the wrong end. They had the one big blow. It felt like a dogfight right from the start. I thought both pitchers were extremely sharp.”

Kilfoyl took a no-hitter into the fifth before Kistler’s blast. Kistler immediately raised her right arm and pointed her index finger to the sky after connecting. It was just her fifth homer of the season.

“All I felt was just straight joy looking at my teammates, everybody jumping up and down,” Kistler said. “I was happy to do it for my team and Keagan, as well, pitching her butt off that game.”

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Florida will play No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday, with the winner heading to the semifinals.

Oklahoma State will play No. 8 Stanford on Friday in an elimination game. The World Series is a double-elimination tournament in bracket play before it shifts to a best-of-three format for the championship series.

“Got our work cut out for us here,” Gajewski said. “But I like what this team has always done, and that’s respond. That’s all we can do at this point.”

Oklahoma State had a chance to possibly produce some offense with the game still scoreless. With the bases empty and one out in the fifth, Oklahoma State’s Lexi McDonald got a hold of a Rothrock pitch and drove it to the wall. Florida’s Kendra Falby caught it and ran into the fence, where Korbe Otis immediately hugged her. Oklahoma State did not score in the inning.

“Just going out there and being like, ‘I’m going to catch every ball,’” Falby said. “That’s all I was focused on. Like everything kind of just went, sound, and then it was just me and the ball. All I thought about was catching at that moment. I wanted to keep the game 0-0 again for Keagan because she was pitching amazing.”

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    No. 1 Texas shuts out Stanford in Women’s College World Series opener
    Oklahoma opens quest for WCWS four-peat with blowout win over Duke

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.



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Three-time defending champ Oklahoma opens Women's College World Series with 9-1 win over Duke

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Three-time defending champ Oklahoma opens Women's College World Series with 9-1 win over Duke


OKLAHOMA CITY — Kinzie Hansen homered and knocked in three runs, and three-time defending national champion Oklahoma opened its title defense with a 9-1 win over Duke in six innings on Thursday in the Women’s College World Series.

Hansen, Jayda Coleman and Alyssa Brito each had two hits for the second-seeded Sooners (55-6).

Kierston Deal threw 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to get the win for Oklahoma, which looks to become the first team to win four straight national titles.

Cassidy Curd, who got both wins against Missouri in super regionals, started and gave up one run on three hits in two innings. Jala Wright a second-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American, allowed five runs on four hits in one inning and took the loss.

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Oklahoma will play No. 6 seed UCLA on Saturday, with the winner reaching the semifinals. Duke will play No. 14 Alabama in an elimination game on Friday.

The 10th-seeded Blue Devils (52-8) made their first World Series appearance under coach Marissa Young. Duke led Thursday’s game 1-0 when Hansen’s two-run blast in the third put the Sooners ahead. Alynah Torres added a two-run shot later in the inning to make it 4-1.

Duke loaded the bases against Oklahoma starter Kelly Maxwell with two outs in the fourth, and Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso replaced her with Deal. Jayda Coleman’s diving catch in centerfield saved the Sooners from allowing any runs.

Cydney Sanders’ two-run blast in the fourth made it 6-1. Brito closed the scoring with a single that knocked in two runs in the sixth.



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