KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley did not dismiss reports that his time with the Sun Devils is coming to a close.

In fact, he more or less acknowledged them.

But that doesn't mean Hurley or the Sun Devils are ready to give up on this season, and his career in Tempe. That was evident Tuesday during the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, where No. 12 seed Arizona State leaned on 19 points from Pig Johnson to earn an 83-79 victory over No. 13 seed Baylor and a date with seventh-ranked Iowa State in the second round.

“Well, I mean, I talked to the team, and we saw the report on it. I didn't hide anything from them,” said Hurley, whose contract is due to expire after this season. “They're playing for each other. I'm coaching them to the best of my ability. I have not been told anything.

"The source is reputable, and a guy that I know. But I'm just doing my job and coaching this team and enjoying my moments.”

There were a lot of them to enjoy against Baylor on Tuesday.

The Sun Devils (17-15) jumped out to a big early lead, just as they have so many times this season; only they kept the pressure up in the second half, when a malaise tends to set in. They pushed their advantage to as many as 15 points before some poor foul shooting in the closing minutes allowed the Bears to make the final score look much more respectable.

“We've been playing really well in first halves of games, and that's something I talked to the guys about,” Hurley said. “We came very close to putting two halves together, minus the poor free-throw shooting down the stretch.”

Hurley, the 1992 Final Four MVP who led Duke to two national championships, was considered a home-run hire by Arizona State after he needed just two years to turn Buffalo into a winner. By his third season in the desert, Hurley had the Sun Devils in the NCAA Tournament; at one point that season, they were ranked third in the nation with a roster that was turning some heads.

Yet success has been hard to sustain.

Sure, there were back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the first for Arizona State since the 1980-81 seasons. But there have been only three tourney trips in all, and each time, Arizona State has been the No. 11 seed and failed to reach the second round.

This season has been in many ways an exercise in frustration.

Arizona State was 9-2 in early December with the only losses to Gonzaga and Southern California in competitive games. But then came four losses in a row, and after a win over Kansas State, three more defeats. By the time the Sun Devils lost to second-ranked Arizona on the final day of January, they had dropped 11 of 13 games, and it appeared that Hurley's time was running out.

His players never quit on him, though. They've continued to play hard, and none seems to want a coaching change, even if it could be for a popular choice such as Grand Canyon's Bryce Drew, Casey Alexander of Belmont or Eric Olen from New Mexico.

Moe Odum would not even discuss the idea on Tuesday, the star guard replying “next question” when asked about Hurley's future.

How long can the Sun Devils keep their season alive? They're playing perhaps their best basketball exactly at the right time, beating rival Utah and No. 14 Kansas in the last couple of weeks, and knocking off the Bears in the Big 12 Tournament.

But the No. 5 seed Cyclones are up next. More juggernauts await if Arizona State survives them.

“What we're trying to do is win five games in a row. It's harder to do what we're trying to do than maybe win a national championship,” Hurley said. “We're playing a team tomorrow that could be in an Elite Eight or Final Four game, and that's our second game, and then we're going to have more heavy hitters if we advance. But these guys, they're resilient. They're tough. They have responded, and they have all year.”

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark called his meeting with President Donald Trump and other high-level officials from the NCAA, its member institutions and the CEO of the U.S. Olympic team “very constructive,” and underscored his belief that the SCORE Act is the best path forward for college athletics.

Yormark spoke Tuesday about the meeting with Trump among several topics before the start of the Big 12 Tournament.

Everyone at last week's meeting at the White House agreed that action must be taken soon to tackle the spiraling costs that have come from the introduction of name, image and likeness payments into college athletes. But nobody seems to agree how to do it, and what role the federal government should play in solving such problems.

The SCORE Act, which has Trump's support, is one bill designed to help. It would provide the NCAA with a limited antitrust exemption — which is opposed by many Democrats — and would preempt state laws regarding NIL. But the bill also has flaws, and critics argue it amounts to a giveaway to the NCAA and its most powerful schools.

“Coming out of that meeting,” Yormark said, “I think there's real momentum for the SCORE Act, and we need it. I think it's the best path forward. It provides us with meaningful guiding principles when you think about federal legislation. And while it's a process — it's not perfect — as I've said on a lot of different subjects, it's step by step and you have to sequence these things.

“But,” Yormark said, "I do think the SCORE Act is a great step forward.”

While the SCORE Act has widespread support, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested the bill — which has struggled to get through the lower chamber — could now have enough support to pass, getting it through Congress remains a monumental task.

Trump responded by saying he would draft an executive order himself on college sports.

“The whole educational system is going to go out of business because of this,” Trump explained, when asked why he'd devote so much time to the issue amid the war in Iran, the government shutdown and other pressing issues.

Trump lamented the bygone era of scholarship athletes, and he's among many stakeholders who believe high-revenue sports such as football and men's basketball are threatening to push out smaller sports and women's athletics. Some schools, he argued, have started to pay athletes so much money that it is driving the institutions themselves toward insolvency.

Why does Yormark believe the SCORE Act makes the most sense?

“As it relates to some of the guiding principles,” he replied, “it offers federal protection. It offers liability protection, so we can enforce the rules, which we aren't currently doing. It has great student-athlete protections. It has a strong declaration that student-athletes are not employees; I meet with a lot of student-athletes and none of them want to be employees.”

Yormark cautioned that the SCORE Act “doesn't stop anyone from suing. You can sue anyone.” But it does offer schools a certain level of protection, especially amid a growing number of lawsuits being filed by athletes across the country.

“I never look back. I'm not that type of guy. I like to look forward," Yormark said, "and the meeting (at the White House) was very constructive, and he's due to put out an executive order, or at least said he would, in a week's time. We're working very hard on the SCORE Act. That's where we are at this time.”

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AP National Writer Eddie Pells in Denver and Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

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Two-time Olympic champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates will not pursue a fourth straight ice dance world championship, choosing instead to end their season and likely their competitive careers after their performances at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Chock and Bates joined Olympic teammate Alysa Liu on Monday in withdrawing from worlds, which is not an uncommon decision for skaters who compete at the Winter Games. The championships begin March 24 at 02 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.

Chock and Bates helped the U.S. defend its Olympic figure skating team gold medal in February, then added a bittersweet silver in the individual competition. They were a close second behind the French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, a result that was heavily scrutinized due to the wild scoring margins turned in by the French judge, Jézabel Dabouis.

“We left it all on the ice in Milan," Bates said. “Our season feels complete with those four performances where we delivered our best.”

Chock and Bates have not officially retired, but they have hinted for the better part of four years that they would move away from the competitive scene after the Milan Cortina Games. They will do so as two of the most decorated skaters in U.S. history, winning a record seven national titles, three gold medals at the Grand Prix Final and numerous Grand Prix events.

They have been on the podium at the past four world championships and triumphed at the past three.

“While we have decided not to compete at the world championships, we hold dear the incredible memories from winning the last three years,” Bates said. “Those achievements have meant so much to us. We couldn't be more appreciate of all the love and support.”

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons will replace Chock and Bates on the U.S. ice dance squad in Prague. They will join Olympic teams of Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko and the duo of Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik.

Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito are still scheduled to compete at worlds, and Sarah Everhardt will replace Liu after the 20-year-old announced last week that she was withdrawing. Liu became the first American woman since Sarah Hughes in 2002 to stand atop the Olympic podium when she completed her historic comeback with gold at the Winter Games.

Ilia Malinin, who was part of the gold medal-winning U.S. team in Milan, also remains in the world championships field.

The two-time defending champion, who was heavily favored to win individual gold at the Olympics, struggled throughout his time in Milan, admitting later that the pressure got to him. Malinin fell several times in a disastrous free skate, sending him from first after his short program to eighth place and well out of the medals; Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold.

Among others who have withdrawn from worlds are Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the Olympic pairs champs from Japan; Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii, the pairs team that helped earn team bronze for host Italy; and Loena Hendrickx of Belgium.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $45 million to bring the former Seattle running back to Kansas City, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday.

The deal includes $28.7 million guaranteed and $43.05 million in base value, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because contracts cannot become official until the new league year begins Wednesday.

Walker fills perhaps the biggest need for the Chiefs as they try to bounce back from a disastrous 6-11 season. Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, their top two running backs, are both free agents, leaving only second-year pro Brashard Smith under contract.

The deal came as the Chiefs were nearing an agreement to bring back four-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce for his 14th season, a person familiar with those negotiations told AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that contract was not yet final.

Walker, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, ran for 3,555 yards and 29 touchdowns over four seasons with the Seahawks. He had 1,027 yards and five scores last season, and he was even better in the playoffs, running for 116 yards and three TDs against the 49ers, another touchdown against the Rams, and 135 yards in a 29-13 win over the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

He is the fourth Super Bowl MVP to change teams the following season: Larry Brown went from the Cowboys to the Raiders, Desmond Howard from the Packers to the Raiders, and Dexter Jackson from the Buccaneers to the Cardinals.

The Chiefs have long survived at running back behind a patchwork of late-round draft picks and bargain free agents. But they were desperate to improve the position after ranking 25th in the NFL in rushing last season with just 106.6 yards per game.

Hunt finished with 661 yards rushing and Pacheco with 462 yards. The Chiefs' third-leading rusher was quarterback Patrick Mahomes with 422 yards and five touchdowns, and he missed the final three games of the season with a torn knee ligament.

The Chiefs had been linked to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love in the upcoming NFL draft, but his strong scouting combine may have pushed him so far up draft boards that he will be unavailable when Kansas City is due to pick at No. 9 overall.

The Chiefs also have the No. 29 pick in the first round as part of their deal to send cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams. And by signing Walker in free agency, they have more flexibility in the draft to address some of their other pressing needs, including a weak pass rush, the interior of their defensive line, their offensive line depth and wide receiver.

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL