Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston’s Alex Bregman was hit on the back by a breaking ball from St. Louis reliever Ramon Santos, the seventh Astros player plunked in five spring training games. Some opposing players have called for retaliation against the Astros following Major League Baseball’s finding that Houston broke rules against electronic sign-stealing en route to its 2017 World Series title and again in 2018. Dustin Garneau was hit Sunday against Washington, and José Altuve was grazed Monday against Detroit, when Osvaldo Duarte and Alex De Goti also were hit. Aledmys Díaz and Jake Meyers were hit Tuesday by Miami.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — South Korean star Kwang Hyun Kim is proving problematic for major league hitters so far. The 31-year-old left-hander retired all six Miami batters he faced in his first Grapefruit League start for the St. Louis Cardinals. It came after he threw one shutout inning of relief against the New York Mets on Saturday. Kim struggled with control of his off-speed pitches in the first inning, but he found his rhythm in the second. He kept batters off balance mixing a fastball that touched 95 mph with his curve. The Marlins didn’t get a ball out of the infield against Kim.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Wanjang Tut scored 19 points as Omaha edged North Dakota 84-83 in overtime. Marlon Ruffin added 18 points for the Mavericks and JT Gibson chipped in 15. KJ Robinson had 12 points for Omaha, which has won four in a row. Filip Rebraca tied a career high with 24 points and had 13 rebounds for the Fighting Hawks. Marlon Stewart added 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Kienan Walter had 16 points and seven rebounds.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A season that started with low expectations could finish at unprecedented heights for Creighton. The 10th-ranked Bluejays are one of the hottest teams in the nation heading into their final three regular-season games. They’ve knocked off four Top 25 opponents while winning nine of their last 10 and have a shot to win the Big East regular-season title for the first time since joining the league in 2013. They sit one game behind first-place Seton Hall. Creighton came into the season picked seventh in Big East and without two projected starters who are out because of injury.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The most physically dominant player in college basketball could have a hard time making it as a pro. Then again, Kansas forward Udoka Azubuike has been proving people wrong for a long time. The 7-foot senior from Nigeria has developed his game. He is now a key part of the nation’s top-ranked team as March Madness draws near.
an athletic director at three major schools and an All-American center at Michigan State, has died. He was 90. The native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, served as the athletic director at Texas Tech, Arizona State and Missouri. He was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 2006. Tamburo also was an assistant coach at Arizona State and Iowa following two years in the Army.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Xavier Pinson scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and the Missouri Tigers beat Vanderbilt 61-52 for their first Southeastern Conference road win this season. The Tigers had not won away from Columbus since a victory at Georgia on March 6, 2019. Now Missouri has won four straight against Vanderbilt, giving the Tigers their longest current winning streak against any SEC team. Third-year coach Cuonzo Martin also improved to 6-2 all-time against the Commodores. Vanderbilt now has lost six straight and struggled to shoot for a big chunk of the game.