National briefs: Mizzou expected to hire Miami’s Haith

A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells the Associated Press that Frank Haith has agreed to leave Miami after seven seasons and take over as coach at Missouri.

Haith’s deal with Missouri is not yet finalized, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no contract has been signed. Missouri officials are scheduled to meet late tonight to confirm terms of the contract.

Miami officials did not return messages seeking comment late Sunday, and the Hurricanes’ players had not been told of Haith’s decision as of Sunday night.

Haith has two years left on his contract with Miami, worth a total of about $3 million. He has gone 129-101 in seven seasons with the Hurricanes.

College Basketball

Dayton hires Archie Miller

Dayton, Ohio — Archie Miller was hired Sunday to lead the Dayton basketball program, less than a week after Brian Gregory left to take over at Georgia Tech.

The 32-year-old Miller has been associate head coach the last two seasons for older brother Sean Miller at Arizona. He started as an assistant under Herb Sendek, spending three years at North Carolina State and two at Arizona State. He also was one of Thad Matta’s assistants at Ohio State for two years before joining his brother’s staff.

Utah picks Nets aide Krystkowiak

Salt Lake City — The University of Utah hired New Jersey Nets assistant Larry Krystkowiak as its coach Sunday, picking him to lead the Utes into the Pac-12 Conference.

The move came three weeks after athletic director Chris Hill fired Jim Boylen following consecutive losing seasons. Krystkowiak, who traveled Sunday, will be introduced today.

Golf

Mickelson wins Masters tuneup

Humble, Texas — Phil Mickelson feels pretty confident about his game heading into the Masters.

The defending champion at Augusta outdueled Scott Verplank on Sunday to win the Houston Open by three shots, his first victory since earning his third green jacket last April.

And it comes with a notable distinction.

The win moved Mickelson’s world ranking to No. 3, while Tiger Woods dropped to No. 7. It’s the first time Mickelson has been ahead of Woods in the ranking since the week before Woods won the 1997 Masters for his first major championship.

“It feels really good for me to have played well and gained some momentum heading into next week,” Mickelson said. “I needed to have a week where I kind of put it together.”

The 40-year-old Mickelson shot a 7-under 65, the lowest closing score by a winner this year, to finish at 20 under.

Former Kansas University golfer Gary Woodland placed in a tie for 13th with a final round of 68 (10 under total).

Lewis holds off defending champ

Rancho Mirage, Calif. — Stacy Lewis held off defending champion Yani Tseng to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship by three strokes Sunday, earning her first LPGA Tour title in the year’s first major.

Lewis shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 13-under 275, rallying from an early two-stroke deficit.

Horsey nets hole-in-one, wins

Agadir, Morocco — David Horsey of England had a birdie on the second extra hole of a three-way playoff to earn his second European Tour title Sunday, taking the Trophee Hassan II after a final round that included a hole-in-one.

Horsey had his hole-in-one at the par-3 second, giving him the lead after being tied with Rhys Davies overnight.

Lehman claims another victory

Saucier, Miss. — Tom Lehman pulled away for his second Champions Tour victory of the season Sunday with a final-round 69 at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic at Fallen Oak.

Tennis

Red-hot Djokovic outlasts Nadal

Key Biscayne — Novak Djokovic won his fourth consecutive tournament Sunday, beating top-ranked Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a grueling final at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Djokovic has won 26 consecutive matches since December, and his record of 24-0 in 2011 is the best to begin a year since Ivan Lendl started 25-0 in 1986.

The No. 2-ranked Djokovic was pushed the distance by Nadal on a sunny, 85-degree afternoon. They played for nearly 31/2 hours, and it was Djokovic who looked fresher at the finish.

College Football

New McCoy shines in UT scrimmage

Austin, Texas — There’s a new McCoy at Texas and it was his turn to have a big day for the Longhorns.

The question now is whether Case McCoy, younger brother of former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, can make a push to be the Longhorns’ No. 1 QB next fall.

McCoy was the standout offensive player Sunday in Texas’ annual spring scrimmage, passing for 124 yards and a touchdown. Most of the yards and the score came with the second-team offense against the first-team defense.

Garrett Gilbert, the starter in Texas’ disastrous 5-7 season in 2010, was 8-of-15 for 76 yards and an interception. The turnover set up McCoy’s TD pass.

Texas officially unveils network

Austin, Texas — The University of Texas unveiled the name of its new television network Sunday, keeping it simple by calling the channel the Longhorn Network, or LHN.

Texas struck a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN to create the network, which is scheduled to launch in August. It had been nicknamed the “Longhorn Network” when first announced and officials agreed the name best captured the brand of the university.

Texas and ESPN have yet to sign a deal with cable or satellite distributors. Sunday’s announcement was supposed to include a short promotional video for reporters, but it didn’t work.

Baseball

Indians release Mattingly’s son

Cleveland — The Cleveland Indians have released minor-leaguer Preston Mattingly, the son of Los Angeles Dodgers manager and former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly.

Cleveland acquired the 23-year-old outfielder from the Dodgers in a minor-league deal on Sept. 26, one week after the Dodgers announced his father would replace Joe Torre after the 2010 season.

Auto Racing

Hight notches second victory

Las Vegas — Robert Hight roared to his second win of the season in his Funny Car on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, giving John Force Racing its fifth consecutive victory dating to last season.

College Women’s Basketball

Washington claims McGuff

Seattle — Xavier coach Kevin McGuff is leaving to take the same job at Washington.

Washington announced the hiring Sunday and said he has signed a multiyear deal.

He replaces Tia Jackson, who resigned on March 14 after going 45-75 in four seasons.