BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Vanderbilt was fined $500,000 by the Southeastern Conference on Sunday for allowing fans to storm the court Saturday after the Commodores’ 74-69 victory over No. 9 Kentucky. Vanderbilt was penalized for a third offense under the conference’s revised access to competition area policy. The fine will be paid to the University of Kentucky. The first violation — and a $100,000 fine — came when fans stormed the football field after a 40-35 victory over Alabama in October. The second — and a $250,000 fine — came a week ago after fans rushed onto the court in celebration of a victory over No. 6 Tennessee. Additional offenses also will carry $500,000 fines.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Of all the praise bestowed on Jannik Sinner after he won his second consecutive Australian Open championship, and third Grand Slam title overall, nothing felt as significant as the comparison made by runner-up Alexander Zverev. Facing Sinner, particularly on hard courts, reminded Zverev a lot of trying to solve the challenge presented by none other than 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic. “He’s very, very similar to Novak when he was at his best. They barely miss. Like, barely miss. They make you think like you have to overhit all the time to have a chance in a rally against them,” Zverev said after losing to Sinner 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.
Kelsey Plum is headed to Los Angeles as part of a three-way trade that will send Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces, according to a person familiar with the deal. The Sparks traded the No. 2 pick in the draft and Li Yueru to Seattle. Los Angeles also received the No. 9 pick. The Aces got the 13th pick in the draft. The person spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday night because no official deal has been announced. Plum helped the Aces win consecutive WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. She was designated as the team’s franchise player on Jan. 11, meaning the only way she could leave the team was via trade. She averaged 17.8 points and 4.2 assists last season.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina athletic department announced Sunday that the women’s basketball team’s arena DJ has been suspended for one game for the choice of music played at the end of the Gamecocks’ win over LSU on Friday. The DJ, who goes by the stage name DJ T.O., played the song “Cut Friends” by Camouflage. The artist, whose real name was Jason Johnson, was the father of LSU player Flau’Jae Johnson. He was murdered in 2003, about six months before Flau’Jae was born. No. 2 South Carolina beat No. 5 LSU 66-56 on Friday night for the Tigers’ first loss. Flau’jae Johnson posted on X a picture from the DJ’s Instagram account that referenced the song. She added the message, “I’ll take my L on the chin, but this just nasty behavior. Nun funny bout that” The South Carolina athletic department wrote on X that the DJ’s actions were disrespectful to the LSU program and fans and that conference rivalries and passionate fan bases should enhance sports and not be used to target individual players.
SUNDAY SCORES
NCAA MEN TOP 25
No. 17 Illinois 83, Northwestern 74
No. 18 Wisconsin 83, Nebraska 55
No. 24 Memphis 100, UAB 77
NCAA WOMEN TOP 25
No. 1 UCLA 82, No. 8 Maryland 67
No. 5 LSU 64, Texas A&M 51
No. 7 Texas 61, Ole Miss 58
No. 9 TCU 80, No. 25 Baylor 75
No. 11 Kentucky 89, Arkansas 69
No. 12 Ohio State 72, Nebraska 66
Florida State 86, No. 13 North Carolina 84
No. 14 Duke 55, No. 18 Georgia Tech 50
No. 15 Oklahoma 86, Georgia 55
Vanderbilt 66, No. 19 Alabama 64
No. 20 NC State 85, Virginia Tech 57
No. 23 Minnesota 71, Wisconsin 50