Feb 21, 2024

Wednesday Sports Headlines and Scores presented by Barton Community College

Posted Feb 21, 2024 11:39 AM

UNDATED (AP) — The field for the 12-team College Football Playoff will comprise five conference champions and seven at-large selections after the university presidents who oversee the CFP voted unanimously to tweak the format. The move to decrease the number of spots reserved for conference champions from six to five was prompted by realignment, including the demise of the Pac-12. The original plan for the 12-team format was to have the six highest-ranked conference champions, with the top four receiving first-round byes, and six at-large selections.

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Aly Khalifa had 14 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds to lead No. 25 BYU to a 78-71 victory over No. 11 Baylor on Tuesday night. Jaxson Robinson scored 16 points and Trevin Knell added 13 for the Cougars (19-7, 7-6 Big 12), who earned their third home victory over a Top 25 opponent this season. Jalen Bridges finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bears. Ja’Kobe Walter and Yves Missi tallied 13 points apiece for Baylor (19-7, 8-5), which lost for just the second time in seven games.

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Pop Isaacs scored 19 points and put 23rd-ranked Texas Tech ahead to stay with a three-point play with 39 seconds remaining as the Red Raiders rallied late for an 82-81 win over TCU. Texas Tech trailed 69-59 with 6:55 left. Isaacs scored nine of his points after that, including two more free throws with 12 seconds left. Darrion Williams, Joe Toussaint and Kerwin Walton each had 14 points for the 19-7 Red Raiders. Emanuel Miller and Avery Anderson III each had 15 points to lead six players scoring in double figures for 18-8 TCU. Jameer Nelson had 14 points.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — RaeQuan Battle scored 24 points and West Virginia never trailed in a 77-67 win over UCF. Jesse Edwards added 15 points and 10 rebounds while Quinn Slazinski scored 14 for West Virginia. The Mountaineers broke a four-game losing streak and moved out of a last-place tie with idle Oklahoma State. Battle fared much better than the last time he faced UCF, when he was held to five points and was ejected on Jan. 23. UCF has lost four straight. Darius Johnson scored a career-high 29 points and Marchelus Avery added 14 for UCF. Leading scorer Jaylin Sellers was limited to six points on 1 of 11 shooting.

UNDATED (AP) — Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams is The Associated Press national men’s college basketball player of the week after a perfect shooting performance in a rout of then-No. 6 Kansas last week. He was 12 for 12 from the field, hitting all four 3s, and 2 for 2 from the foul line in scoring a career-high 30 points. Williams also had 11 rebounds against the Jayhawks. Blake Hinson of Pittsburgh is the runner-up after scoring 27 points in a win over then-No. 21 Virginia, then hitting nine 3-pointers and scoring 41 points in a win over Louisville.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Steven Ashworth scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half as Creighton built a double-digit lead, and the No. 15 Bluejays knocked off UConn 85-66 for their first win over a No. 1-ranked team. Creighton led by 23 points with 10 minutes left but saw its lead cut to 10 before holding the Huskies scoreless on five straight possessions, rebuilding their cushion and prompting students to leave their seats to prepare for their court storming. UConn had its 14-game win streak end three days after it beat then-No. 4 Marquette by 28 points for one of the most impressive victories of the season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two men have been charged with murder in last week’s shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade. Court documents released Tuesday say the men were strangers who pulled out guns and began firing within seconds of starting an argument. Missouri prosecutors said at a news conference that Lyndell Mays, of Raytown, Missouri, and Dominic Miller, of Kansas City, Missouri, have been charged with second-degree murder and several weapons counts. The shooting left one person dead and roughly two dozen others injured. Mays and Miller were shot in the melee and have been hospitalized since.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — There are still some premium free agents available in baseball as the calendar nears March. Two-time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell, six-time All-Star J.D. Martinez and former MVP Cody Bellinger are among the players who haven't found a home. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said the game is at its best when the best players are on the field and he hopes they sign soon. But the sport's general managers don't seem particularly concerned with the stalemate.

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics probably won't be in Oakland a whole lot longer. The franchise is set to move to Las Vegas in a stadium that the team hopes is ready for the 2028 season. But the next few years could be rocky. The franchise's uncertain future was enough of a topic that manager Mark Kotsay addressed the issue in a team meeting on Monday. He wants to make sure players know his office is open if there are questions, even though he doesn’t have many answers. It’s unclear whether the franchise will play its 2025 home games in Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco or a minor league stadium in Las Vegas.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Talk about a tale of two tours. One golf shop had TVs showing LIV Golf and the PGA Tour at the same time. That's what golf looks like at the moment, and it isn't likely to change any time soon. The only place to find the best players in the world on the same stage is at the majors. The majors have always been the most important in golf. It seems now more than ever they're all that matter since players are scattered among two tours. But as time goes on, even the majors will be lacking all the best.

UNDATED (AP) — Rafael Devers is looking for some help — from the front office of the Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox ramping up at the start of spring training, Devers made it clear that he felt the franchise should have done more to improve the roster over the winter. Devers batted .271 with 33 homers and 100 RBIs in 153 games last year, but Boston finished last in the loaded AL East with a 78-84 record. The 27-year-old third baseman finalized a 10-year contract with the Red Sox in January 2023 that is worth $313.5 million.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge’s big toe is more than a footnote for the New York Yankees. Judge missed 42 games after tearing a ligament in his right big toe when he crashed into the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium last June 3, a big reason the Yankees fell from postseason contention. Judge says “it’s going to be I think a constant maintenance I think the rest of my career. Anything with injuries like that, you just got to stay on top of it so it doesn’t flare up again.”

UNDATED (AP) — Streaming service FuboTV has filed an antitrust lawsuit against ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Hulu, which are planning to launch a sports-streaming venture in the fall. The lawsuit has been filed in the Southern District of New York. FuboTV is seeking a jury trial. FuboTV not only wants the proposed joint venture shut down, but it is seeking cash damages. If the court does not rule to do either, FuboTV is seeking restrictions on the joint venture so that competition remains in the marketplace. The streaming services declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the lawsuit.

TUESDAY SCORES

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Final (15)Creighton 85 (1)UConn 66

Final (5)Tennessee 72 Missouri 67

Final (25)BYU 78 (11)Baylor 71

Final (18)Saint Mary's (Cal.) 70 San Francisco 66

Final Utah St. 68 (19)San Diego St. 63

Final (23)Texas Tech 82 TCU 81

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Final Washington 6 New Jersey 2

Final OT Florida 3 Ottawa 2

Final N-Y Rangers 3 Dallas 1

Final OT N-Y Islanders 5 Pittsburgh 4

Final Winnipeg 6 Minnesota 3

Final Colorado 3 Vancouver 1

Final Nashville 5 Vegas 3