UNDATED (AP) — The marquee game of the Big 12-SEC Challenge usually involves Kentucky or Kansas. This year, it involves both. The No. 12 Wildcats head to historic Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday night to face the fifth-ranked Jayhawks in a matchup of college basketball’s two winningest programs with a combined 14 national championships. Other games include fourth-ranked and defending national champ Baylor against Alabama and top-ranked Auburn against Oklahoma.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — You can bet that Texas saw what Kansas State forward Ayoka Lee did to Oklahoma last weekend. It didn’t seem to help a whole lot. Sure, the ninth-ranked Longhorns managed to shut down the rest of the No. 25 Wildcats in a 66-48 victory Wednesday night in Austin, but they didn’t slow down the national player of the year candidate. Lee still poured in 20 points grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked a couple shots in another exceptional performance in a season full of them. None more so than her record-setting 61-point game against the Sooners last weekend.
UNDATED (AP) — It is a man’s world six months after the NCAA cleared the way for college athletes to earn money on their celebrity. Men lead the way in total name, image and likeness compensation and have more NIL activities than women. That's according to third-party data from July 1 through Dec. 31 for some 125,000 athletes. The true size of the fledgling industry is somewhat unknown because some data has not been released. Ohio State is one of the only schools to detail compensation through six months, saying 220 athletes made $2.98 million.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There was never a sense of panic for Patrick Mahomes as he stood on the sideline Sunday night, watching the Bills score yet another late touchdown to regain the lead with 13 seconds left in their divisional-round game against the Chiefs. Thirteen seconds left with plenty of timeouts? No cause for concern. Mahomes calmly led Kansas City to the tying field goal, then the winning touchdown in overtime. It was perhaps the best example yet of the calm that Mahomes exudes during the most stressful of circumstances.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has announced his retirement after an 18-year NFL career spent entirely with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Roethlisberger was taken 11th overall by the Steelers in the 2004 draft and started their second game that season. He completed more than 64% of his passes for 64,088 yards and 418 touchdowns in 249 career games.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Matt Eberflus is the new head coach of the Chicago Bears. Eberflus spent the past four years as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator, helping turn around a unit that ranked among the league’s worst. The hire is the first big move for new Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who took over on Tuesday.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Broncos have hired Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as their new head coach. Denver fired Vic Fangio after a 7-10 season. Hackett’s hiring will raise speculation that the Broncos might try to acquire Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the offseason.
UNDATED (AP) — Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will be the starters and captains for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game. Joining Durant on the Eastern Conference starting lineup are Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, Chicago guard DeMar DeRozan and Atlanta guard Trae Young. Denver center Nikola Jokic, Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins, Warriors guard Steph Curry and Memphis guard Ja Morant will start with James on the Western Conference team.
THURSDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Gonzaga 89 Loyola Marymount 55
Final (6)Purdue 83 Iowa 73
Final (7)UCLA 81 California 57
Final (11)Wisconsin 73 Nebraska 65
Final Stanford 64 (15)Southern Cal 61
Final (16)Ohio St. 75 Minnesota 64
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Philadelphia 105 L.A. Lakers 87
Final Golden State 124 Minnesota 115
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Los Angeles 3 N-Y Islanders 2
Final Florida 4 Vegas 1
Final OT Seattle 2 Pittsburgh 1
Final Anaheim 5 Montreal 4
Final Tampa Bay 3 New Jersey 2
Final Columbus 5 N-Y Rangers 3
Final SO Carolina 3 Ottawa 2
Final Vancouver 5 Winnipeg 1
Final St. Louis 5 Calgary 1
Final SO Edmonton 3 Nashville 2