ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half and No. 7 Kansas posted the second-largest margin of victory in program history Sunday, beating UCF 99-48 in a Big 12 matchup. Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 senior center, shot 12 for 17 from the field and had nine rebounds while limiting UCF’s Moustapha Thiam, a 7-2 freshman who was slowed by foul trouble, to four points. Flory Bidunga had 12 points and five rebounds, Rylan Griffen scored 14 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. and AJ Storr each had 11 for the Jayhawks (10-3, 1-1). Kansas went on a 23-8 run after Thiam’s second foul in the first half and held UCF without a field goal for more than seven minutes. The Knights missed 11 straight shots during that run and made only three of their final 19 shots in the first half. UCF shot 20.6% in the game and was 7 for 30 from 3-point distance.
DETROIT (AP) — Jahmyr Gibbs was the game-breaking player the Detroit Lions needed to get their high-powered offense in gear — and give them a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. Gibbs scored three of his franchise-record tying four touchdowns in the second half, and the Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 on Sunday night to win their second straight NFC North title. “Everybody’s got to come through here, baby!” Detroit defensive end Za’Darius Smith said to the roaring crowd after the game. The Lions (15-2) and Vikings (14-3) could meet again in two weeks.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Doug Pederson is out as Jacksonville’s head coach after the franchise’s “best team assembled” won just four games. Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Pederson on Monday, a day after a 26-23 loss at Indianapolis in overtime. It was the team’s 18th loss in its last 23 games. But Khan kept general manager Trent Baalke, a questionable decision that surely will affect who will become Jacksonville’s next coach. Khan made the move with one year remaining on Pederson’s contract. The decision came more than five months after Khan stood in front of coaches and players and declared this the “best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots fired coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday after one season, beginning another reboot for the franchise just a year after it parted with longtime coach Bill Belichick. Owner Robert Kraft announced the firing in a statement shortly after New England closed its 4-13 season with a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills. “After the game I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025. For me, personally, it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” Kraft said. “Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped.” Kraft was set to discuss the move in a news conference on Monday.
NFL Playoff Picture
AFC
No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs - First-round bye
No. 7 Denver at No. 2 Buffalo,
Sunday, Jan. 12, noon on CBS
No. 5 LA Chargers at No. 4 Houston
Saturday, Jan. 11, 3:30 p.m. on CBS
No. 6 Pittsburgh at No. 3 Baltimore
Saturday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m. on Amazon Prime
NFC
No. 1 Detroit Lions - first-round bye
No. 7 Green Bay at No. 2 Philadelphia
Sunday, Jan. 12, 3:30 p.m. on Fox
No. 5 Minnesota at No. 4 LA Rams
Monday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m. on ESPN and ABC
No. 6 Washington at No. 3 Tampa Bay
Sunday, Jan. 12, 7 p.m. on NBC