Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) ā Ochai Agbaji had 18 points and Christian Braun added 16 as No. 4 Kansas beat North Texas 71-59 in the first round of the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday. Agbaji became the 63rd player to reach 1,000 points in Kansas history when he hit a 3 to open the scoring 2 Ā½ minutes into the game. North Texas got 23 points from Tylor Perry.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) ā No. 17 Iowa visits Nebraska on Friday looking to stay alive in the Big Ten West for another day. The Hawkeyes must win and then have Wisconsin lose at Minnesota on Saturday to reach the conference championship game. The Cornhuskers have lost six straight against Iowa and are trying to break through after losing eight games by a total of 49 points this season. Nebraska will be without quarterback Adrian Martinez. He injured his shoulder last week at Wisconsin. Redshirt freshman Logan Smothers will make his first start.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) ā Missouri and Arkansas meet in a rivalry game Friday to close the regular season. Missouri is coming off a 24-23 overtime win over Florida that led to the Gators parting ways with coach Dan Mullen. The Tigers have won five straight games against the Razorbacks. They boast the SEC's top rusher in Tyler Badie. He leads the SEC with 1,385 yards rushing and has scored 17 touchdowns. He ran for 146 yards against Florida. The 25th-ranked Razorbacks are coming off a 42-35 loss to then-No. 2 Alabama.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ā Texas hosts Kansas State on Friday. The Longhorns have lost six straight games under first-year coach Steve Sarkisian after a 4-1 start. Texas is already guaranteed a losing season. Kansas State has already qualified for a bowl. Wildcats running back Deuce Vaughn is the catalyst for the Wildcats with more than 1,000 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
UNDATED (AP) ā Iowa State star Breece Hall could be playing his last home game when TCU visits Jack Trice Stadium in Ames on Friday. Hall is a junior who is listed among the top running back prospects for the 2022 NFL draft. Coach Matt Campbell says he will help Hall make the decision on whether to declare for the draft. The Cyclones must win to avoid their first non-winning regular season since 2016. That was Campbell's first year. TCU will play its fourth game with Jerry Kill as interim coach. The Horned Frogs need a win to become bowl eligible.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) ā The relaxed transfer rules approved by the NCAA in the spring has led to some quick fixes and fast turnarounds for numerous men's basketball programs. Several schools added a handful of transfers from power conferences to jump-start their rebuilding. Among them are the New Mexico Lobos, who are 4-1 thanks to a foursome of transfers, and Iowa State. The Cyclones are 5-0 this year after going 2-22 last season. Others that have capitalized on the new transfer rule are the Texas Longhorns, the Grand Canyon Antelopes, the TCU Horned Frogs and the Texas A&M Aggies.
NFL-RAIDERS/COWBOYS
Raiders beat Cowboys in OT
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ā The Las Vegas Raiders are back over .500 after surviving a wild finish against the Dallas Cowboys.
Daniel Carlson drilled a 29-yard kick with 4:28 showing on the clock in overtime to give the Raiders a 36-33 victory over the Cowboys. Carlson's fifth and final field goal of the game was set up by cornerback Anthony Brown's fourth penalty of the day, a pass interference call on 3rd-and-18.
Greg Zuerlein (ZUR'-lyn) tied it for Dallas with a field goal in the final minute of regulation.
The Raiders racked up over 500 yards of total offense, with quarterback Derek Carr completing 24 of 39 passes for 365 yards and a TD. Josh Jacobs carried 22 times for 87 yards and a score for the 6-5 Raiders, who hadn't scored more than 16 points while dropping their previous three games.
Dak Prescott engineered a pair of fourth-quarter TD drives and threw for 209 yards in the period. Prescott was 32 of 47 for 375 yards and two touchdowns.
Michael Gallup and Cedrick Wilson each had over 100 yards receiving, but Ezekiel Elliott carried just nine times for 25 yards and a score with Dallas trailing most of the game.
The Cowboys have dropped three of their last four since a six-game winning streak. All three losses have been against AFC West teams.
NFL-BILLS/SAINTS
Bills shred, stifle Saints
UNDATED (AP) ā The Buffalo Bills were back in gear following Sunday's 41-15 loss to visiting Indianapolis.
Josh Allen threw for four touchdowns and the Bills allowed just 190 total yards in a 31-6 thrashing of the Saints in New Orleans. Allen shook off two interceptions to complete 23 of 28 passes for 260 yards.
Dawson Knox grabbed two scoring passes for the Bills, who controlled the ball for more than 34 1/2 minutes and didn't allow a point until Trevor Siemian's scoring pass on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Stefon Diggs and Matt Breida also had TD grabs for the 7-4 Bills, who are currently in a first-place tie with the Patriots in the AFC East.
The 5-6 Saints suffered their fourth straight loss, all since Siemian replaced injured quarterback Jameis (JAY'-mihs) Winston. Siemian was 17 of 29 passing for 163 yards and one interception.
NFL-BEARS/LIONS
Bears end skid, keep Lions winless
DETROIT (AP) ā The Detroit Lions were seconds away from their first win since last December. Instead, the Chicago Bears ended a five-game losing streak as Cairo Santos made a 28-yard game-ending field goal to complete their 16-14 victory at Detroit.
Andy Dalton led the Bears on an 18-play, 69-yard drive that took the final 8:30 off the clock. Dalton finished 24 of 39 for 317 yards with a go-ahead, 17-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham late in the first half.
Jared Goff was 21 of 25 for 171 with two touchdowns. Goff threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds on his first drive and a 17-yard pass to T.J. Hockenson late in the third.
The Lions are 0-10-1 this season and winless in their last 15 games. The Bears are 4-7.
T25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL-MISSISSIPPI/MISS. ST.
Ole Miss whips Miss. St.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) ā Eighth-ranked Mississippi captured the annual Egg Bowl on Thursday as Snoop Conner ran for two touchdowns in a 31-21 decision over Mississippi State.
Matt Corral ran for a touchdown and passed for 229 yards to help the 10-2 Rebels overcome an early 6-3 deficit to take a 24-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Corral was 25 of 33 with an interception.
Conner rushed for 60 yards on 16 carries, including his one-yard scores. Dontario Drummond had 13 receptions for 133 yards, and Jerrion Ealy scored on a 15-yard run to make it a 31-13 lead with 5:35 left.
Mississippi State's Will Rogers was 38 of 58 for 336 yards and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Walley in the fourth quarter.
T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Jayhawks win
UNDATED (AP) ā Fourth-ranked Kansas has won its first-round game at the ESPN Events Invitational.
Ochai Agbaji had 18 points and Christian Braun added 16 as the Jayhawks downed North Texas, 71-59. Agbaji became the 63rd player to reach 1,000 points in Kansas history when he hit a 3 to open the scoring 2Ā½ minutes into the game.
North Texas got 23 points from Tylor Perry.
In other top-25 men's basketball action:
ā Matthew Mayer scored 15 points to help sixth-ranked Baylor hold off VCU 69-61 in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. Freshman Kendall Brown added 14 points for the reigning national champions, who had to clean up a mistake-filled first half to improve to 6-0. The Bears led by just two before opening the second half on a 9-0 run.
ā Freshman Jabari Smith had 14 points and 19th-ranked Auburn regrouped from a double-overtime loss to Connecticut by defeating Loyola Chicago 62-53 in the consolation round at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The 4-1 Tigers built a 10-point edge in the second half by holding the Ramblers to two field goals over an 11-minute stretch.
ā A.J. Hoggard hit the go-ahead free throws with 30.3 seconds left while Michigan State closed on a 9-0 run to beat No. 22 Connecticut, 64-60 in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. Gabe Brown scored 16 points for the 5-1 Spartans, who blew a 14-point lead before halftime and shot just 32% after the break. Tyson Walker hit a clinching free throw with 2.5 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
ā No. 24 Southern California was a 70-55 winner over Saint Joseph's as Boogie Ellis provided 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. The Trojans went ahead for good while Ellis scored seven points in a 19-4 that made it 23-9. Joshua Morgan added 13 points to the win, while Chevez Goodwin chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NEWS
UConn's Whaley sits after fainting
UNDATED (AP) ā UConn held out forward Isaiah Whaley from Thursday's game against Michigan State after he fainted following a first-round game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Whaley was laying on the sideline in front of the bench immediately after a wild 115-109 double-overtime win against No. 19 Auburn on Wednesday. After a few moments, he was back on his feet with a smile and joined the handshake line.
Whaley played 43 minutes on Wednesday, but UConn said its team medical and training staff determined his fainting was no cause for concern.
TENNIS-DAVIS CUP FINALS
Ymer brothers help Sweden stun Canada in Davis Cup Finals
MADRID (AP) ā Elias Ymer didn't hesitate to say Sweden could succeed at the Davis Cup Finals despite being one of the lowest-ranked nations in the competition. He backed up his words with a great opening win and then cheered on his brother Mikael in the other singles match that clinched Sweden the victory over 2019 runner-up Canada in the first tie of Group B.
Croatia also won on a day that defending champion Spain was left without one of its biggest attractions after 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz tested positive for the coronavirus and had to be dropped from the squad.
CLICK HERE to download the Hutch Post mobile app.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.