LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kevin McCullar Jr. had a career-high 25 points, KJ Adams scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, and second-ranked Kansas struggled to hold off scrappy Kansas City 88-69. The Jayhawks were coming off a thrilling win over No. 5 UConn last week and may have been looking ahead to Saturday's matchup with bitter rival Missouri. Whatever the case, they led by just eight with about 3 1/2 minutes left before scoring 10 straight points to put the game away. Cameron Faas and Khristion Courseault scored 18 points apiece to lead the Roos.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Arthur Kaluma scored 26 points, Tylor Perry hit a step-back 3-pointer to cap the scoring and Kansas State beat Villanova 72-71 in overtime in the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle. Kansas State has won four games in the row, the last three in OT. Jordan Longino kicked it out to Eric Dixon for a wide-open 3-pointer to give Villanova a four-point lead with 1:20 to play. David N’Guessar made a layup on the other end, Longino missed a jumper with 25 seconds remaining before Perry — who had been 1 of 9 from behind the arc to that point — hit the winner.
WACO, Texas (AP) — RayJ Dennis had 17 points and seven assists, true freshman Ja’Kobe Walter scored 15 points with four 3-pointers and sixth-ranked Baylor remained undefeated with a 78-60 victory over Seton Hall in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game. Dennis and Walter hit consecutive 3s for the 9-0 Bears after Seton Hall got within three points midway through the second half. Kadary Richmond had 18 points for the 5-3 Pirates, while Dre Davis had 12. The Big 12 won all three games it played against Big East teams on Tuesday to clinch the conference challenge 7-3 with one game left to play.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Javian McCollum scored 19 points and Milos Uzan added 17 points and 12 rebounds as No. 19 Oklahoma limited Providence to 20 second-half points in a 72-51 win. The Sooners scored 40 points in the paint, forced 15 turnovers and out-rebounded the Friars 40-23. McCollum scored 13 in the first half to lift the Sooners to a 35-31 halftime lead over the Friars. Providence pulled ahead 41-40 early in the second half before the Sooners outscored the Friars 32-10 over the next 14 minutes. Devin Carter scored 17 points and Josh Oduro added 15 for Providence.
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CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Xavier Johnson scored 32 points and Southern Illinois held off Oklahoma State for a 70-68 victory. Oklahoma State (3-5) trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, but tied it three times inside the final four minutes. Javon Small’s two free throws for the Cowboys knotted it for the final time, 66-66. Clarence Rupert’s three-point play for Southern Illinois (6-2) made it 69-66.Small added two more free throws with 17 seconds left to pull to 69-68, but he missed a layup and Quion Williams missed a jumper on the Cowboys’ final possession.
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Jaxon Robinson scored 19 points and No. 14 BYU routed Evansville 96-55 to remain undefeated. Trevin Knell had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Cougars. Noah Waterman added 12 points and eight rebounds. Dallin Hall finished with 10 points, seven assists and six boards. BYU shot 53% from the field and made 14 3-pointers. The Cougars had three separate runs of 12-0 or better. Yacine Toumi led Evansville with 13 points and Antonio Thomas added 10.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — NCAA President Charlie Baker says he wants the association to create a new tier of Division I athletics where highly resourced schools would be required to offer at least half their athletes a payment of at least $30,000 per year. Baker also proposed allowing all Division I schools to offer unlimited educational benefits and enter into name, image and likeness partnerships with athletes. Baker sent a letter to more than 350 Division I schools. He says the disparity in resources between the wealthiest schools and other D-I members is standing in the way of reforming college athletics.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he sees football becoming a global sport within the next decade and that his league is at the forefront of that effort. That includes adding another international market next year for the regular-season schedule. Brazil and Spain are the front-runners. Goodell was speaking at a forum that included officials from Las Vegas teams and events to promote the Super Bowl, which will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11. He said the league’s championship game will return to Las Vegas many times after this season.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to publicly acknowledge meeting with Shohei Ohtani when manager Dave Roberts disclosed what he said was a two-to-three hour get-together at Dodger Stadium a few days ago. Officials on other teams danced meticulously around the question. Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another prized free agent, could be sought by the New York Yankees and Mets. Erick Fedde, a 30-year-old right-hander who spent this year with the NC Dinos in South Korea, agreed to a $15 million, two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, a person familiar with the deal said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels will not trade three-time AL MVP Mike Trout. General manager Perry Minasian confirmed that Tuesday at MLB’s winter meetings. Trout is under contract through 2030, and he makes $35.45 million annually with a full no-trade clause. But even after he missed significant portions of the past three seasons due to injuries, his future in Anaheim remains an annual topic of debate due to his formidable talent and the Angels’ annual failures to achieve any team success in his 13-year career. Trout is coming off arguably the least impressive season of his career, playing only 82 games.
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jaedyn Shaw scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute to give the United States a 2-1 comeback victory over China on Tuesday night in the Americans’ final match of the year. It was the second of two exhibition matches against China. The United States won the first 3-0 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday. Shaw’s second international goal came in front of her hometown crowd in Frisco. The 19-year old was making her first start for the national team.
TUESDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2)Kansas 88 UMKC 69
Final (5)UConn 87 (9)North Carolina 76
Final (6)Baylor 78 Seton Hall 60
Final (7)Gonzaga 111 Ark.-Pine Bluff 71
Final (20)Illinois 98 (11)FAU 89
Final (14)BYU 96 Evansville 55
Final (17)Tennessee 87 George Mason 66
Final (19)Oklahoma 72 Providence 51
Final (23)Wisconsin 70 Michigan St. 57
Final Grand Canyon 79 (25)San Diego St. 73
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Milwaukee 146 New York 122
Final L.A. Lakers 106 Phoenix 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Ottawa 6 N-Y Rangers 2
Final OT Los Angeles 4 Columbus 3
Final Detroit 5 Buffalo 3
Final OT San Jose 5 N-Y Islanders 4
Final SO Nashville 4 Chicago 3
Final Colorado 3 Anaheim 2