AMES, Iowa (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 19 points as No. 23 Iowa State pulled away late to beat Kansas State 78-67. Keshon Gilbert added 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Cyclones, who extended their home-winning streak to 12 games. Curtis Jones contributed 18 points. Arthur Kaluma led Kansas State with 16 points, as the Wildcats slipped from the top of the conference standings. Kansas State erased a 14-point, second-half lead by the Cyclones, tying the score on five different occasions, but never went ahead.
UNDATED (AP) — West Virginia guard RaeQuan Battle is among the players thriving after a federal judge in West Virginia issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, giving multiple-transfer athletes a 14-day window to compete. The judge later extended the order through the spring season, meaning Battle could play the rest of the season. Battle led the Mountaineers past then-No. 3 Kansas last Saturday. He is averaging nearly 18 points and is among the Big 12's leading scorers. His testimony also helped players such as his teammate, Noah Farrakhan, and UT Arlington guard Phillip Russell.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU was on quite a roll in coach Mark Campbell’s first season, off to a school-record 14-0 start and in the AP Top 25 poll. Only a couple of weeks later, the Horned Frogs were having to forfeit two games and hold open tryouts on campus just to fill some roster spots after injuries sidelined three starters. The 15-4 Horned Frogs played and won their first game in 10 days on Tuesday night. There were four new walk-on players on the roster from the more than 40 who attended tryouts last week. Only only TCU volleyball player Sarah Sylvester appeared briefly in the 66-60 win over UCF.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A person with knowledge of the negotiations says Doc Rivers is finalizing a deal to take over as the Milwaukee Bucks coach a day after the firing of Adrian Griffin. Rivers and the Bucks were still negotiating Wednesday, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no contract had been completed. ESPN reported that Rivers has agreed to a deal in principle. Rivers has worked for ESPN as an analyst this season. The Bucks fired Griffin on Tuesday despitea 30-13 record. Milwaukee is 3 1/2 games behind Boston in the Eastern Conference standings.
UNDATED (AP) — The underdog role has worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes. The San Francisco 49ers have odds in their favor. Two of the four teams facing off Sunday are quite familiar with these stakes. The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are in the AFC championship game for the sixth straight season, but going on the road for the first time in that span. They’ll take on the No. 1 seed Ravens, who are here for the first time in 11 years. The No. 1 seed 49ers are making their third consecutive appearance in the NFC championship game. They host the Detroit Lions, who haven’t reached this point in 32 years.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — John Harbaugh worked on Andy Reid's staff for several years in Philadelphia. Now they’ll face each other as head coaches for the first time in a playoff game when Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. This is Harbaugh’s fourth AFC championship game with Baltimore and Reid’s sixth in a row with Kansas City. Harbaugh was a special teams coordinator in 1998 for the Eagles under Ray Rhodes. Then he remained in that role for eight seasons after Reid took over the following season. Harbaugh became a secondary coach for Philadelphia in 2007, then took over the Ravens the following season.
COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. He leaves Michigan after capping his ninth season as coach of college football’s winningest program with the school’s first national championship since 1997. Harbaugh made the highly anticipated decision to go back to the NFL after a second interview and resume his chase for a Super Bowl that eluded him as a quarterback and coach. He will be the first former Chargers player to return to the team as head coach.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan is the type of job that could set off a chain reaction of openings across college football the way Nick Saban's retirement from Alabama did two weeks ago. The difference between Michigan and Alabama, though, is the Wolverines might very well have their man already on campus in offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel released a statement saying the school is “working quickly to hire the next head coach for the program and will do everything possible to keep this current staff and team together.” With Harbaugh serving two separate suspensions last season for potential NCAA rules violations, Michigan went 4-0 with Moore leading the team on game days. He was in charge when Michigan beat Penn State and Ohio State.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kevin Yu of Taiwan shot an 8-under 64 on the North Course at Torrey Pines to take a one-shot lead over Patrick Cantlay and Ryo Hisatsune in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open. The eight lowest scores came on the North Course, which generally plays a few strokes easier than the South Course on the municipal layout on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean. Players have a round on each course before the cut. The final two rounds are played on the South Course.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Alabama 79 (8)Auburn 75
Final Northwestern 96 (10)Illinois 91
Final (14)Marquette 86 DePaul 73
Final (22)FAU 69 Rice 56
Final (23)Iowa St. 78 Kansas St. 67
Final Nevada 77 (24)Colorado St. 64
Final (25)New Mexico 95 San Jose St. 75
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Detroit 113 Charlotte 106
Final Minnesota 118 Washington 107
Final Memphis 105 Miami 96
Final Milwaukee 126 Cleveland 116
Final OT Portland 137 Houston 131
Final Phoenix 132 Dallas 109
Final Oklahoma City 140 San Antonio 114
Final Golden State 134 Atlanta 112
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final OT Toronto 1 Winnipeg 0
Final Florida 6 Arizona 2
Final Carolina 3 Boston 2
Final Colorado 6 Washington 2
Final OT St. Louis 4 Vancouver 3