Category: Sports

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Nick Taylor knew the odds were not in his favor Sunday at Pebble Beach.

Already nervous about facing Phil Mickelson for the first time with only a one-shot lead, Taylor found himself watching Lefty’s short-game highlight show on the eve of their final-round pairing at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“I was just curious, to be honest. And he hit some amazing shots,” Taylor said. “I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t know if he can keep that up. If he can, great.’ But if I keep doing what I’m doing, plugging along … then try to make the guys behind me try to beat me.”

Taylor created his own short-game highlights for a victory that will stay with him a long time.

He holed a bunker shot for eagle that carried him to a five-shot lead at the turn. And when that lead shrunk to two shots in 40 mph gusts, Taylor chipped in for a birdie on the 15th hole that all but sealed it.

Turns out Taylor had more trouble with the wind than Mickelson, and the Canadian managed both just fine. He never lost the lead and closed with a 2-under 70 for a four-shot victory over Kevin Streelman.

Mickelson, going for a record sixth time at he Pebble Beach Pro-Am, faded to third with a 74.

“It’s disappointing certainly to have not won, but I got outplayed,” Mickelson said. “I mean, Nick played better than I did. He holed a couple of great shots. That eagle on 6, the putts he made on 4, 5 and 7 … he just really played some great golf.”

The rewards were more than Taylor could digest.

He won in his fourth start as a PGA Tour rookie at the 2015 Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi, at the time an opposite-field event that didn’t feature any of the top players. He went 146 starts on the PGA Tour until his next victory, and it was a big one.

“That was amazing,” Taylor said. “I believed I could do it because I’ve done it before. But to do it in that fashion, playing with Phil, gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

The victory gets him into the Masters for the first time, along with the PGA Championship up the coast at Harding Park in May. In his sixth year on tour, the 31-year-old Canadian has played only two majors as a pro.

One of those was last summer at Pebble Beach, after which Taylor announced he and his wife, Andie, were expecting their first child. They were waiting for him beyond the 18th green at Pebble.

“You couldn’t write it much better,” Taylor said.

The final chapter was more than five hours of jumbled emotions. Taylor figured he would have been more nervous with a larger lead at the start, and then he had one in the middle. He regained the lead with a 15-foot birdie on No. 4, matched birdies with Mickelson on the par-3 fifth, holed the bunker shot on the par-5 sixth to seize control and made a 7-foot birdie on No. 9 to head to the back nine with a five-shot lead.

Mickelson contributed to Taylor’s advantage, going long over the eighth green and chipping so strong that it caught the slope and rolled back to the fairway, leading to double bogey. He made bogey on No. 9, a two-shot swing.

And then the wind arrived, so strong that it was hard work to make bogey. Mickelson chipped away with a birdie at No. 10 and two pars, and he picked up another shot with a bogey on the par-5 14th, where the wind was so strong it blew Taylor’s cap off his head as he faced 227 yards to the green — for his third shot.

Taylor made double bogey. The lead was two with four holes to play.

“I had to remind myself I still had the lead, I knew I was swinging it well and just needed to hit that fairway,” Taylor said.

He came up short of the green, but had a simple chip that turned out perfectly and dropped for birdie. His final act was an 8-iron to 6 feet for birdie on the 17th.

Taylor finished at 19-under 268 and earned a two-year exemption, valuable for a guy who has been fighting to keep his card the last few years.

Mickelson wasn’t the only player who struggled. Dustin Johnson shot a 78. Matt Every, in the third-to-last group, shot 80. Jason Day closed with a 75.

The best round and best finish belonged to Jordan Spieth, who chipped in to save par on his final hole for a 67. It was the low round of the day and enabled Spieth to finish in a tie for ninth. That narrowly moves him back into the top 50 and makes him eligible for a World Golf Championship in Mexico City in two weeks.

Streelman also leaves with a trophy. He teamed with Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald to easily win the pro-am for the second time in three years.

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Portland Trail Blazers (25-29, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (22-31, 11th in the Western Conference)

New Orleans; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers visit the New Orleans Pelicans. Lillard ranks third in the NBA averaging 29.9 points per game.

The Pelicans are 13-20 in Western Conference games. New Orleans is second in the Western Conference shooting 37.2 percent from downtown led by JJ Redick shooting 45.9 percent from 3-point range.

The Trail Blazers have gone 15-21 against Western Conference opponents. Portland ranks last in the league with just 20 assists per game led by Lillard averaging 7.9.

The Pelicans won the last meeting between these two squads 102-94 on Dec. 23. Jrue Holiday scored 21 points to help lead New Orleans to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Holiday is shooting 43.9 percent and averaging 19.5 points. Derrick Favors is shooting 56.6 percent and averaging 8.3 points over the last 10 games for New Orleans.

Lillard leads the Trail Blazers averaging 29.9 points and has added 4.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. CJ McCollum has averaged 2.8 assists and scored 16.2 points over the last 10 games for Portland.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pelicans: 6-4, averaging 120.2 points, 49 rebounds, 27.6 assists, 8.2 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.3 points on 45.8 percent shooting.

Trail Blazers: 7-3, averaging 122.2 points, 45.4 rebounds, 21.5 assists, 5.5 steals and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.4 points on 46.2 percent shooting.

INJURIES: Pelicans: Kenrich Williams: day to day (back), Zion Williamson: day to day (ankle), Darius Miller: out (achilles), Brandon Ingram: day to day (ankle).

Trail Blazers: Nassir Little: out (ankle), Hassan Whiteside: day to day (leg), Jusuf Nurkic: out (leg fracture), Zach Collins: out (shoulder), Anfernee Simons: day to day (concussion), Rodney Hood: out for season (leg).

LeBron James is considering a return to the Olympics.

James — a two-time gold medalist and three-time Olympian — is among 44 players announced by USA Basketball on Monday as finalists for the team that will play in the Tokyo Games this summer. James played in 2004, 2008 and 2012, helping the U.S. win gold in his most recent two appearances.

The pool includes 19 players who have won a total of 31 gold medals in either Olympic or World Cup competition for the Americans — including nine players who captured the Olympic title for USA Basketball in Rio de Janeiro four years ago.

“I’ve always maintained that equity is important,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told The Associated Press. “And you earn equity by participating. So, we think they’ve earned the right to be named to the overall roster for USA Basketball. It’s pretty elite. It’s a tremendous pot and the good news is they’ve all said they want to play.”

James has played in 68 games for the U.S. national team and has said several times over the past year or so that he is thinking about another Olympics — after sitting out the Rio Games for a variety of reasons. Part of the interest in participating this summer is to have the chance to play for U.S. coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.

“It’s a possibility,” James said in December.

There will be no tryouts. USA Basketball will pare the list down to a 12-person Olympic team by early June, those decisions to be made by a selection committee — and to be based in part on player availability and health. Training camp will start in early July, potentially as little as two weeks after the end of the NBA Finals. The Olympics start July 24.

USA Basketball officials, including Colangelo and Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, have met with players in a variety of ways over the past several weeks. Some talks have been directly with players, some with their agents, some with their NBA clubs, sometimes a combination thereof — and, Colangelo noted, there were some instances where players reached out directly to express interest.

If they’re on the list, that means USA Basketball is convinced they want to play.

“I feel very good about the response,” Colangelo said.

Also included in the pool: 15 of the 16 players from the U.S. who are scheduled to play in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, and all 12 members of the team that represented the U.S. at last summer’s Basketball World Cup in China — where the Americans managed only a seventh-place finish after roughly three dozen players who were on the list at some point dropped out along the way.

The nine players still in the mix from the 2016 Olympic team: Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George, Golden State’s Draymond Green, Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Golden State’s Klay Thompson.

Back from the 2012 Olympic champion roster: the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Durant, Houston’s James Harden, the Lakers’ James, Cleveland’s Kevin Love, Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul and Houston’s Russell Westbrook. Back from the 2008 gold-medal squad: the Lakers’ Dwight Howard.

And those with World Cup or world championship gold medals for USA Basketball, but no Olympic gold to this point: Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Cleveland’s Andre Drummond and Denver’s Mason Plumlee.

James and Paul won Olympic gold at Beijing in 2008, and James was part of the team that won bronze at Athens in 2004. If James joins this team, he will become the second four-time men’s basketball Olympian for the U.S. — joining Carmelo Anthony.

“I’m looking forward to coaching the U.S. Olympic Team, and I’m excited about the potential and possibilities this team has,” Popovich said.

The Olympics could be a return to the court for players like Durant and Thompson, who have missed the entirety of this NBA season with injuries. Durant’s recovery from Achilles’ surgery is at the point where he’s doing some on-court work and Thompson has said he would like to play if his surgically repaired knee is up to the challenge.

The 25 other players who are finalists for this summer’s team but do not yet have Olympic or World Cup gold for the U.S.: Miami’s Bam Adebayo, San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge, Washington’s Bradley Beal, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Indiana’s Malcolm Brogdon, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Utah’s Mike Conley, the Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell, Brooklyn’s Joe Harris, Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris, Boston’s Gordon Hayward, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram, the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez, the Lakers’ JaVale McGee, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Boston’s Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum, Indiana’s Myles Turner, Boston’s Kemba Walker and San Antonio’s Derrick White.

“The reason we have this big roster is a lot of things happen, a lot of variables,” Colangelo said. “And what’s to say what’s going to happen from an injury standpoint between now and June. We don’t know. So we have the rest of the season to monitor, to watch. But when we select our 12, they will be 12 who are absolutely in with all fours.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The debut of the new XFL had a punt blocked for a touchdown, a juiced-up crowd roaring for big plays and a player swearing during an in-game television interview.

The actual football was hit and miss. College national championship-winning former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones was the biggest star on the field and took the microphone to address fans before the start of a brand-new football league.

“This is for the love of football,” Jones said. “Enjoy.”

Jones’ D.C. Defenders beat the Seattle Dragons 31-19 Saturday afternoon in the opener of the new XFL that provided plenty of entertainment in person and on TV. It’s far too early to tell if the XFL can take a foothold where its previous incarnation and the recently unsuccessful Alliance of American Football failed, but executives are willing to wait and see.

“For us, if the fans who attend and watch at home feel as though it was a good football game and they had a fun time either watching or being in this awesome venue with us, that’s success,” XFL chief operating officer Jeffrey Pollack said. “We’re taking a long term view in this. Success ultimately will not be measured in the first game or the first weekend or the first season.”

The first weekend is a chance for football fans to catch a glimpse of some of the few players they might recognize. There’s former Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones with Dallas, former NFL QB Josh Johnson with San Diego and ex-Navy standout Keenan Reynolds playing for Seattle.

It’s not the star power of the NFL, but billionaire Vince McMahon’s latest venture is an attempt to capture the attention of hardcore football fans in the aftermath of the Super Bowl.

“Our expectation for this first season is for football fans to simply give us a look, give us a chance, sample us,” Pollack said. “We understand that fandom is earned. It’s not given. … We think that if you love football, you’re going to love the XFL.”

In the league opener, a crowd of 17,163 almost filled up Audi Field, home of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United. There was a buzz around the stadium in the hours before the XFL’s debut, with cars lining up to enter parking lots and fans checking out a league-sponsored tailgate. Fans were already sporting Dragons and Defenders gear and queued up in long concession lines at halftime.

“I didn’t have real expectations going into the game as far as what the experience was going to be like,” Cardale Jones said. “If I did … they would’ve been blown away.”

The location of the first game made sense in the neighborhood of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, who haven’t won the Super Bowl since 1992 and have just one playoff victory in the past 20 seasons. Fan-made signs mocking the “Hail to the Redskins” slogan and asking Redskins owner Dan Snyder to sell the team were draped from a balcony at the 50-yard line.

The broadcast included in-game interviews with a kicker seconds after he missed a field goal attempt and a defender involved in a scrum that led to a penalty. Seattle’s Dillon Day dropped an F-bomb that made it to the airwaves and went viral.

On the field, the play was a mix of traditional college and pro style with some different twists.

There was no coin toss, and when Reynolds fielded the opening kickoff, he did so with everyone else on the field standing still as part of a rule implemented for safety. The clock ran for all but the time inside each two minute warning, and some other tweaks were different for players.

“It was definitely an adjustment for some of the stuff,” said Seattle’s Austin Proehl, son of former NFL receiver Ricky Proehl, who caught the first touchdown pass in the new version of the league. “It’s something we’ve got to get used to.”

With no extra point kicks, teams had the option of trying one-, two- or three-point conversions, but each coach in the first XFL game only opted for one-point attempts.

“The only difference for I think a coach calling plays is deciding to go for one, two or three,” Seattle coach Jim Zorn said. “That was surprising to me was that rule change, being able to go to one, two or three with your extra point try, there’s a lot of strategy in that.”

The full contract details have emerged for LSU coach Ed Orgeron and newly hired defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, including buyout totals, bonuses and extra supplementation, according to term sheets between the coaches and the school.

Term sheets are legally binding employment agreements, and each say the coaches and the athletic department will draw up a formal long-form agreement within 90 days that includes the agreements in the term sheet.

The long-form agreement then takes precedent and needs approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors, which next meet on March 6.

Orgeron’s new contract began on Jan. 14 and expires Dec. 31, 2025.

It has an annual salary of $6 million and includes a $5 million split-dollar life insurance policy in the first two years of the deal. In total, the contract is worth $41 million before bonuses.

The contract places Orgeron within the top five highest-paid coaches in the NCAA, according to USA Today.

It also includes $187,500 per year for personal air travel.

Orgeron’s buyout equals out to 70% of the salary remaining on the entire contract. If LSU were to terminate Orgeron’s contract in the first year, his buyout would be about $27 million; in the second year, about $21 million; in the third, $16.8 million; in the fourth, $12.6 million; in the fifth, $8.4 million; and in the final year, $4.2 million.

The payments would be made in equal monthly installments over the course of the remaining time in the contract.

Orgeron will owe LSU $6 million if he leaves for any other coaching position in the Southeastern Conference within the first four years of the contract.

If Orgeron terminates the contract for other jobs, in its first year, he must pay LSU $6 million. It decreases to a $4.5 million payment to LSU in Year 2, $3 million in Year 3, $1.5 million in Year 4, $600,000 in Year 5, to no payment in Year 6 of the contract.

All incentive compensation remains the same, except that Orgeron will receive a $200,000 bonus if the football team achieves a single-year academic progress rate score of 960 or higher.

Pelini signed his term sheet on Jan. 27, the same day news broke of his hiring.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward signed Pelini’s term sheet on Jan. 24, the Friday before, and Pelini told a told a local Ohio television station, WFMJ, that he appreciated that LSU gave him the weekend to think it over.

Woodward and Orgeron signed their term sheet on the same day.

Pelini’s contract with LSU began on Jan. 23 and it expires on March 31, 2023.

It includes a base salary of $500,000 and has a supplemental compensation of $1.8 million per year. In total, Pelini’s contract is a three-year, $2.3 million deal before bonuses.

Such a payment makes Pelini the second highest-paid assistant in the nation, below Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who just signed a new $2.5 million per year deal.

Pelini’s incentive compensation is “consistent with current LSU coordinators,” according to the term sheet.

Comparing to offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger’s contract, that would mean Pelini will receive a $25,000 bonus if he wins either the Broyles Award for nation’s top assistant or the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Pelini would also receive up to $125,000 in post-season incentive bonuses if LSU wins a national championship.

Pelini’s buyout equals out to the total amount of base salary and compensation left in his contract. If he’s fired without cause in his first year, LSU would owe him about $6.9 million; if he’s fired without cause in his second year, about $4.6 million; and his buyout would be about $2.3 million in his final year.

If Pelini leaves LSU for any Division I head coaching position or any coaching position in the NFL, he will not owe any payments to LSU.

Pelini will owe LSU 100% of the remaining contract if he leaves for any SEC coaching position other than head coach, and if Pelini leaves for any Division I non-head coaching position, he’ll owe LSU $1.15 million.

To see the article on The Advocate click here

Vanderbilt (9-13, 1-8) vs. Mississippi State (14-8, 5-4)

Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State looks for its fourth straight win over Vanderbilt at Humphrey Coliseum. The last victory for the Commodores at Mississippi State was a 72-31 win on Feb. 23, 2013.

STEPPING UP: Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry has averaged 17.1 points and 10 rebounds while Robert Woodard II has put up 12 points and 7.1 rebounds. For the Commodores, Saben Lee has averaged 16.7 points and 4.5 assists while Aaron Nesmith has put up 14.6 points.

SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Lee has directly created 52 percent of all Vanderbilt field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 25 field goals and 13 assists in those games.

WINLESS WHEN: The Bulldogs are 0-5 when they allow at least 74 points and 14-3 when they hold opponents to anything under 74 points. The Commodores are 0-10 when they score 70 points or fewer and 9-3 when they exceed 70.

TWO STREAKS: Vanderbilt has dropped its last five road games, scoring 70.4 points and allowing 82.4 points during those contests. Mississippi State has won its last four home games, scoring an average of 81.5 points while giving up 61.8.

DID YOU KNOW: Mississippi State has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 39.8 percent this year. That rate is the second-highest in Division 1. The offensive rebound percentage for Vanderbilt stands at just 26.1 percent (ranked 257th).

Florida (14-8, 6-3) vs. Mississippi (11-11, 2-7)

The Pavilion at Ole Miss, Oxford, Mississippi; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi seeks revenge on Florida after dropping the first matchup in Gainesville. The teams last played each other on Jan. 14, when the Gators outshot Mississippi from the field 54 percent to 40 percent and had six fewer turnovers en route to a 16-point victory.

SENIOR STUDS: Mississippi’s Breein Tyree, Devontae Shuler and Khadim Sy have collectively accounted for 55 percent of the team’s scoring this season and have scored 63 percent of all Rebels points over the last five games.

SEC IMPROVEMENT: The Gators have scored 71.4 points per game against SEC opponents so far, an improvement from the 70.1 per game they recorded over 13 non-conference games.

KEY FACILITATOR: Andrew Nembhard has accounted for 45 percent of all Florida field goals over the last five games. The sophomore guard has 31 field goals and 28 assists in those games.

WINLESS WHEN: Mississippi is 0-7 this year when it scores 63 points or fewer and 11-4 when it scores at least 64.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Rebels have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Gators. Mississippi has an assist on 39 of 74 field goals (52.7 percent) over its past three matchups while Florida has assists on 33 of 77 field goals (42.9 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Florida has committed a turnover on just 17.4 percent of its possessions this season, which is the second-best percentage among all SEC teams. The Gators have turned the ball over only 11.7 times per game this season and just 9.6 times per game over their last five games.

Here are a few things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:

No. 7 Duke at North Carolina. One of the biggest rivalries in college basketball will be played at the Dean Smith Center on Saturday. It’s the first of two meetings between the Tobacco Road rivals. But this meeting is unlike any in recent memory with North Carolina (10-12, 3-8) having only escaped the ACC basement on Wednesday because co-cellar-dwellers Miami and Wake Forest lost. But things could be looking up for Roy Williams’ squad with the continuing return to the lineup of Cole Anthony from knee surgery. Things haven’t clicked just yet for the Tar Heels with their top scorer back in the fold — they’ve lost both games since his return — but there’s often nothing like a showdown with the Blue Devils (19-3, 9-2) and a chance to get a huge victory to energize the arena.

LOOKING AHEAD

Neither No. 8 Florida State (plays Miami on Saturday) nor the Blue Devils will have much time to regroup before the Seminoles hit the road to play at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday night. It’s the only regular-season meeting between the teams, two of only three ranked programs in the ACC. Florida State (19-3, 9-2) heads into its home game against Hurricanes having won 12 of 13, but all three of its losses have come on the road. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, have stumbled twice at Cameron, losing to Stephen F. Austin in late November and No. 5 Louisville, the league’s top-ranked team, in mid-January.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Braxton Key of Virginia missed three games earlier in the season after wrist surgery and has been playing with a cast, and then gradually less intrusive bandaging, on his left hand for the Cavaliers’ last 12 games. The protection clearly affected his ball-handling, and his shooting, but he seems to be coming around at the right time. Following a 2-for-16 shooting debacle in victory at Wake Forest, Key scored 13 points in a home victory against the Seminoles and then added 19 (and eight rebounds) in Wednesday night’s victory against Clemson. After entering the game against the Tigers 8 for 45 on 3-point attempts, he was 4 for 6, including two in the late going when the Tigers closed to within a possession. The offensively challenged reigning national champions Cavaliers take a three-game winning streak to Louisville on Saturday.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Besides Louisville, Duke and Florida State, reigning national champion Virginia (15-6, 7-4), with one point, is the only other ACC school to get a vote in this week’s Top 25. … Duke’s Vernon Carey Jr. is on a roll heading into the Blue Devils’ big week. He averaged 26 points and 15 rebounds last week in victories against Pittsburgh and Syracuse. … Notre Dame’s John Mooney is up to 18 double-doubles for the season after a 17-point, 10-rebound effort in an 80-72 victory against Pittsburgh. The Irish (14-8, 5-6) have won three straight. … Virginia’s 51-44 victory against Clemson marked the 10th time the Cavaliers have held an opponent below 50 points this season.

ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE

Second-year coach Tina Thompson is still working to get things turned around at Virginia (9-13, 4-7), but the signs of improvement are there. One reason is the impressive play of Cavaliers senior Jocelyn Willoughby. She leads the ACC in scoring (19.3, 21st nationally), is seventh in field goal percentage (.450) and 10th in rebounding (7.9). Her free throw percentage (.872) is second in the league and 17th nationally, and she’s coming off 24 points in 27 minutes in a 57-41 victory against Syracuse on Sunday. The point total for the Orange was the lowest allowed by Virginia this year and Syracuse’s lowest since a 68-40 loss to Rutgers on Feb. 14, 2007.

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Here are a few things to watch this weekend in the Southeastern Conference

GAME OF THE WEEKEND

No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 18 LSU. With LSU absorbing it first league loss Wednesday night at Vanderbilt, Auburn (20-2, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) can move into a first-place tie with the visiting Tigers (17-5, 8-1) with a victory. LSU had its 10-game winning streak snapped with a 99-90 loss to Vanderbilt Wednesday night. Auburn has won its last five games including last weekend’s victory over No. 15 Kentucky. The game features high-scoring guards, Auburn’s Samir Doughty(15.5 points per game) and LSU’s Skylar Mays (15.3). LSU won the last meeting to snap Auburn’s three-game streak in the series.

LOOKING AHEAD

Florida is practically a forgotten team in the SEC race but is far from out of it. The Gators (14-8, 6-3) do have a fairly friendly schedule upcoming with only one game out of the next four against a team with a winning SEC mark. They’re at Ole Miss (2-7) and Texas A&M (5-4) followed by Vanderbilt (1-8) and Arkansas (4-5).

NUMBERS GAME

Vanderbilt’s upset of LSU snapped the longest regular-season SEC losing streak at 26 games. The Commodores last such win had come over Mississippi on March 3, 2018, and the skid was at 28 counting tournament games. … Kentucky’s Immanuel Quickley made all 14 of his free throw attempts in a win over Mississippi State. That tied the school record for most free throws without a miss in a game. … Next up for Kentucky is a visit to Tennessee; the Wildcats have lost all four trips to Knoxville since the Volunteers hired coach Rick Barnes. … Texas A&M snapped a three-game home losing streak, 68-51 over Missouri. The Tigers were held to a season-low 18 points in the first half. … Auburn is 8-0 in games decided by six points or less, including three that went into overtime. Two of the Tigers last three games have reached extra play. … Florida erased a 22-point, second-half deficit to beat Georgia 81-75 on Wednesday to match the biggest comeback in program history. Florida also rallied from 22 points down in a victory over South Carolina on Feb. 24, 1993. Earlier this season, the Gators beat Alabama in double overtime after trailing by 21 points.

IMPACT PERFORMER

No. 15 Kentucky’s star forward Nick Richards rebounded from a subpar outing with a huge game. Richards scored 25 of his career-high outing in the second half of the Wildcats’ 80-72 win over Mississippi State. Richards also had 11 rebounds for his 10th double double of the season. He was held to just seven points and seven rebounds in a loss to Auburn.

”He’s really one of the dominant bigs in all of college basketball,” Bulldogs coach Ben Howland said after the game.

ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE

Several top teams are dealing with injuries to key players. LSU leading scorer Ayana Mitchell suffered a season-ending left knee injury in the Tigers win over Texas A&M Sunday. Mitchell came into the game averaging 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds. She finished her career sixth on LSU’s

Rhyne Howard, the SEC’s leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, is expected to be out until mid-February with a broken finger.

Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter has been out with a sprained ankle since Jan. 9. She’s the second-leading scorer with a 21.9-point average.

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AP Sports Writers Steve Megargee and Teresa Walker contributed to this report.

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