No. 1 Duke chopped down!
Lumberjacks knock off Blue Devils in overtime thriller
Nathan Bain stole the ball and hit a layup at the overtime buzzer and Stephen F. Austin knocked off No. 1 Duke 85-83 on Tuesday night.
Kevon Harris scored 26 points and Gavin Kensmil added 15 for the Lumberjacks (5-1).
They became the first nonAtlantic Coast Conference team to beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in nearly 20 years and the second unranked team to upset a No. 1ranked team on its home floor in two weeks after Evansville went into Rupp Arena and stunned Kentucky 67-64.
Vernon Carey had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils (6-1), who had 22 turnovers and were just 11 of 24 from the free-throw line in the second half.
Duke had the ball in the closing seconds of overtime, but Tre Jones missed a jumper with about 15 seconds left and Wendell Moore rebounded it. Hounded by the Lumberjacks' high-pressure defense, Hurt threw the ball away in a scramble with about 3 seconds left and it went to Bain — who went the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup that ended Duke's 150game winning streak against nonconference opponents.
OHIO STATE NO. 1 IN CFP RANK
Ohio State jumped LSU to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings with two weeks left to go before selection Sunday.
LSU slipped to second Tuesday night and Clemson remained third while Georgia held on at four. If playoff history holds form, three of those top four teams will reach the semifinals.
Alabama remained No. 5 in the selection committee's third rankings, with Utah moving up a spot to No. 6. The Utes are the only Pac-12 team in the top 10 after Oregon dropped eight spots to 14th.
Oklahoma is seventh followed by Minnesota, Baylor and Penn State.
In each of the first five years of the playoff, three of the top four teams in the rankings heading into rivalry weekend reached the semifinals, including the No. 1 team every time.
Now that spot belongs to the Buckeyes.
Ohio State beat Penn State last week 28-17, its third victory of the season against team currently ranked along with No. 12 Wisconsin and No. 18 Cincinnati. LSU has beaten No. 5 Alabama, No. 11 Florida and No. 15 Auburn.
HILL HAS ELBOW SURGERY
Free agent left-hander Rich Hill had surgery on his pitch- ing elbow and is likely to miss the first half of next season, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Hill's surgery was not announced.
Rather than have Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Hill had what is called primary revision surgery, the person said. This type of surgery usually requires a shorter recovery time, and Hill is expected to start throwing by the end of April, the person said.
Hill, who turns 40 in March, had Tommy John surgery while with Boston in 2011.
He was 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 13 starts this year for the Los
Angeles Dodgers, completing a $48 million, three-year contract. He was sidelined between June 19 and Sept. 12 with a strained flexor tendon in his pitching forearm and then in his first start back felt right knee pain that delayed his next outing until Sept. 24. Hill started Game 4 of the Division Series against Washington and did not get a decision, allowing one run over 2 2/3 innings in a 6-1 defeat.
Hill was 30-16 with a 3.16 ERA with the Dodgers, who acquired him from Oakland on Aug. 1, 2016. He is 65-42 in 15 big league seasons.
His surgery was first reported by WEEI. The operation was done by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas of Andrew Sports Medicine.
NCAA UPHOLDS MISSOURI BAN
The NCAA rejected an appeal by the University of Missouri to limit or overturn sanctions for infractions tied to the case of a former tutor Tuesday, angering school officials and leaving in place postseason bans in three high-profile sports along with other restrictions.
The school had filed a 64page brief to the NCAA's appeals committee in March, arguing that the penalties handed down Jan. 31 were contrary to precedent, not supported or appropriate given the nature of the allegations and could have a chilling effect on future NCAA enforcement.
The five-member NCAA infractions appeals committee rejected those assertions, and said in its decision Tuesday that it was “hesitant to overturn a penalty within the appropriate penalty guidelines unless there is a clear indication of arbitrary decision-making.”
“Last night when we received the decision, obviously very disappointed and then shock set in. Now I'm just angry,” athletic director Jim Sterk said at the Sprint Center, where the Missouri men's basketball team was playing in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Classic. “I'm angry because of our studentathletes and coaches who were wrongly affected by this decision.”
The Tigers' basketball programs were not involved in the case.
FLAMES’ PETERS ON LEAVE DURING INVESTIGATION
Bill Peters' status as the Calgary Flames coach — and whatever future he might have in the sport — have been placed into question while the NHL and the team investigate allegations he directed racist slurs at a Nigerian-born player in the minors 10 years ago.
Asking for patience, general manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday that Peters remains with the Flames after the allegations raised by Akim Aliu on social media a day earlier. Peters, who has not commented, stayed at the team hotel and was not with the Flames as they practiced for Wednesday night's game in Buffalo.
Aliu alleged Peters “dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn't like my choice of music.” It happened during the 2009-10 season while the two were with the Chicago Blackhawks minorleague affiliate in Rockford, Illinois.
Treliving called the alleged comments “repulsive.”
“Allegations of this nature, we take very, very seriously. This is subject matter that has no place in our organization,” Treliving said. “Now it's my job to find out exactly what's taken place.”