Health issues stop Rice vs. UT
Wednesday's Rice-Texas men's basketball game in Austin has been canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Owls' program.
Texas (8-2), ranked No. 16 in the latest Associated Press poll released Monday, will instead host Alabama State at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Austin. Any tickets held for the Rice game will be valid for Wednesday's game.
Rice (7-4) is next scheduled to play at 5 p.m. on Jan. 1 at North Texas, which will be the Owls' Conference USA opener.
Other games around the nation that have been affected by COVID-19 issues include Louisville at No. 20 Kentucky on Wednesday, Evansville at SMU on Tuesday, Our Lady of the Lake at UTSA on Wednesday, Central Connecticut at Rutgers on Thursday, and Seton Hall at DePaul on Thursday. DePaul, whose issues caused the postponement, is assigned a Big East loss because it was a conference game.
NO. 1 BAYLOR 94 ALCORN STATE 57
Kendall Brown, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flo Thamba scored 16 points apiece to lead five players in double figures, and the Bears beat the Brave at Waco.
Baylor (11-0) took a 10point lead on a 3-pointer by James Akinjo with 14:31 left in the first half and never led by less than 10 after Akinjo’s layup made it 22-11 at the 11:58 mark.
Meanwhile, Baylor maintained its top spot in the Associated Press men’s poll to end a four-week streak of turnover at No. 1. The Bears rallied to win at Oregon last week and received 60 of 61 first-place votes.
NO. 3 PURDUE 79 INCARNATE WORD 59
Zach Edey and Trevion Williams combined for 25 points and 17 rebounds, helping the Boilermakers rout the Cardinals at West Lafayette, Ind.
NO. 4 GONZAGA 95 NORTHERN ARIZONA 49
Chet Holmgren had 20 points and nine rebounds, Anton Watson scored 17, and the Bulldogs beat the Lumberjacks to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 58 games.
N.C. STATE PENALIZED
North Carolina State men’s basketball program has been placed on probation for one year for NCAA recruiting violations following an independent investigation.
The Independent Resolution Panel reduced scholarships and issued penalties for violations tied to the recruitment of one-and-done player Dennis Smith Jr. The penalties included vacating victories in which Smith played; show-cause orders for former head coach Mark Gottfried and ex-assistant Orlando Early; public reprimand and censure.
Women
NO. 23 TEXAS A&M 77 UTSA 51
Aaliyah Patty had 20 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, Destiny Pitts added 14 points and the Aggies beat the Roadrunners at College Station.
Patty scored 14 points in the first quarter as A&M (10-2) built a 14-point lead. She had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, securing her double-double with eight minutes left.
NO. 21 LSU 70, CLEMSON 56
Khayla Pointer had 20 points and eight assists, Faustine Aifuwa had 13 points and 11 rebounds as LSU in the West Palm Beach (Fla.) Invitational.
LSU (10-1), which under first-year coach Kim Mulkey has surpassed last season’s win total, plays Texas Tech on Tuesday.
UCONN’S TOP-10 RUN ENDS
Connecticut’s record 16-year run in the top 10 is over.
The Huskies fell four spots to No. 11 in the Associated Press women’s after losing to Louisville a day earlier. UConn had been ranked among the first 10 teams in the poll for 313 straight weeks dating back to March 7, 2005, when the team also was 11th.
No. 10 Baylor now has the longest active streak, with 136 consecutive top-10 appearances.