BAYLOR RETAINS GRASP ON NO. 1 AS STREAK REACHES 21
Reigning national champion Baylor isn’t showing any sign of loosening its grip on No. 1.
The Bears remained the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the fourth time in five weeks. That came after Baylor (15-0) beat Oklahoma and TCU last week to push its winning streak to 21 games dating to last year’s title run in the Indianapolis bubble.
That streak is the third longest in the Big 12’s 26year history, trailing Baylor’s 23-game run in 2019-20 and Kansas’ 22-game stretch in 1996-97. The Bears enter this week as the only team in the top 10 of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rankings for both offense (120.6 points per 100 possessions) and defense (89.6).
They trailed by nine early
More college basketball
South Carolina beat two more ranked opponents to strengthen its grip on No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.
The Gamecocks topped then-No. 13 LSU and No. 21 Kentucky this past week to raise their record to 8-0 against Top 25 teams this
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Noah Tolentino
Poway | Boys wrestling Going unbeaten versus California opponents, the senior placed second in the 43rd Doc Buchanan Tournament at 148 pounds. Two of his five victories came via pins. His loss in the title match came to an Illinois wrestler.
Emmie Mallory
La Costa Canyon | Girls water polo
Scoring a whopping 20 goals in the second half of Saturday’s win at TCU, but ended up winning by double figures for the 12th time.
“I think when you’re a No. 1 team, everybody is going to look at you in situations like this,” point guard James Akinjo said. “They want to see how you respond.”
No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 3 UCLA each climbed two spots after losses by Duke and Purdue, while Auburn and USC were new additions to the top five. while picking up 12 assists in five victories, the junior led the Mavericks (17-1) to the Poseidon Invitational championship and 15th straight triumph in a 13-6 win over Poway.
JJ Sanchez Montgomery | Boys basketball A 6-foot-5 freshman, Sanchez led the Aztecs to a win over Southwest and
season. South Carolina remained the No. 1 team Monday, garnering 26 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel. Stanford and Louisville were the next two teams in the poll.
Due to COVID health and safety protocols, today’s UC San Diego men’s basketball game at UC Irvine has been canceled. Per the recently adjusted Big West policies, the game will be declared no contest and will not be rescheduled. The Tritons are scheduled to return to action at 9 p.m. Saturday at Hawai’i.
Soccer
Midfielder Gio Reyna (hamstring) and forward Tim Weah (thigh) remain uncertain for the United States’ next three World Cup qualifiers, which start Jan. 27 against El Salvador at Columbus, a league victory over Olympian. Sanchez scored 17 points with six rebounds versus Southwest, adding 13 points and eight boards versus Olympian.
Dayvis Key
San Marcos | Girls basketball Scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, the 6-foot junior led the Knights past Mission Vista, 59-56. She came back with eight points, six on free throws, and three steals in a 55-50 victory over Torrey Pines.
Ohio.
Without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United labored to a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup thanks to Scott McTominay’s early goal.
Elche ended Espanyol’s seven-game unbeaten streak at home with a 2-1 win in the Spanish league. Pere Milla scored twice in the first 15 minutes to give Elche the win and lift the team out of the relegation zone.
Sadio Mane saved Senegal with a 97th-minute penalty to beat Zimbabwe 1-0 at the African Cup of Nations. Morocco won the first meeting of heavyweights with a late goal to edge Ghana, also 1-0.
Hockey
The Gulls, in conjunction with the American Hockey
League, announced the rescheduled dates for four games that were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
The game originally scheduled for Dec. 22 vs. Stockton will be played Apr. 26; Dec. 27 vs. Ontario is now Apr. 13; Dec. 29 vs. Henderson is March 22; Jan. 5 at Henderson is April 19.
Also
Southern California sports radio station The Mightier 1090 is Southern California’s newest ESPNaffiliated station.
Effective immediately, the station will now be known as The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio.
The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio will add ESPN Radio’s live NFL, MLB and NBA broadcasts to its lineup.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a long time, and it’s incredibly satisfying to finally see it come to fruition just in time for the start of the new year,” said Bill Hagen, of The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio. “This is another very important step in us getting the Padres back home on 1090 as well.”
Don Maynard, a Hall of Fame receiver who made his biggest impact catching passes from Joe Namath in the wide-open AFL, died. He was 86.
Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence following the team’s season-ending victory Sunday in Arizona.
According to King County Court records, Smith was arrested at 2:10 a.m. Monday and was released around 9:30 a.m.