COLLEGE FOOTBALL – PLAYOFF RANKINGS

• Clemson is No. 1, followed by Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin in the last College Football Playoff rankings before the semifinals are set by the selection committee on Sunday. Alabama fell from No. 1 to fifth after losing to Auburn and Georgia was sixth. Miami is seventh and Ohio State is eighth. A potentially controversial choice between the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes looms.

 

• The University of Florida has worked out a buyout with former football coach Jim McElwain, who will receive $7.5 million across six payments between now and 2021. The first installment will be a $3.75 million transition payment Friday. McElwain’s original buyout would have been a little more than $12.5 million, an amount the team and coach negotiated after he failed to produce evidence of alleged death threats in late October.

 

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

• Second-ranked Kansas has continued its best start in seven seasons. Devonte Graham scored a career-high 35 points and the Jayhawks improved to 6-0 by thrashing Toledo 96-58. Svi Mykhailiuk added 15 points on five 3-pointers for Kansas, which built a 59-30 lead by halftime and pushed the advantage to more than 50. Malik Newman added 17 points and contributed to a 30-2 run that put the Jayhawks well in control before halftime.

 

• Eighth-ranked Wichita blew out Savannah State 112-66 behind a season-high 31 points from Samajae Haynes-Jones. Darral Willis had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Shockers, who played the second half without leading scorer Landry Shamet after he re-injured his right ankle.

 

• J.P. Macura scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half of No. 21 Xavier’s 76-63 home win against 16th-ranked Baylor. The Musketeers opened a 21-8 lead, bounced back from their only loss of the season and handed the Bears their first setback.

 

• Vince Edwards scored 15 points and Carsen Edwards and Dakota Mathias spurred a late run to send Purdue past 17th-ranked Louisville 66-57 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Boilermakers went on an 11-4 spurt down the stretch and won their first game since their 41-week streak in the Top 25 ended.
• Wednesday’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge Schedule: Penn State at NC State, Clemson at Ohio State, Michigan at #13 North Carolina, #10 Miami at #12 Minnesota, Boston College at Nebraska, #1 Duke at Indiana

NFL

• Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree and Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib have had their suspensions reduced from two to one game on appeal. The pair was punished for their fight during Sunday’s game at Oakland. The fight was a continuation of a dispute that started last season when Talib ripped Crabtree’s chain off during the season finale.

 

• The offensive line has been horrible, the receiving corps has been decimated and the play-calling has been second-guessed. And with that, the New York Giants have decided a quarterback change is in order after the team fell to 2-9 with a lackluster 20-10 loss to Washington on Thanksgiving night. Eli Manning has been benched after starting every game since the middle of his rookie season 13 years ago. The Giants will go with Geno Smith, who washed out with the New York Jets after being taken in the second round of the 2013 draft out of West Virginia. Coach Ben McAdoo says he gave the 36-year-old Manning the option of starting to keep his streak of 210 consecutive starts alive, but the two-time Super Bowl MVP didn’t want any part of that. Only Brett Favre has started more consecutive games among NFL quarterbacks in league history.

NBA

• The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to continue their winning streak despite the first ejection of LeBron James’ NBA career. Kevin Love poured in 32 of his 38 points in the first half as the Cavs won their ninth in a row, downing the Miami Heat 108-97. Love scored 22 in the opening period and helped Cleveland build a 27-point lead before halftime. James delivered 21 points before he was hit with a pair of technicals and tossed from the game with 1:59 left in the third quarter. It was his first ejection in 1,082 games.

 

• Otto Porter capped his 22-point performance by nailing a go-ahead, 22-footer with 25 seconds left to lead the Wizards past the Timberwolves 92-89. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota.

 

• Giannis Antetokounmpo  scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter of the Bucks’ second win in five games 112-87 at Sacramento. Eric Bledsoe had 21 points, five assists and five rebounds for the Bucks, who led by as many as 36 despite not scoring a second-chance point.

 

• Derrick Favors scored 24 points and rookie Donovan Mitchell added 16 as the Jazz matched a season high with their third straight victory, a 106-77 rout of the Nuggets. Utah trailed by one before opening the second half on a 20-6 run.

 

• The Bulls have a six-game losing streak and a league-worst 3-16 record after Devin Booker’s 33 points carried the Suns to a 104-99 win at Chicago. T.J. Warren scored 25 and Alex Len tied a career high with 18 boards to help Phoenix outrebound the Bulls 57-41.