ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh shook up his coaching staff after his contract at Michigan was reworked last winter. It has seemed to work because the Wolverines are ranked sixth in the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings. Harbaugh desperately hopes the many changes he made helps Michigan finally beat Ohio State on Saturday. The second-ranked Buckeye are favored to win by more than a touchdown. They have won eight straight and 15 of 16 against the Wolverines.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Saunders Jr. scored 20 points, Jeremiah Davenport added 19 and Cincinnati overcame an early 15-point deficit to blow out No. 14 Illinois 71-51 in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic. The Bearcats trailed 23-8 in the opening minutes before charging back to take a 34-31 lead at the break. They ultimately stretched the lead to more than 20 early in the second half before coasting into the title game. They’ll play the winner of No. 13 Arkansas and Kansas State on Tuesday night. Kofi Cockburn returned from his suspension to lead the Illini with 18 points and seven rebounds.
UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga and UCLA continue their hold on the top two spots in The Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll, setting the stage for their highly anticipated showdown this week. Purdue also received a first-place vote to leap past Kansas into third, with the Jayhawks and Duke rounding out the first five. Purdue and Baylor moved up three spots within the top 10, and Alabama moved up four spots to forge a tie with SEC rival Kentucky. The biggest drop came with Michigan, which was fourth before a pair of losses sent coach Juwan Howard’s crew tumbling all the way to No. 20. Arizona, Seton Hall, BYU and Xavier entered the poll this week.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nate Watson scored 16 points to lead five in double figures as undefeated Providence never trailed and beat previously unbeaten Northwestern 77-72 in the Roman Legends Classic. Providence (5-0) advances to play Virginia in the tournament championship on Tuesday. Jared Bynum scored 15 points for the Friars. Brycen Goodine added 12 points and Noah Horchler and Al Durham had 11 apiece. Boo Buie scored 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting to lead Northwestern (4-1). Pete Nance added 20 points. Northwestern pulled within five points inside the final minute, with Buie’s 3-pointer getting the Wildcats to 75-70 with 12 seconds to play.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Kyle Jenkins made a deep 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining and Lafayette collected its first win with a 53-51 victory over Rutgers. Ron Harper Jr. hit a 3-pointer in transition with 30 seconds left to give Rutgers a 51-50 lead. Jenkins made the game-winner following a Lafayette timeout and with 0.3 seconds separating the shot and game clock. Leo O’Boyle scored 18 points to lead Lafayette (1-4). Cliff Omoruyi had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Rutgers (3-2), which shot 29% (16 of 56) overall and missed 22 of 26 3-point attempts.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez will miss the Cornhuskers’ season finale against 17th-ranked Iowa because of a shoulder injury. That word from coach Scott Frost. Redshirt freshman Logan Smothers will make his first start Friday. Martinez was injured in the first half against Wisconsin on Saturday and was able to finish the game. Martinez had a more thorough examination when the team returned to Lincoln. Martinez is 15-23 as the Cornhuskers’ fourth-year starter. He has not announced if he will return in 2022 to use the extra year of eligibility the NCAA is allowing because of the pandemic.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Johnny Davis scored 21 points, Brad Davison added 19 and Wisconsin opened the Maui Invitational with a 69-58 victory over Texas A&M. Wisconsin started slow and limped to the finish, but used two big runs in between to earn a spot in Tuesday’s semifinals against Oregon or Chaminade. Texas A&M got off to a strong start and shut the Badgers down late, but fell into too big of a hole to mount a comeback. Quenton Jackson led the Aggies with 15 points.
