TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game’s last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It was the Bulldogs’ first game since coach Mike Leach died on Dec. 12 due to complications from a heart condition. Banks’ score came on Illinois’ fifth lateral following a completed pass after the Fighting Illini got the ball at their own 29. Will Rogers was 29 of 44 yards for 261 yards for Mississippi State. It was an emotional game full of tributes to Leach, who led the program for three years.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Abby Meyers scored 13 of her 22 points in the first quarter to help Maryland get off to a quick start and the No. 13 Terrapins defeated Rutgers 78-67. Diamond Miller had 13 of her 15 points in the second half for Maryland. Kaylene Smikle scored scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, both season bests for the freshman, to lead Rutgers. Meyers set the tone early, opening the scoring with a pair of 3-pointers. She made 5 of 7 shots with three triples and a pair of 8-0 runs helped the Terrapins lead 24-9 after one quarter.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Awa Sidibe wore the ceremonial No. 1 jersey given to coach Coquese Washington when she was hired in May after the Rutgers guard got blood on her uniform during the Scarlet Knights’ 78-67 loss to No. 13 Maryland. Officials noticed blood on Sidibe’s No. 11 jersey in the first half of the game and the only available uniform on the bench was the one given to her coach seven months ago. The senior put it on and was easy to spot because Washington’s name is on the back. All other Rutgers uniforms just have a number on the back. Sidibe wore it for a few minutes before trying to switch to a No. 5 top. Officials insisted she stay with the ceremonial jersey.
UNDATED (AP) — ESPN says the most competitive pair of semifinals in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff drew the largest New Year’s Eve viewership for games by the network. Dramatic victories by TCU over Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl and Georgia over Ohio State in Peach Bowl on Saturday drew an average of 21.7 million viewers for ESPN. The seven-point combined margin was the smallest since the postseason system started in the 2014 season. ESPN says it was the third-most watched CFP semifinals, only surpassed by the first one played on Jan. 1, 2015 and the semifinals on New Year’s Day 2018.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue solidified its No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll following UConn’s first loss of the season while No. 23 Charleston moved into the rankings for the first time in 20 years. The Boilermakers remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week. They received all but one first-place vote from a 61-person media panel in the poll released Monday. No. 2 Houston and No. 3 Kansas each moved up a spot, and No. 4 UConn dropped two spots after losing to Xavier. Arizona rounded out the top five.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina finished 2022 how it started the year at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll. Stanford, Ohio State, Notre Dame and UConn rounded out the top five. Indiana lost last week and dropped to No. 6, leaving South Carolina, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 LSU, No. 8 Utah and 24th-ranked St. John’s as the only undefeated teams left. Utah is in the top 10 for the first time ever. Duke entered the poll at No. 19 while Arkansas fell out.
