KENTUCKY GETS NEW YEAR’S DAY GAME VS IOWA
Bowl bids were handed out yesterday and Kentucky will get a New Year’s Day game, as the 9-3 Cats will face 10-3 Iowa in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. 6-6 Louisville will play Air Force in the First Responder Bowl on December 28. Tennessee will play Purdue in the Music City Bowl on December 30. WKU will take on Appalachian State on December 18 in the Boca Raton Bowl. Memphis will play Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl and Middle Tennessee will play Toledo in the Bahamas Bowl.
RACERS DOWN MIDDLE TENNESSEE; GOVS AND BRUINS WIN
Trae Hannibal scored 19 points off the bench as Murray State defeated Middle Tennessee 93-87 on Saturday night in a game pitting the teams with the best record in the OVC and CUSA against one another. KJ Williams and Juice Hill added 18 points apiece for the Racers, who improved to 7-1. Josh Jefferson scored a career-high 31 points for the 7-2 Blue Raiders. The Racers return to action Friday night at nationally-ranked Memphis. Tonight, we will talk about the games at 6 pm on Hey Coach, live from the Big Apple Grill and Bar on Froggy 103.7. In OVC men’s games yesterday, Austin Peay crushed Milligan 98-55, and Belmont downed Samford 85-73.
RACER WOMEN FALL AT SAMFORD
The Murray State women’s basketball team saw its five-game win streak end Saturday as it fell on the road to Samford, 75-66. Samford scored 19 points off of 19 Racer turnovers and MSU was outrebounded for just the second-time this season. Macey Turley led Murray State with 16 points. The Racers return to action when they host North Alabama on December 14.
SATURDAY HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS ROUNDUP
In high school basketball, the Murray High boys opened the season with an 82-53 win over Robertson County at Marshall County Hoopfest behind 25 points from Grant Whitaker. Also on Saturday, the Calloway County boys got 16 points from Conner Lockhart in a 55-44 neutral site win over Owensboro Catholic. The Calloway girls hosted Whitesville Trinity and came away with a 65-48 win behind 19 points each from Sayler Lowe and Madison Futrell. The Murray High girls dropped to 0-3 with a 47-23 loss at Massac County. Tonight, the Murray High girls are at Mayfield, and coverage begins at 7 on WNBS AM and FM.
BELL SETS MSU RECORD IN 300 METERS
Murray State Women’s Track & Field opened indoor season in Pittsburg, Kansas on Saturday competing in Boo Rogers Combine Events and Crimson and Gold Invite. Kayla Bell ran a school record in the 300 meters with her time of 39.34 seconds. Amirr Evans had the Racers’ lone win in the 800 meters with a time of 2:15.11.
FORMER TSU GREAT DIES
A Pro Football Hall of Famer from Tennessee is being mourned. Claude Humphrey died unexpectedly Friday night in Memphis. Humphrey was selected with the third overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons out of Tennessee State in 1968. He played eleven seasons with the Falcons before moving on to the Eagles in 1979 and played on the 1980 Philadelphia team that reached the Super Bowl.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The final College Football Playoff rankings are out, meaning the national semifinal matchups are set. Alabama reclaimed the top spot in the last rankings of the season after upsetting previous-number one Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. The Bulldogs dropped to third behind Michigan, which remains second in the rankings after winning the Big Ten title. Cincinnati held on to the fourth and final playoff spot after winning the AAC championship.
The Oklahoma Sooners are dipping into the ACC to find their next football coach. OU has named Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables their next head football coach. He replaces Lincoln Riley, who bolted Norman to take over at USC. He’s been part of three national championships including one with the Sooners in 2000.
In the first year where players from the Negro Leagues have the chance to be enshrined in Cooperstown, two are being elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Buck O’Neil and Bud Fowler are breaking the barrier and earning the nods into the Hall of Fame. Seven Negro League and pre-Negro League players were considered for induction this year. O’Neil played 10 seasons for the Memphis Red Sox and Kansas City Monarchs, while Fowler played in the late 1800’s.
Viktor Hovland is holding on for a close win at the PGA Hero World Challenge. Hovland shot a 66 in the final round to finish 18-under for the tournament win. Scottie Scheffler was a stroke behind at 17-under. Sam Burns and Patrick Reed would tie for third as both finished 15-under for the tournament.
SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NFL
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, Atlanta Falcons 17
Arizona Cardinals 33, Chicago Bears 22
Los Angeles Chargers 41, Cincinnati Bengals 22
Detroit Lions 29, Minnesota Vikings 27
Miami Dolphins 20, New York Giants 9
Philadelphia Eagles 33, New York Jets 18
Indianapolis Colts 31, Houston Texans 0
Washington Football Team 17, Las Vegas Raiders 15
Los Angeles Rams 37, Jacksonville Jaguars 7
Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Baltimore Ravens 19
Seattle Seahawks 30, San Francisco 49ers 23
Kansas City Chiefs 22, Denver Broncos 9
NBA
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Utah Jazz 109, Cleveland Cavaliers 108
Charlotte Hornets 130, Atlanta Hawks 127
Toronto Raptors 102, Washington Wizards 90
Houston Rockets 118, New Orleans 108
NHL
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Tampa Bay Lightning 7, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 6, San Jose Sharks 4
Chicago Blackhawks 3, New York Islanders 2 (SO)
Winnipeg Jets 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 3
Los Angeles Kings 5, Edmonton Oilers 1
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Calgary Flames 2
NCAA Men’s Basketball (Top-25 Coaches Poll)
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#11 Arizona Wildcats 90, Oregon State Beavers 65
#5 UCLA Bruins at Washington Huskies (Postponed)
PGA
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Hero World Challenge (at Albany, Bahamas)
1. Viktor Hovland (-18)
2. Scottie Scheffler (-17)
T3. Sam Burns (-15)
T3. Patrick Reed (-15)
>>MONDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NFL
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8:15 p.m. – New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets
7:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder at Detroit Pistons
7:00 p.m. – Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers
7:30 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Miami Heat
8:00 p.m. – Denver Nuggets at Chicago Bulls
8:00 p.m. – Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks
8:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at Minnesota Timberwolves
9:00 p.m. – San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns
10:00 p.m. – Orlando Magic at Golden State Warriors
10:00 p.m. – LA Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Colorado Avalanche at Philadelphia Flyers
7:00 p.m. – Anaheim Ducks at Washington Capitals
7:00 p.m. – Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils
8:30 p.m. – Arizona Coyotes at Dallas Stars
10:00 p.m. – Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks
10:00 p.m. – Pittsburgh Penguins at Seattle Kraken
NCAA Men’s Basketball (Top-25 Coaches Poll)
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6:00 p.m. – #12 Florida Gators host Texas Southern Tigers
8:00 p.m. – #14 Houston Cougars host Alcorn State Braves
