QUICK LINKS:
RECRUITING > 4
COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 8
NFL > 20
COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 26
MLB > 34
NHL > 37
NBA > 44
NASCAR > 49
Scoreboard
College Football
Top 25
No. 2 Alabama 26, Auburn 21
No. 5 Cincinnati 49, Illinois 36
West Virginia 19, No. 8 Pittsburgh 16
No. 6 Boise State 44, Nevada 33
Dreaded December
Cowboys have NFL’s
most difficult
closing stretch
Page 20
Tiger OK,
wife ‘frantic’
after accident
College Basketball
Top 25
No. 1 Kansas 112, Tennessee Tech 75
Florida 77, No. 2 Michigan State 74
No. 7 Duke 68, No. 13 Connecticut 59
No. 8 West Virginia 73, Texas A&M 66
No. 9 Tennessee 86, Coll. of Charleston 69
No. 10 Syracuse 85, Columbia 60
No. 12 Butler 69, UCLA 67
Marquette 79, No. 15 Michigan 65
No. 19 Clemson 87, Long Beach State 79
Utah 60, No. 20 Illinois 58
Portland 61, No. 22 Minnesota 56
Northwestern 72, No. 23 Notre Dame 58
NBA
Washington 94, Miami 84
Charlotte 94, Cleveland 87
Atlanta 100, Philadelphia 86
Boston 116, Toronto 103
Dallas 113, Indiana 92
L. A. Clippers 104, Detroit 96
San Antonio 92, Houston 84
Denver 128, New York 125
Oklahoma City 108, Milwaukee 90
Phoenix 120, Minnesota 95
Memphis 106, Portland 96
Sacramento 109, New Jersey 96
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 28, 2009
SEE A DIFFERENT GAME
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 129
After he lost control of his
SUV and crashed early Friday,
Tiger Woods’ wife broke the
back window of the vehicle
with a golf club to get him
out, according to the Florida
Highway Patrol. Page 5
JOHN RAOUX / AP
Favorite rivalries
UConn comes up
short vs. Duke
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Underdogs face tough odds in pulling off shocker over their enemies
BY MATT HAYES
mhayes@sportingnews.com
Three games and counting to
determine TCU’s hopes of playing in
the BCS national championship
game.
One of those games (Florida State
at No. 1 Florida) is today; the other
two are next week in league championship games. If Florida State beats
Florida today, TCU needs the Gators
to beat Alabama next week in the
SEC championship. TCU also gets to
the title game if Texas loses to
Nebraska in the Big 12 title game.
“We aren’t out there beating our
own chests,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We just do the things
we need to do.”
But step one doesn’t look good for
the Horned Frogs. Odds don’t look
good for an upset today outside
Oklahoma:
were better defensively last year, and
gave up 409 yards rushing in a home
loss. What happens this fall with a
defense that can’t stop anyone?
ESPN tried to sell Duke vs.
Connecticut as a heavyweight
early-season matchup, but UConn
revealed it’s not quite there in a
68-59 loss Friday night at Madison
Square Garden in the NIT Season
Tip-Off final. These are some other
things we learned:
No. 11 Oklahoma State
at Oklahoma, 12: 30 p.m. (FSN)
Chances for an upset: Good. OU is
embarrassed by its five losses (a few
that would’ve happened with Sam
Bradford), and will play hard and
smart in a game that suddenly means
everything.
UConn has halfcourt issues.
Though the guards can drive it and
the bigs can crash the offensive
boards, the Huskies have neither a
3-point threat nor a true low-post
scorer. Not the ideal recipe. Does
Ater Majok fix that?
NHL
New Jersey 2, Boston 1, SO
Buffalo 4, Philadelphia 2
Minnesota 5, Colorado 3
N. Y. Islanders 3, Pittsburgh 2
Anaheim 3, Chicago 0
Atlanta 6, Carolina 4
Calgary 3, Detroit 0
Toronto 6, Florida 4
Tampa Bay 5, N. Y. Rangers 1
St. Louis 3, Nashville 1
Phoenix 5, Dallas 2
San Jose 5, Edmonton 4, SO
No. 15 Clemson
at South Carolina, noon (ESPN)
Chances for an upset: Decent. The
Gamecocks have the defense to shut
down Clemson and get off the field
without absorbing too many snaps
too early and wearing down.
MIKE STONE / AP
Chances are slim that QB Andy Dalton and
TCU will play in the BCS championship game.
BILL HABER / AP
Florida QB Tim Tebow will play his final
game at Florida Field today.
Andre Dawkins could be an
upgrade. Dawkins is not better
than Elliot Williams, who transferred
to Memphis, but is a better fit.
Dawkins is content as a reserve, so
no conflict over Nolan Smith’s promotion, and he’s a better shooter.
Georgia at No. 7 Georgia Tech
8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN2)
Chances for an upset: Slim. Dawgs
UCLA at No. 24 USC
10 p.m. (FSN)
Chances for an upset: Decent. We
still don’t know how far mentally the
Trojans have fallen after ugly losses
to Oregon and Stanford.
New Mexico at No. 4 TCU
1 p.m. (The Mtn.)
Chances for an upset: None. New
Mexico won its first game last week
against an awful Colorado State
defense. TCU, meanwhile, could
have the best defense in the country.
Florida St. at No. 1 Florida
3: 30 p.m. (CBS)
Chances for an upset: None. The
talent level between the teams is
huge, and Florida won’t let a team
with limited defensive skills end
its unbeaten season.
Duke is serious. With defense
and rebounding, the Blue Devils
beat a good team with top scorers
Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer and Smith
shooting a combined 13-of-51. You
want a piece of that?
— Mike DeCourcy
