— Buccaneers 16, Panthers 14
This game was played in a rainy quagmire in Tampa.
Both teams are now 8-9, tied for first in NFC South.
If Atlanta wins Sunday, it creates a 3-way tie; Carolina would advance
If New Orleans wins Sunday, Tampa Bay would advance.
Tampa Bay was 8-15 on third down, Carolina 1-8 (2-2 on 4th down)
Panthers ran the ball 14 times for only 19 yards.
Chase McLaughlin kicked field goals of 29-36-48 yards.
Just second win in last nine games for the Buccaneers.
— Seahawks 13, 49ers 3
Seattle wins NFC West, gets a first round bye in the playoffs.
Seahawks outgained San Francisco 361-173.
Seattle ran for 180 yards, didn’t score TD in three trips to red zone.
K Myers was only 2-4 on field goals; he had made 18 in a row coming in.
49ers will be #6-seed if Rams win Sunday, #5-seed if Arizona wins.
49ers’ first three drives: 12 plays, 39 yards, no points.
Seattle’s first four drives: 34 plays, 187 yards, 10 points.
Seahawks were 6-13 on third down, San Francisco 2-9.
— College Basketball Upsets of the Day:
Providence (+12) 77, St John’s 71
Mississippi State (+9.5) 101, Texas 98
Cal-Bakersfield (+9.5) 81, Cal-Davis 79
Georgia State (+8.5) 89, Coastal Carolina 71
James Madison (+8.5) 78, Arkansas State 74
Monmouth (+8.5) 62, Towson 48
Western Carolina (+8.5) 80, Furman 77 OT
There were 18 teams that won Saturday, after trailing by 10+ points. Lot of comebacks.
— SEC basketball
Alabama 89, Kentucky 74
Crimson Tide led 50-34 at halftime.
Alabama shot 15-38 on the arc; Kentucky was 4-19.
Alabama is 11-3; they’ve played the toughest schedule in country so far.
Arkansas 86, Tennessee 75
Vols led by 5 with 12:29 left in the game.
Arkansas was 29-33 on foul line, Tennessee 12-23
Acuff had 29 points, 4 assists for the Razorbacks.
Georgia 104, Auburn 100 OT
Georgia shot 63.9% inside the arc.
Dawgs have won seven games in a row, are 13-1, vs schedule #321.
Georgia’s only loss was in OT to Clemson, on a neutral floor.
KenPom has four SEC teams ranked in the country’s top 30.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had SEC getting 9 teams in NCAA’s.
— Big X
BYU 83, Kansas State 73
Freshman AJ Dybansas had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 7 turnovers.
K-State shot 3-21 on the arc.
BYU has won 10 in a row, is 13-1 against schedule #51.
Central Florida 81, Kansas 75
Knights have won 11 in a row, are a very quiet 12-1 team.
UCF is #5 team in country on the offensive boards.
Kansas star Peterson had 26 points in 23:00; only third game he’s played since November 11th.
Houston 67, Cincinnati 60
Bearcats led by 10 early in the second half.
Freshman G Flemings had 19 points, 6 assists, 5 steals.
Cougars have won seven in a row, are 13-1 vs schedule #106.
KenPom has five Big X teams ranked in the country’s top 20.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had Big X getting 8 teams in NCAA’s.
— Big East
Providence 77, St John’s 71
Red Storm led 15-2 early on, 39-32 at halftime.
6-9 senior Ejiofor was 14-23 on foul line. One guy; 23 foul shots.
First win for Providence in seven games vs top 100 teams.
Villanova 85, Butler 67
Villanova shot 67.6% inside the arc.
Butler is 1-3 in Big East games, giving up 90.8 ppg.
Villanova has won five in a row, is 12-2 vs schedule #49.
KenPom has only three Big East teams ranked in the country’s top 40.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had Big East getting 5 teams in NCAA’s.
— Big 18
Iowa 74, UCLA 61
Hawkeyes led 38-14 early in the game.
6-4 senior Stirtz scored 27 points, had 5 assists.
Iowa shot 66.7% inside the arc, scored 1.19 ppp.
KenPom has six Big 18 teams ranked in the country’s top 25.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had Big 18 getting 10 teams in NCAA’s.
— ACC
SMU 97, North Carolina 83
Game was 39-39 at halftime; SMU scored 58 points in 2nd half.
SMU shot 14-27 on the arc, scored 1.40 ppp.
Mustangs are 12-2 (5-2 vs top 100 teams) vs schedule #88.
Duke 91, Florida State 87
Duke was 23-25 on foul line, Seminoles 11-16.
Florida State shot 61% inside arc; they led by 4 points early in second half.
Duke is 13-1; their only loss was 82-81 to #20 Texas Tech.
KenPom has four ACC teams ranked in the country’s top 30.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had ACC getting 8 teams in NCAA’s.
— Famous birthdays, January 4th:
Dyan Cannon, 89
Charlie Manuel, 82
Dave Foley, 63
Ted Lilly, 50
Eric Weddle, 41
Scott Sizemore, 41
Kevin Pillar, 37
Kris Bryant, 34
Michael Lorenzen, 32
Reynaldo Lopez, 32
Derrick Henry, 32
Victor Wembanyama, 32
— Charlotte 104, Wichita State 100, 2OTs
Wichita led by 18 in 2nd half, by 5 with 0:19 left in regulation.
Charlotte was 29-38 on foul line, scored 1.39 ppp.
Charlotte is 7-8; their last two wins were in overtime.
— Ohio U 68, Eastern Michigan 67
Eagles led 35-15 early on, 32-15 at halftime.
Ohio U outscored them 53-35 in second half.
Bobcats have won 7 of last 8 games, after a 1-6 start.
— Bowling Green 101, UMass 100 OT
Falcons trailed by 7 with 0:54 left in regulation.
6-2 senior Campbell was 20-27 on the foul line, scored 47 points.
Bowling Green is 8-4 vs D-I teams (schedule #283).
— Toronto Blue Jays signed 3B Kazuma Okamoto to a 4-year, $60M contract; down the road, he is seen as more of a 1B than 3B, but with Vladimir Guerrero entrenched at 1B, seems like he’ll be a 3B or DH for now.
