COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Johnathan Motley had 21 points with 16 rebounds and No. 9 Baylor ended a two-game slide with a 60-54 victory over Oklahoma to remain tied for second place in the Big 12. Baylor held on despite not making a field goal in the last 6 minutes. The Bears stayed even with No. 12 West Virginia and Iowa State in the conference standings with three games left in the regular season. Baylor’s Big 12 title hopes likely ended with a 67-65 home loss Saturday to No. 3 Kansas.
No. 11 Kentucky posted a 72-62 road win at Missouri. Bam Adebayo’s fourth double-double of the season as the freshman scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Terrence Phillips led Missouri with a career-high 22.
KeVaughn Allen scored 26 points and No. 13 Florida beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 81-66. Devin Robinson added 14 points for Florida, which won its ninth consecutive game and locked up one of the top four seeds in the upcoming SEC Tournament. The Gators are 23-5 overall and 13-2 in the SEC.
Ryan Cline scored six of his 11 points in overtime to lift No. 14 Purdue to a 74-70 victory over Penn State. Cline hit consecutive 3-pointers to secure his team’s sixth straight win. Purdue is 23-5 overall and 12-3 in Big Ten.
NBA
Magic Johnson is now running the basketball side of things for the Los Angeles Lakers. Owner Jeanie Buss has named the former Laker great as the new president of basketball operations after firing general manager Mitch Kupchak and her brother Jim, who had been the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations. The moves come just days before the NBA’s trade deadline. The Lakers are in the midst of the worst four-year stretch in the team’s history, including a 19-39 record this season. Kupchak was the Lakers general manager since 2000. The team has started the search for a new GM. First year coach Luke Walton got a vote of confidence from Buss.
The Lakers have swung their first deal of the Magic Johnson Era, agreeing to send Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer and a future draft pick. Brewer’s agent Wallace Prather confirmed the terms of the trade. Williams led the Lakers in scoring at 18.6 points per game, playing off the bench. Brewer was averaging 4.2 points for Houston. Williams announced he was leaving Los Angeles on Twitter, saying “Thanx for the love L.A., I’ve enjoyed my stay.”
MLB
Major League Baseball has served notice is may circumvent the players union in order to make some rules changes. Commissioner Rob Manfred says steps are being taken to clear the way to unilaterally change the strike zone, install pitch clocks and limit trips to the pitcher’s mound starting in 2018. The collective bargaining agreement requires baseball to get union approval before making rule changes, unless it gives the union a one-year notice. Manfred has served notice the league intends to do that. Union head Tony Clark recently indicated opposition to the proposed changes for this season.
(Story Sources: Associated Press)