NCAA puts Auburn hoops on 4 years probation, suspends Pearl
The NCAA has placed the Auburn menโs basketball program on four years probation for unethical conduct involving former associate head coach Chuck Person and imposed a two-game suspension on coach Bruce Pearl for failing to monitor his assistant and adequately promote compliance.
Vaccine effort turns into slog as infectious variant spreads
As case numbers decline and states reopen, the potential final stage in the U.S. campaign to vanquish COVID-19 is turning into a slog, with a worrisome variant gaining a bigger foothold and lotteries and other prizes failing to persuade many Americans to get vaccinated.
Legislator being investigated for Weinstein backdrop on Zoom
Bickford apologized, calling it "inappropriate and in poor taste." Weinstein is a former Hollywood producer who faced accusations from more than 80 women that he sexually assaulted them. (Maine Legislature via Zoom via AP)AUGUSTA, Maine โ A Maine legislator who appeared for Zoom meetings twice with a background that made a joking reference to convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein is being investigated by the Legislatureโs human resources department. Both times, Bickford quickly changed the background to a lake, which is his typical background for Zoom meetings. โIt was inappropriate and in poor taste.
UCF hires former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn to lead Knights
FILE - Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn argues a call during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama in Auburn, Ala., in this Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, file photo. Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. UCF lost both its athletic director (Danny White) and football coach (Josh Heupel) to Tennessee last month. Auburn fired Malzahn in December, paying a $22 million contract buyout to the coach, after the Tigers went 6-4 this past season.
No. 2 Baylor still undefeated after 84-72 win over Auburn
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)WACO, Texas โ This Baylor win was for Davion Mitchell, and the junior guard did his part against his former team. Mitchell swished a 3-pointer after losing a shoe and finished with 13 points and seven assists, helping the Bears stay undefeated with an 84-72 win over Auburn in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. โAnd thatโs OK, because Butler, and Teague and Davion Mitchell and Flagler are all really good,โ Pearl said. "That conversation down the court, that was pretty cool.โAHEAD TO STAYButler made two free throws with 4:50 left in the first half for a 23-22 Baylor lead. Baylor: Baylor is 7-1 in Big 12/SEC Challenge games, the best record by any team in either league in the annual showdown.
Gordon scores with 0.9 left; Texas A&M beats Auburn 68-66
COLLEGE STATION, Texas โ Andre Gordon scored 10 points including the game-winner with 0.9 seconds left as Texas A&M held off Auburn 68-66 on Saturday. Gordon drove the lane, pivoted and faked a shot before scoring off the glass. Emanuel Miller had 16 points and five rebounds for Texas A&M (6-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), which bounced back from a 77-54 loss at LSU on Tuesday. Miller leads the Aggies in scoring and rebounds, and his 9.2 rebounds is first in the SEC. Auburn (6-4, 0-2) cut a nine-point deficit with 5:34 left and tied it 66-all with 14 seconds remaining.
Ramsey leads No. 15 Northwestern past Auburn in Citrus Bowl
15 Northwesternโs defense made it stand up in a 35-19 victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl on Friday. Ramsey, a graduate transfer, totaled 291 yards passing and 50 yards rushing for Northwestern (7-2), which won its fourth straight bowl game. Auburn was led by interim coach Kevin Steele following the Dec. 13 firing of Gus Malzahn and was missing several key players. The Tigers got within 14-13 when Nix hit Elijah Canion for a 57-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. Ramsey put Northwestern ahead 14-0 on first-quarter TD passes of 35 yards to Chiaokhiao-Brown and 6 yards to Raine.
Auburn hires Boise State's Harsin to lead football program
25 San Jose State will face perennial conference powerhouse Boise State in the Mountain West championship on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus, File)Auburn hired Boise State's Bryan Harsin as its head coach on Tuesday, luring him away from his alma mater and into the powerful Southeastern Conference. โIโm incredibly excited and humbled for the opportunity to be at a place like Auburn University,โ Harsin said in a statement. Harsin has a proven track record as a head coach, more so than any Auburn coach in recent memory. Boise State won at least nine games in each of his first six seasons.
Auburn fires football coach Gus Malzahn after 8 seasons
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn listens to an official's call during the second half of the team's NCAA college football game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Starkville, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)Auburn fired football coach Gus Malzahn, ending an eight-year run that began with a trip to the national championship game. The Tigers also were upset by a struggling South Carolina, which wound up firing coach Will Muschamp during the season. โAfter evaluating the state of the Auburn football program, weโve decided that it was time to make a change in leadership," Greene said in a statement. Auburn will owe Malzahn a $21.45 million buyout for the remaining four years of a seven-year, $49 million deal.
Demoralized health workers struggle as virus numbers surge
FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2020, file photo, a health care worker wears personal protective equipment as she speaks to a patient at a mobile testing location for COVID-19 in Auburn, Maine. Doctors and nurses around the U.S. are becoming exhausted and demoralized as they struggle to cope with a record-breaking surge of COVID-19 patients that is swamping hospitals and prompting governors to clamp back down to contain the virus. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)Doctors and nurses around the U.S. are becoming exhausted and demoralized as they struggle to cope with a record-breaking surge of COVID-19 patients that is overwhelming hospitals and prompting governors to clamp back down to contain the virus. โWeโre constantly looking for beds,โ said Cassie Ban, an intensive care nurse at Indiana University Health. Each one of those numbers is the death of a person who wasnโt ready to go yet.โAlthough concerns remain about getting enough beds, masks and other equipment, many frontline health workers are most worried about staff shortages.
Mond, No. 5 Texas A&M finish strong in 31-20 win over Auburn
Kellen Mond passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the fifth-ranked Aggies scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind 31-20 victory over Auburn on Saturday. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher wasn't interested in speculating on how the win might affect his team's playoff chances. He completed 18 of 23 for 196 yards, highlighted by two TDs to Jalen Wydermyer, and ran for 60 yards. The Aggies ran for a season-high 313 yards and held a 16-minute advantage in time of possession. Auburn: Was outgained 168-21 in the fourth quarter.
No. 5 Aggies visit Auburn hoping to keep playoff hopes alive
But Auburn has won the past three meetings and the last two have come by a total of 12 points. โMore like pro football than any league in college football. That โwe belong with the big dogs, and not just in the SEC but all of college football. But Auburn is the only team in the Aggiesโ closing stretch that has a winning record, with Tennessee and Mississippi set to visit College Station in the coming weeks. โThatโs something we love to do.โ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
AP Top 25: No. 2 Alabama closes gap with Clemson; Liberty in
2 Alabama heading into a huge ACC matchup at fourth-ranked Notre Dame this week. The rest of the top five remained the same, with Ohio State at No. 1 on their ballots had Clemson third behind Ohio State. Penn State had the fourth-longest active streak behind Alabama (205), Ohio State (138) and Clemson (94). 4 Notre Dame: Another โbiggest game of the yearโ โ until the next one.
Nix finds Williams for game winner as Auburn tops Ole Miss
Auburn wide receivers Anthony Schwartz (1) and Ze'Vian Capers (80) both reach for an errant pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
SEC threatens fines, suspensions for breaking mask protocols
A Sept. 30 memo after the opening weekend of the SEC season included a reminder to coaches to be mindful of masking up and following other sideline protocols. According to the latest memo, going forward SEC schools will be โassessed a $100,000 reduction in Conference revenueโ for failure to adhere to requirements. Repeat offenders will face an increase in lost revenue by $100,000 per offense and even suspensions, the memo said. The NFL has fined several coaches $100,000 for improper use of face coverings and docked their teams $250,000. Georgia coach Kirby Smart acknowledged this week he had been talked to by the commissioner and others about keeping his mask on.
Stetson Bennett, No. 4 Georgia romp past No. 7 Auburn 27-6
7 Auburn on Saturday night in the first Top 10 matchup of the college football season. The Bulldogs (2-0) buried Auburn with a 24-0 blitz in the first half, extending their domination of the Deep South's oldest rivalry. No matter the time of year, Georgia kept the upper hand with a fourth straight victory over Auburn (1-1). The Auburn running game was no help at all, held to 39 yards and a 1.8-yard average per carry. Georgia: Coach Kirby Smart was willing to play multiple quarterbacks against Auburn, but it wasn't necessary with Bennett's performance.
Week 5 Preview: Top-25 matchups in SEC; ACC title rematch
including the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, highlights the fifth week of the college football season. 4 Georgia on Saturday night as the second month of the season starts, but only the second week of SEC play. The first of three games that decide the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy might have sneaked up on college football fans. The Falcons will play six conference games to go along with Navy and Army. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Nix, No. 8 Auburn pull away from No. 23 Kentucky, 29-13
Nix threw for 233 yards and three second-half touchdowns, including a pair to Williams, and No. 8 Auburn scored twice in the fourth quarter to pull away from No. 23 Kentucky for a 29-13 victory Saturday in the season opener. โBo made a couple of really good throws for touchdowns,โ Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. Auburn: Has to get better on third-down defense, giving up eight first downs on 10 Wildcats attempts in the first half.
US colleges struggle to salvage semester amid outbreaks
Several teams in other leagues have had to postpone games because of outbreaks among players and staff. Ron DeSantis, alarmed by what he sees as draconian rules on college campuses, said he is drawing up a โbill of rightsโ for college students. The University of Wisconsin-Madison had seen more than 2,800 confirmed cases in students as of Friday. At Kansas State University, more than 2,200 students have been placed in quarantine or isolation since class began. But Mariscano said universities should expect college students to act like college students.
Week 2 College Football Preview
SAN ANTONIO โ College football will be played around the country on Saturday and it has a chance to be a significant weekend for sorting out College Football Playoff contenders. 2 Ohio State. 11 Oklahoma State at South Alabama at 7 p.m. on ESPN2Saturday:Charlotte at No. 19 Kansas State 11 a.m. on FS SouthwestSan Jose State at Texas 2:30 p.m. on Longhorn NetworkIowa at Iowa State 11 a.m. ESPN2East Carolina at West Virginia 11 a.m. on Fox Sports 2No. 2 Ohio State (1-0).