BANGOR — Drew Sachs came off the bench and scored 23 points to help Bates top Husson 82-80 in men’s basketball on Monday night.
Stephon Baxter had 16 points and 10 assists for the double-double and Simon McCormick posted 13 and six rebounds for the Bobcats (4-3), who overcame a four-point halftime deficit to win its second straight. Omar Sarr had six points and 10 rebounds as a reserve.
Justin Thompson led Husson (4-4) with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Cam Wood put up 13 with 14 rebounds. DJ Bussey added 13 points and Justice Kendall had 12.
POLL: Baylor won the national championship last season without ever reaching No. 1 in the AP Top 25.
The Bears are there now.
Baylor took advantage of Purdue’s last-second loss to Rutgers last week to become the fourth team at No. 1 in the past four weeks. The Bears earned every vote from a 61-member national media panel to reach the top spot in the poll for the first time since a four-week run ended on Feb. 17, 2020.
The Bears (9-0) were followed by former No. 1s Duke and Purdue along with UCLA and Gonzaga, which began the season atop the poll and spent the first two weeks there before losses to the Blue Devils and Alabama in a span of three games.
Baylor has won a nation-leading 15 consecutive games, none by fewer than eight points, including its memorable 86-70 win over Gonzaga in April for the national title. The Bears also had wins over Stanford, Arizona State and Michigan State to start this season before suffocating then-No. 6 Villanova in a 57-36 victory on Sunday.
The Crimson Tide led the second five in the AP poll, climbing three spots after beating then-No. 14 Houston on Saturday. They were followed by Kansas, unbeaten Arizona, Villanova and undefeated Southern California.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BATES 65, HUSSON 48: Meghan Graff scored 22 points as the Bobcats (7-1) beat the Eagles at Bangor.
Graff had five rebounds and six assists. Brianna Gadaleta chipped in 15 points and three rebounds for Bates.
Bailey Donovan led Husson with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Sophia McVicar had 10 points.
UCONN: Sophomore Mir McLean has left the program and will transfer, UConn Coach Geno Auriemma announced.
McLean, a little-used reserve from Maryland, played in 27 games at UConn and averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds. A former McDonald’s All-American in high school, the 5-foot-11 forward played eight minutes this season, did not score and had two rebounds.
“Mir is extremely smart and athletic and she has a lot of potential,” Auriemma said. “We wish Mir and her family the best as she continues her collegiate career.”
She is the second player to leave UConn this fall. Freshman Saylor Poffenbarger announced last month that she is transferring to Arkansas.
POLL: UConn dropped four spots to No. 7 in the women’s AP Top 25, its lowest ranking in 14 years after losing its first game against an unranked team since 2012.
The Huskies fell to Georgia Tech last week in its first game without sophomore star Paige Bueckers, who is sidelined for at least six weeks with a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee. The Huskies have not been ranked this low since Jan. 22, 2007, when they were also seventh.
South Carolina remained the unanimous top choice after holding off then-No. 8 Maryland on Sunday. The Gamecocks received all 30 votes from a national media panel and have now beaten four teams that were ranked in the top 10 this season. The Gamecocks visit No. 15 Duke on Wednesday.
N.C. State was again second in the poll, followed by Stanford, Arizona and Baylor. The Wildcats now have their best ranking ever at No. 4.
FOOTBALL
MICHIGAN STATE: Coach Mel Tucker said he was uncertain whether All-America running back Kenneth Walker will play for 11th-ranked Spartans against No. 13 Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl.
The Big Ten Coach of the Year said Walker is battling through some things. The transfer from Wake Forest played through an ankle injury for much of the season.
Michigan State will face the Panthers in a New Year’s Six bowl on Dec. 30 in Atlanta.
ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Alabama teammates Will Anderson Jr. and Jameson Williams have been selected All-Americans by The Associated Press, giving the top-ranked Crimson Tide more players on the first team than any other school.
The AP All-America team, presented by Regions Bank, was selected by a panel of Top 25 college football poll voters.
Young became the fourth Alabama player, and first Tide quarterback, to win the Heisman on Saturday night. Anderson, who leads the nation in sacks with 15.5, was fifth in the Heisman voting.
Alabama (12-1) will face No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0) in the College Football Playoff semifinals Dec. 31.
The Tide will bring five players who received AP All-American honors into their playoff game. Tackle Evan Neal made the second team and safety Jordan Battle was a third-team selection.
Cincinnati is represented on the first team by cornerback Ahmad Gardner, who was a second-team All-American last season. Fellow Bearcats cornerback Coby Bryant made the second team.
The other playoff semifinal on New Year’s Eve, No. 2 Michigan (12-1) against No. 3 Georgia (12-1), will feature four more first-team All-Americans.
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the Heisman runner-up, and kicker Jake Moody are All-Americans for the Wolverines. Georgia’s top-ranked defense is represented by defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean.
Michigan linebacker David Ojabo was chosen for the second team and running back Hassan Haskins was a third-team selection.
Georgia matched Alabama with five players across the three teams. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and freshman tight end Brock Bowers made the second team and safety Lewis Cine was a third-team choice.
Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett made the second team and fellow Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud from Ohio State was the third-team QB.
Iowa State running back Breece Hall is the only player to repeat as a first-team AP All-American this season.
Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum and Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green each were first-team selections this season after making the second team in 2020.
Kentucky tackle Darian Kinnard and Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux went from third-team in 2020 to first-team in 2021.
The AP added two players, one on each side of the ball, to the teams this year, the first change to the All-America structure since 2006. To reflect a game that features more passing than ever before – plus more schools playing major college football – the offenses now feature three receivers and the defenses include an extra defensive back.
With more receiver spots to fill, Ohio State became the first school to have three wideouts earn All-America honors in the same season. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson made the second team and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a third-team pick.
Add in Alabama’s Williams, an Ohio State transfer, and four receivers who played for the Buckeyes in 2020 made the AP All-America teams.
The Buckeyes led all schools, placing eight players on the three teams. Joining the three receivers and Stroud were offensive linemen Thayer Munford and Nichola Petit-Frere, defensive lineman Haskell Garrett and kicker Noah Ruggles, who all made the second team.
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