Here is the latest ACC sports news from The Associated Press
By AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Six former Florida State basketball players are suing Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton and alleging he failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in name, image and likeness compensation. Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley filed suit Monday in Leon County Circuit Court. The former players allege Hamilton promised them the money from his “business partners.” The lawsuit says they walked out of a practice last season over the missed payments and intended to boycott a game against Duke. The suit says they ended up playing amid a guarantee they would be paid but never were. The university says it’s still investigating but knows of “no unfulfilled commitments by FSU.”
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Harrison Bailey is expected to start at quarterback for Louisville in the Sun Bowl against Washington. That means there won’t be a final trip to Texas for Tyler Shough before he pursues an NFL career. Before his final college season with the Cardinals, Shough spent three injury-plagued years at Texas Tech following his transfer from Oregon. Shough’s opt-out of Tuesday’s game against the Huskies opened the door for Bailey. Freshman QB Demond Williams Jr. is set to start for Washington. He followed first-year coach Jedd Fisch from Arizona.
UNDATED (AP) — The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are here and six of the eight teams are no strangers to the big stage. Boise State and Arizona State are out to show they belong. They’re top-four seeds as conference champions and both are double-digit underdogs. The Broncos arrived for Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl wearing T-shirts saying “Please Count Us Out” in capital letters. Penn State is an 11-point favorite. Texas is a 12 1/2-point favorite against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Wednesday. Other New Year’s playoff games are Ohio State-Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame-Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
UNDATED (AP) — Tennessee remains at No. 1 after a quiet holiday week in the AP Top 25. The Volunteers received 41 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel in the Associated Press men’s college poll. No. 2 Auburn had 20 first-place votes, with Iowa State, Duke and Alabama rounding out the top five. The Tigers gained ground on Tennessee’s No. 1 spot last week and did it again this week despite not playing, picking up eight additional first-place votes. The top 13 teams remained unchanged following a week in which 12 ranked teams didn’t play. No. 15 UCLA had the biggest jump, moving up seven places after outlasting No. 19 Gonzaga. Memphis was the only team to move into this week’s poll after beating Mississippi. San Diego State dropped out.
UNDATED (AP) — UConn coach Geno Auriemma has moved into a tie with Tara VanDerveer for the most appearances with a single team in the women’s AP Top 25. Auriemma has now led UConn to 627 appearances in the poll in his 40 years at the school, matching VanDerveer’s mark at Stanford before her retirement. UCLA, South Carolina and Notre Dame remain the top three teams in the poll this week.
BOSTON (AP) — Boston College guard Donald Hand Jr. made history when he was chosen the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball player of the week. He joins his father, who received the honor for Virginia in 2000. That makes them the first father-son duo to both earn ACC player of the week honors since the program began in 1972. Donald Hand Jr. had a career-high 29 points with 10 rebounds in a victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. Donald Sr. won the ACC’s top weekly player award on Jan. 31, 2000.
