Here is the latest ACC sports news from The Associated Press
By AP
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jim Larrañaga has stepped down as Miami’s men’s basketball coach effective immediately. Larrañaga will be replaced by associate head coach Bill Courtney — one of Larrañaga’s best friends for the past three decades or so — for the remainder of the season. The now-former coach says he loves the university but believes it’s the right time to step away. Larrañaga says “I’ve tried every which way to keep this going.” Larrañaga joins a long line of prominent college basketball coaches who have left their jobs in recent years citing the changes in the game and the challenge of coaching in the name, image and likeness era.
DETROIT (AP) — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field. The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose State 41-39 in five overtimes in the Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday. Pitt freshman Julian Dugger, making his college debut, ran for two overtime scores and threw for two more but his incomplete pass in the sixth overtime ended the game.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Syracuse coach Fran Brown and Washington State acting coach Pete Kaligis shared a heartfelt hug after their Holiday Bowl news conference. Kaligis can certainly use all the support he can get, especially an embrace and some encouraging words from the opposing coach. National passing leader Kyle McCord and No. 22 Syracuse are 17-point favorites in the Holiday Bowl against Washington State, whose season has changed dramatically in just two months. The Cougars lost their last three games and have lost coach Jake Dickert, quarterback John Mateer and several other coaches and players.
UNDATED (AP) — Georgia Tech knocked off two Top 10 teams while Vanderbilt toppled then-No. 1 Alabama. The two opponents in Friday’s Birmingham Bowl have each taken highly ranked teams into multiple overtimes. They’re also led by mobile quarterbacks who throw few interceptions. There’s a reason that Vandy coach Clark Lea calls the teams “mirror images” of each other, from playing styles to how their seasons went. SEC newcomer of the year Diego Pavia leads the Commodores offense while Haynes King directs the Yellow Jackets.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 14 Gonzaga meets No. 22 UCLA in the lone matchup of AP Top 25 teams for the Christmas holiday week. Both teams will be returning to action a week after their previous games. Gonzaga is coming off a win against Bucknell while UCLA is coming off a loss to North Carolina. The other notable game on the schedule is No. 16 Mississippi visiting Memphis on Saturday. The Tigers have twice been ranked this year and could return to the poll again with a win. In all, 12 of the 25 ranked teams don’t play a game this week.
