Texas Tech plays Michigan State on Saturday in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio — and some players are speaking out in support of the school’s decision to fire coach Mike Leach. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will coach the Red Raiders in the Alamo Bowl. Wide receiver Tramain Swindall says he supported the decision to fire Leach over his treatment of wide receiver Adam James “because it’s the right thing to do,” Swindall says in an AP telephone interview. Swindall says he believes Leach was at times out of line in how he treated players. “And so do most of the players,” he said.
Zac Lee threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Niles Paul in the third quarter to highlight No. 20 Nebraska’s 33-0 rout against No. 22 Arizona on a rainy Wednesday night, the first shutout in the 32-year history of the Holiday Bowl. The coaches expected a defensive game, and the Huskers delivered, earning their first shutout in 46 bowl appearances. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the AP College Football Player of the Year and a Heisman finalist, had only three tackles, including one for a loss, but helped the Huskers harass Arizona quarterback Nick Foles all night. Suh even went out for a pass early in the third quarter on second-and-4 from the Arizona 5, but Lee didn’t throw his way.
Texas Tech has fired football coach Mike Leach. The school handed a termination letter to Leach’s attorney, Ted Liggett, on Wednesday just before the two sides were to appear in a Lubbock, Texas, courtroom for a hearing on the coach’s suspension. Liggett says the letter says Leach is “terminated with cause effective immediately.” Leach was suspended by the university on Monday while the school investigated allegations that he mistreated an injured player. Receiver Adam James alleges Leach twice confined him to small, dark spaces during practice after the player was diagnosed with a concussion. Texas Tech plays Michigan State on Saturday in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly sparked a take-charge run in the first half to lead No. 12 Kansas State past Cleveland State 85-56 on Tuesday night, the Wildcats’ ninth straight victory. Pullen had 18 points and Kelly added 17 as the Wildcats (12-1) closed out an unbeaten December with their first nine-game win streak since 1997. Denis Clemente and Dominique Sutton each had 13 points for the Wildcats. Kansas State, unbeaten since dropping an 86-74 decision to Mississippi on Nov. 20, outscored the Vikings 25-5 in the run that led to a 40-19 halftime lead. The Vikings (4-10), facing a ranked team for the school-record third straight game, went almost 8 minutes without a field goal. Jeremy Montgomery had 20 points for Cleveland State and Norris Cole had 17.
A season high 13 three pointers made propelled the K-State women’s basketball team to a 73-59 road win at UC Davis. Ashley Sweat led five players in double figures with 25 points as the Wildcats are on their first three game winning streak of the season. Taelor Karr and Brittany Chambers both scored 12 points, and Kari Kincaid and Shalin Spani added 11 points apiece. K-State women’s basketball is now 7-6 on the season, and will host Yale on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm. Coverage on KMAN begins at 1:30 pm.
The K-State women’s basketball team closed out their trip to Las Vegas strong by finishing fourth in the Duel in the Desert with a 59-55 victory over UTSA. Ashley Sweat led K-State with 14 points, Branshea Brown and Jalana Childs each scored 12 points, and Kari Kincaid added 10. K-State associate head coach Kamie Ethridge says it was great to see the Cats’ post players get 15 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points. The K-State women are 6-6 and will play at UC Davis next Tuesday at 9:00 pm, and we’ll have coverage on KMAN beginning at 8:30.
Jacob Pullen had 18 points, Dominique Sutton added 14 and No. 12 Kansas State responded to its highest ranking in 36 years with a convincing 90-76 victory over winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night. Coming off four resume-building wins over bigger programs, Kansas State (11-1) used balanced scoring and a swarming defense to wear down a mid-major. Curtis Kelly had 13 points, Denis Clemente and Jamar Samuels added 12 each and the Wildcats shot 50 percent for their eighth consecutive win. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-10) kept it close early and made a gritty run late to cut a 24-point lead in half before running out of steam. Tyree Glass had 18 points and Savalance Townsend added 16 for the Golden Lions, who lost another road game despite shooting 52 percent.
K-State lost co-defensive coordinator Vic Koenning last week, who left
Manhattan to take a similar position at Illinois. Koenning picked up a Wildcat
defense much maligned a year ago, into one that ranked 16th in the nation
against the run and 40th overall. K-State coach Bill Snyder says Chris Cosh
will take over defensive coordinator duties full time, and they will hire a defensive backs
coach. Snyder isn’t surprised by Koenning’s departure because it was tough for him to be far away from his wife and kids over the past year. Snyder says he will name a new defensive backs coach “pretty quick”.
The perfect combination of on the field and off the field, the Awards and Recognition Association presented K-State tight end Jeron Mastrud with its National Sportsmanship Award. Mastrud was a first team All-Big 12 tight end this season, carried a 3.81 GPA en route to a degree in business administration, and participated in numerous community service projects. Mastrud says he’s very honored to win the award. K-State coach Bill Snyder says Mastrud is very consistent in everything he does, and he fits the intrinsic values of his program to a “T”. He says Mastrud should have an opportunity to play in the NFL as he will play in the East-West Shrine Game next month. Mastrud caught 106 passes in his four year career at K-State for 1, 219 yards, as he ranks 1st and 2nd all-time for Wildcat tight ends in the two categories.
Jacob Pullen hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 30 points, leading No. 17 Kansas State to an 87-74 victory over Alabama on Saturday night. The Wildcats (10-1) dominated most of the game, shrugging off the Crimson Tide’s only second-half rally after building an 18-point halftime lead against a team guided by coach Frank Martin’s high school teammate and longtime friend, Anthony Grant. The two clasped hands and embraced as the final seconds ticked off. Wally Judge added 15 points for Kansas State, which has won seven straight for the first time in Martin’s two-plus seasons. Pullen’s previous season-best was a 28-point performance last weekend against UNLV, when he hit seven 3-pointers. Mikhail Torrance led Alabama with 20 points and JaMychal Green added 17 before fouling out with 5:26 left.
K-State returns home for a game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip off is set for 7pm; our pregame coverage begins at 6 here on sportsradio 1350 KMAN.