Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette says he knew he messed up when police pulled him over after clocking him driving 74 mph in a 30-mph zone on Nov. 1. He thought his football career was probably over. He was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated. His career was not over. He’s gotten support from his family, teammates and coaches. He has worked to rebuild their trust. He was suspended one game. For the season, Smith-Marsette has 14 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Christian Bishop scored 18 points to lead six Creighton players in double figures and the ninth-ranked Bluejays routed Omaha 94-67. The Bluejays came out much sharper than in their opener against North Dakota State on Sunday. They shot 61% while bolting to a 50-26 halftime lead. Big East preseason player of the year Marcus Zegarowski made back-to-back 3-pointers near the end of a 27-3 run that broke open the game early. Denzel Mahoney, who sat out the opener because of COVID-19 issues, hit a 3 for Creighton’s first basket and finished with 17 points. Marlon Ruffin scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to lead the Mavericks.

UNDATED (AP) — The DePaul and Creighton women’s basketball teams have been wearing masks while they are on the court playing this season. DePaul coach Doug Bruno says he took the advice of the school’s medical staff. His 20th-ranked team has played its first two games wearing masks. Masks are not required for college basketball players on the court. Experts say they do not make breathing more difficult. Susan Hopkins, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego, says it can take getting used to.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jalen Wilson scored 21 of his career-high 23 points in the second half and posted his first double-double to help No. 7 Kansas get past No. 20 Kentucky 65-62 in the Champions Classic. Wilson grabbed 10 rebounds as the Jayhawks won their second straight since losing to top-ranked Gonzaga in their opener. Ochai Agbaji had 17 points for Kansas. Kentucky was led by Brandon Boston Jr. and Davion Mintz, who each scored 12. Mintz had a chance to tie it with five seconds to go but his 3-pointer was off the mark and Kansas grabbed the rebound.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Rocket Watts scored 20 points and Julius Marble had a career-high 12 to help No. 8 Michigan State beat No. 6 Duke 75-69 Tuesday night in the Champions Classic. The Spartans trailed by 10 early in the game but closed the first half with a 13-4 surge to take a 37-33 lead at halftime. The Blue Devils rallied late and pulled within five in the final minute.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Left-hander Mike Minor and the Kansas City Royals have finalized an $18 million, two-year deal, reuniting the 32-year-old starter with the club that helped him revive his career. Kansas City is bringing in the 2019 All-Star to boost a rotation that leaned largely on unproven youngsters in 2020. The contract includes a club option for 2023 for $13 million with a $1 million buyout.T he 32-year-old Minor split 2020 between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics, going 1-6 with a 5.56 ERA and diminished velocity after posting the best numbers of his career a year earlier.

The Atlantic boys basketball team didn’t take long to get in a groove for the 2020-21 season. The Trojans jumped on top of Creston 17-4 by the end of the first quarter and never looked back in a 62-36 opening road win. The Trojans led by 14 at halftime and pushed that lead to 25 by the end of the third.

The Trojans shared the ball well and three players finished in double figures, 16 for Skyler Handlos, 14 from Dayton Templeton, and 10 from Garrett Reynolds. The Trojans also did a great job on the boards and limited the Panthers to single shot possessions most of the night.

Creston falls to 0-2 on the season and will next travel to St. Albert next Tuesday.

Atlantic starts of 1-0 and will welcome in Glenwood Friday. We’ll have that game on KJAN and KJANTV.

Watch the full replay of the game HERE.

The Atlantic girls basketball team put together a solid outing in their opener and came up two points shy of a rated Creston team 67-65. Atlantic trailed by 9 at the end of the third but rallied back to momentarily take a lead late in the game. Creston got a big late transition bucket from Sam Dunphy to give them the edge. A last second drive and close range shot from Haley Rasmussen was blocked and the Panthers grabbed the rebound as time ran out.

Creston was led by 25 points from Dunphy and 22 from Kelsey Fields. The Panther improved to 2-1 on the young season and will next host Grand View Christian on the 7th.

Haley Rasmussen dropped in 29 to lead the Trojans and Jada Jensen finished with 10. The Trojans will host 3A #1 Glenwood on Friday. We’ll have that game on KJAN and KJANTV.

Watch the replay of the game HERE.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference
Creston 67, Atlantic 65 (Cres: Sam Dunphy 25pts. Atl: Haley Rasmussen 29pts)
Carroll 61, Kuemper Catholic 43
Denison-Schleswig 55, MVAOCOU 17
Harlan 44, St. Albert 42
Red Oak 41, Clarinda 37
Shenandoah 55, SW Valley 49

Western Iowa Conference
AHSTW 51, Audubon 41 (AHSTW: Claire Harris 14pts)
Tri-Center 38, Riverside 27
Treynor 52, IKM-Manning 39
Underwood 42, Logan-Magnolia 32

Rolling Valley Conference
CAM 62, Boyer Valley 41
Paton-Churdan 49, Ar-We-Va 32

Corner Conference
Bedford 67, Essex 50
Stanton 56, Clarke 38 (Stan: Jenna Stephens 18pts)

Other Scores
Dallas Center-Grimes 57, ADM 26
Lenox 64, Orient-Macksburg 11
Panorama 50, Mount Ayr 32

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference
Atlantic 62, Creston 36 (Atl: Skyler Handlos 16pts, Dayton Templeton 14pts)
Carroll 77, Kuemper Catholic 41
Clarinda 53, Red Oak 39
Denison-Schleswig 71, MVAOCOU 55
Southwest Valley 60, Shenandoah 56

Western Iowa Conference
AHSTW 68, Audubon 47 (AHSTW: Brayden Lund 27pts, Kyle Sternberg 22pts)
Treynor 62, IKM-Manning 40
Tri-Center 67, Riverside 35

Rolling Valley Conference
Boyer Valley 46, CAM 45
Exira-EHK 75, Glidden-Ralston 55 (E-EHK: Easton Nelson 31pts)
Woodbine 51, West Harrison 40

Corner Conference
Bedford 67, Essex 15
Clarke 52, Stanton 50

Other Scores
Dallas Center-Grimes 76, ADM 38
Lenox 85, Orient-Macksburg 19

Quad at I-35

Creston/O-M 57, Interstate 35 17
Creston/O-M 72, Nodaway Valley 9
Winterset 75, Nodaway Valley 3

Tri at SWI

Treynor 63, Southwest Iowa 11
Treynor 68, Woodbine 9
Southwest Iowa 42, Woodbine 30

Dual at Manson NW Webster

Manson-Northwest Webster 60, Coon Rapids-Bayard 18

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette says he knew he messed up when police pulled him over after clocking him driving 74 mph in a 30-mph zone on Nov. 1. He thought his football career was probably over. He was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated.

FILE – In this Dec. 27, 2019, file photo, Iowa wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (6) runs with the ball for a touchdown during the first half of the Holiday Bowl NCAA college football game against Southern California in San Diego. Smith-Marsette knew he messed up when Iowa City police pulled him over after clocking him driving 74 mph in a 30 zone in the wee hours of Nov. 1. His career was not over. In fact, coach Kirk Ferentz offered support, putting out a statement hours later saying the arrest was out of character and that Smith-Marsette was a great teammate. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez, File)

His career was not over. He’s gotten support from his family, teammates and coaches. He has worked to rebuild their trust. He was suspended one game. For the season, Smith-Marsette has 14 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes.

The Atlantic boys basketball team is set to open the season tonight at Creston and a wealth of returning experience will be on the floor for the Trojans. Four of the top five scorers return for the Trojans, including leading scorer Skyler Handlos. Atlantic Head Coach Jeff Ebling said that returning experience has helped get the season off to a smooth start.

Atlantic did lose one stalwart starter in the post with Nile Petersen’s graduation and Tyler Moen missed most of his senior year due to injury. Coach Ebling thinks they have the guys to help pick up for Petersen’s valuable rebounding ability. He also said losing Tyler Moen most of last year forced some other guys to pick up their contributions.

Atlantic struggled at times with scoring consistency last season during an 8-14 campaign. Coach Ebling said they have emphasized the need for everyone to find ways to contribute, even when they are having a tough scoring night.

Atlantic opens the season tonight on the road against the Creston Panthers. We’ll have coverage on KJAN and KJANTV. The game will follow the girls varsity contest at about 7:30 p.m.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 30, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking

Others receiving votes: South Dakota St. 31, North Carolina 24, South Dakota 20, Notre Dame 20, Arizona St. 10, Wake Forest 9, Ohio 6, South Florida 1, Boston College 1, Tennessee 1, Rutgers 1, Duke 1.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 30, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking

Others receiving votes: Michigan 90, San Diego St. 86, Saint Louis 69, Louisville 55, Alabama 52, Florida 45, Indiana 38, UCLA 14, Maryland 9, Providence 7, Stanford 7, UConn 6, Clemson 4, LSU 3, Arkansas 2, Loyola of Chicago 1, TCU 1, Colorado 1, BYU 1.

Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard issued a letter to fans on Tuesday morning stating that the University will allow limited fan attendance for sporting contests starting again this weekend. They will continue to follow their previously established COVID-19 attendance protocols.  The full letter is included below.

“Dear Cyclone fans,

Coach Campbell and his team won a historic game in Austin, Texas, Friday and I could not be happier for Cyclone fans who have waited a lifetime to experience such a meaningful and impactful victory.

I am pleased to share that we are resuming our COVID attendance policies (as previously implemented) beginning with Saturday’s football game against West Virginia and basketball games Sunday vs. South Carolina (women) and DePaul (men).

The decision to allow fans to return to our venues was made after thorough discussion with university leaders after reviews of state and local COVID positivity trends and hospitalization rates.

Safety continues to remain our priority, and thus, it is critical for all fans attending our games to be diligent in following our mitigation measures. We have had great compliance to our policies all season and are confident you will continue to do your part.

We will continue to monitor local COVID cases closely and adjust our plans accordingly if warranted.

Go Cyclones!

Sincerely,

Jamie Pollard
Director of Athletics”