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

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Illinois and Nebraska both enter their game in Lincoln believing they’re on the verge of breakthroughs even though they have just three Big Ten wins between them. The Illini have doubled their win total from 2017 and are coming off their best performance of the season in a 24-point win over Minnesota. Nebraska played Ohio State tough on the road after winning two straight.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Freshman Joe Wieskamp scored 15 points and Iowa overcame a lackluster start to beat UMKC 77-63 in a regional game of the 2K Empire Classic. The Hawkeyes got 12 points from Jordan Bohannon, as well as 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists from Tyler Cook.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Cardinals counterpart Josh Rosen were once roommates at Peyton Manning’s passing camp. On Sunday two of the bright young signal callers in the NFL will face off when the Chiefs welcome the Cardinals to Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes is off to a record-setting start as the Chiefs’ first-year starter. Rosen is coming off a fourth-quarter comeback win over San Francisco.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs are giving opposing defenses plenty of screen time this season. Whether it’s Kareem Hunt out of the backfield or one of their fleet wide receivers catching the ball behind the line of scrimmage, the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have used their vast array of screen passes to help put up some big numbers.

UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 goes into its final three-weekend stretch with four legitimate contenders to get to the conference championship game. Big 12 co-leaders sixth-ranked Oklahoma and seventh-ranked West Virginia still have to play each other. As do No. 15 Texas and No. 23 Iowa State, who are currently tied for third place. With all that, only Kansas and Kansas State have been mathematically eliminated from title contention.

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern can clinch the Big Ten West championship and its first appearance in the conference title game simply by winning two of its final three games. The Wildcats would also secure a spot Saturday with a victory at Iowa plus losses by Wisconsin at Penn State and by Purdue, which plays at Minnesota. It’s quite a position for a team that wasn’t widely considered a favorite to win its division, though Northwestern is hardly the only surprise in the Big Ten.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Larry Fitzgerald is closing in on another milestone, and it’s an impressive one. The 35-year-old receiver needs to catch just 33 yards worth of passes Sunday at Kansas City to move past Hall of Famer Terrell Owens into second place on the NFL’s all-time yards receiving list. As usual, Fitzgerald has brushed aside talk of his milestones.