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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Joe Burrow threw five touchdown passes, ran for another score and capped one of the greatest seasons in college football history by leading No. 1 LSU to a 42-25 victory against No. 3 Clemson on Monday night to win the national championship.
The small-town Ohio kid turned Louisiana legend delivered the Tigers (15-0) their first national title since 2007 and fourth overall, breaking a few more records along the way in what was already an historic season. The five TD passes and 463 yards passing are the most for a BCS or College Football Playoff title game as are his six total touchdowns.
He became the first major college quarterback to throw 60 touchdown passes in a season as LSU snapped defending national champion Clemson's 29-game winning streak. For the first time in his college career, Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence was on the losing team. The Tigers (14-1) had won his first 25 starts.
But on this night, Lawrence (18 for 37 for 234 yards) was no match for Burrow — the Ohio State transferred who threw all of 16 TD passes last season with LSU.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 23 of his 31 points in a dominant second half, and Dwight Howard added season highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' ninth consecutive victory, 128-99 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
James added eight assists while passing Isiah Thomas for sole possession of eighth place on the NBA's career list. The longtime Cavaliers superstar led a decisive run during the third quarter and poured it on in the fourth for the Lakers, who still haven't lost since Christmas.
Los Angeles won its third straight game without Anthony Davis, who is out with a bruised backside.
Kevin Love had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland in the third stop of a six-game road stretch. Two days after the Cavs posted a surprising win at powerhouse Denver, they couldn't keep up with a franchise icon who hasn't slowed down since he moved to the West Coast.
Returning from a one-game absence with an apparent case of the flu, James improved to 2-0 against the Cavaliers since he departed for the second time in 2018. James had 32 points and 14 rebounds in his return to Cleveland in November 2018, and he was injured last January when the Cavs beat the Lakers at Staples Center.
COLLEGE POLLS
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LSU finished No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the third time in school history, with Clemson No. 2 and Ohio State No. 3.
The Tigers (15-0) beat Clemson 42-25 in the national championship game Monday night and then received all 62 first-place votes from the media panel.
LSU was No. 1 for the final eight weeks of the season and set a record by beating seven teams ranked in the top-10 at the time of the game. The Tigers also won AP titles in 2007 and 1958.
Georgia, LSU's Southeastern Conference rival, was fourth and Pac-12 champion Oregon was fifth. Florida was sixth and Oklahoma, which made the playoff, was seventh.
Alabama finished eighth, giving the SEC four of the top 10. No. 9 Penn State and No. 10 Minnesota gave the Big Ten three teams in the top 10.
NEW YORK (AP) — South Carolina moved up three spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press women's college basketball poll after the top three teams from the previous week all lost.
It was a rough week for ranked teams, with 11 of them losing at least one game, including Nos. 1-3 falling in a four-day span. The last time the top three teams in the AP Top 25 lost within a span of seven days was during the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
It wasn't just the top teams that lost. Eight of the Top 25 programs were beaten by unranked teams, showing more parity in the sport than before. Only two teams — No. 9 North Carolina State and No. 16 Gonzaga — stayed in the same place.
Baylor jumped up four spots to No. 2 on Monday after beating then-No. 1 UConn. The Lady Bears, who received seven first-place votes from the 30-member national media panel, were followed by Stanford, UConn and Louisville. Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State, N.C. State and Mississippi State rounded out the top 10.
