Notre Dame promoted defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to be its head coach after Brian Kelly left for LSU. Paul Sancya/Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame has completed a whirlwind coaching search that never seriously left campus, promoting defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to coach of the Fighting Irish on Friday.
Freeman, 35, takes over less than a week after Brian Kelly’s surprising departure for LSU with the Irish still in contention for the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame posted a video on social media of Freeman being introduced to the team at a morning workout for the first time as head coach.
“Marcus’ ability to connect with people, his fit at Notre Dame and the way he coaches young men set him apart as we went through our search process,” Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement. “I can’t wait to see how the culture created by these remarkable student-athletes continues to grow under the tutelage of Marcus and his staff.”
In a statement, Freeman said he was “eternally grateful” to both Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins and Swarbrick for the opportunity.
“Notre Dame is a very special place and I look forward to pursuing a national championship with the most outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff in college football,” Freeman said.
CLEMSON: Starting receiver Frank Ladson Jr. and backup quarterback Taisun Phommachanh are leaving the program.
Team spokesman Ross Taylor said the pair have entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Ladson is a 6-foot-3 junior from Miami who started the first four games. He did not play the final seven games of season for the 22nd-ranked Tigers and eventually had season-ending groin surgery.
Phommachanh was behind starting passer D.J. Uiagalelei this season, playing in six games. Phommachanh, a 6-3 sophomore from Bridgeport, Connecticut, finished the year completing 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
MONTANA STATE: Starting quarterback Matthew McKay entered the NCAA transfer portal just two days before the eighth-seeded Bobcats were to play UT Martin in the second round of the FCS playoffs. McKay made the announcement on social media on Thursday. Montana State (9-2) hosts the Skyhawks (10-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
An MSU spokesperson confirmed to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that McKay had entered the portal and said the team would announce its starting quarterback on Saturday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
MARYLAND: Mark Turgeon is out as Maryland’s basketball coach after a slow start to his 11th season knocked the team out of the Top 25. The athletic department announced that Turgeon was stepping down in what it called a mutual decision. Assistant Danny Manning was made interim coach for the rest of the season.
The Terrapins won at least 23 games in five of the past seven seasons, but Maryland has reached the Sweet 16 just once under Turgeon and hasn’t gone further. The Terps began this season ranked, but a loss at home to Virginia Tech on Wednesday night dropped them to 5-3 on the season.
Turgeon went 226-116 at Maryland and is 476-275 overall as a head coach. He coached at Jacksonville State, Wichita State and Texas A&M before being hired to take over the Terrapins.
UCLA: No. 5 UCLA’s game at Washington on Sunday has been canceled because of COVID-19 issues in the Huskies’ program.
The game won’t be rescheduled and it will count as a Pac-12 victory for the Bruins. That’s because of the league’s rule for games impacted by COVID-19, which says that if two schools can’t agree on a date to reschedule, then the team dealing with the coronavirus outbreak will forfeit the game. Although the teams’ conference records will reflect the forfeit, it won’t be included by the NCAA in their overall records.
The Huskies were previously forced to postpone their game scheduled for Thursday at Arizona.
(7) TEXAS 88, TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY 58: Christian Bishop scored 17 points and No. 7 Texas (6-1) used suffocating defense in the second half to beat Texas Rio Grande Valley (4-5) in Austin, Texas.
Bishop, a senior who transferred from Creighton, is a backup who played 14 minutes. He made all nine of his free throws. Timmy Allen and Tre Mitchell scored 13 points each for Texas, with Mitchell adding five rebounds and five assists.
Texas led by five at halftime but broke away with a 19-0 push that began four minutes into the second half.
(8) KANSAS 95, ST. JOHN’S 75: Christian Braun had a career-high 31 points, Ochai Agbaji scored 23 and No. 8 Kansas (6-1) emphatically turned back a second-half charge to beat St. John’s (5-2) in the first basketball game at new UBS Arena in New York.
Senior forward David McCormack was a force inside with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who have bounced back from a one-point loss to Dayton last week with consecutive double-digit wins. Remy Martin added 12 points and five assists, and Kansas clamped down on defense late in a game that was part of the annual Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Julian Champagnie scored all but four of his 24 points after halftime for the Red Storm, who were facing their first ranked opponent of the season in a matchup of programs rich in history that met for the 1952 NCAA title.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(1) SOUTH CAROLINA 65, KANSAS STATE 44: Aliyah Boston had 21 points and 17 rebounds to lead No. 1 South Carolina to its first 9-0 start in six years with a victory over Kansas State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge in Columbia, South Carolina.
Kansas State (7-2) fell to 0-14 all-time against No. 1 ranked opponents.
(2) UCONN 74, SETON HALL 49: Paige Bueckers had 23 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals to lead No. 21 UConn past Seton Hall in the teams’ Big East opener in South Orange, New Jersey.
The Huskies (4-1) bounced back in their first game since losing on Nov. 22 to No. 1 South Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Christyn Williams added 17 points for UConn, Aaliyah Edwards scored 12 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 10.
Lauren Park-Lane led Seton Hall (3-3) with 20 points and five assists.
Seton Hall suspended second-leading scorer and top rebounder Andra Espinoza-Hunter for Friday night’s home game against No. 2 Connecticut. Pirates Coach Anthony Bozzella announced the suspension of the graduate student for a violation of team rules.
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