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”

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid was gushing after watching his Kansas City Chiefs beat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and for good reason: Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill had an eye-popping day and the defense came through in the clutch. The Chiefs coach also acknowledged there is plenty of room for improvement. The reigning Super Bowl champions were penalized 10 times for the second consecutive week, and were flagged eight times the week before that. They also were 0 for 3 when it came to converting touchdowns in the red zone and that same defense also gave up more than 400 yards.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed to a two-year deal with pitcher Mike Minor and finalized a $1.75 million, one-year contract with outfielder Michael Taylor as they piece together a roster in their rebuilding effort.. The deal with the 32-year-old Minor was reached late Sunday and requires him to pass a physical before it can be completed. Taylor signed his $1.75 million contract Monday and it includes up to $1 million in incentives.

UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga and Baylor remain the top two teams in the first Associated Press men’s college basketball poll of the regular season. The Zags received 57 first-place votes from a 63-person media panel. The Bears received six first-place votes, with Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois rounding out the top five. Gonzaga was the preseason No. 1 and lived up to the billing by rolling over Kansas and Auburn in Fort Meyers, Florida. The Jayhawks dropped a spot to No. 7 this week but were ranked for the 222nd consecutive week to break UCLA’s all-time record set from 1966-80. Villanova and Virginia plunged after losses while Virginia Tech entered the rankings at No. 16 and Richmond at No. 19.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

East Mills 56, Diagonal 16
Clarke 29, Mount Ayr 26
Creston 60, Winterset 34
Earlham 50, Grand View Christian 49
Fremont-Mills 76, Heartland Christian 8
Griswold 45, Southwest Valley 41 (Gris: Josie Mundorf and McKenna Weichman 12pts each)
Harlan 34, Treynor 25
MVAOCOU 56, Missouri Valley 35
Nodaway Valley 63, Clarinda 19 (NV: Maddax DeVault 28pts)
South Central Calhoun 62, Audubon 48
Underwood 44, Shenandoah 27

BOYS BASKETBALL

AHSTW 61, Woodbine 50 (AHSTW: Raydden Grobe 29pts)
Clarinda 53, Nodaway Valley 45
Fremont-Mills 71, Heartland Christian 28
Mount Ayr 65, Clarke 43
South Central Calhoun 60, Audubon 27
Southwest Valley 81, Griswold 37 (SWV: Blaine Venteicher 25pts)
Winterset 78, Creston 57

Lewis Central 54, Sioux City North 35

Underwood vs. Shenandoah, ppd.

The Southwest Valley Timberwolves boys basketball team jumped on top early and pulled away from the Griswold Tigers for a 81-37 opening win on Monday night. The Timberwolves outscored the Tigers 24-8 in the first quarter and used some full-court pressure to make Griswold uncomfortable throughout much of the game.

Blaine Venteicher led the way for Southwest Valley with 25 points on the night, that included 4 makes from long-range. Tucker Tepoel picked up where he left off last season with an 18 point performance. Gabe Fuller also hit double figures with 13. Southwest Valley will head to Shenandoah on Tuesday.

Griswold was led by 15 points from Kamron Brownlee, all of which came on 3-point makes. The Tigers settled for outside looks most of the night against a zone look from Southwest Valley. The Tigers will host Heartland Christian next on Friday.

The Griswold girls basketball team only picked up two wins in the 2019-20 campaign. They already have one under their belt now in 2020-21 after an opening road win over the Southwest Valley Timberwolves 45-41.

It was a tight game throughout with Griswold up one after the first and Southwest Valley ahead by three at halftime 26-23. The Tigers grabbed the lead back in the third quarter and built the advantage to as much as ten in the fourth. The Tigers had to hold off a furious finish by the T’wolves though. Halle Pearson knocked down a runner and the Timberwolves got a steal that Norah Lund turned into a bucket to get within 1 at 42-41 with about 30 seconds left. Brenna Rossell was then fouled on the next inbound for Griswold and she came up big at the foul line. She knocked down both freebies to push the lead back to 3. Southwest Valley then threw an errant pass to waste their next possession and Griswold used some nice passing to run the clock down to 6 seconds before Rossell was fouled again. She hit 1 out of 2 to seal the Tiger win.

After the game Griswold Head Coach Chris Hamilton said he was proud of the improvement shown by his team that brought back almost everyone from last year.

Josie Mundorf had a couple of big buckets to get Griswold back in front in the third quarter and finished with 12 points. Coach Hamilton said she has become a big leader.

Coach Hamilton was happy for Rossell to get the chance to hit those big free throws down the stretch after she missed most of last season.

McKenna Weichman also had 12 points for the Tigers. Griswold will next host Heartland Christian on Friday. Southwest Valley was led by 14 points from Maggie Haer. The Timberwolves head to Shenandoah on Tuesday night.