Happy New Year! … Wilmington native Sam Jones (N.C. Central), who was a key player on 10 NBA championship teams for Boston, has passed away at the age of 88. … In college basketball, road games today for UNC (at Boston College), No. 2 Duke (at Notre Dame) and East Carolina (at South Florida) have been postponed due to COVID issues. … No. 17 Wake Forest (11-3) downed Rutgers (5-8), its replacement opponent in the Gator Bowl, 38-10, on Friday as Sam Hartman passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns. … The College Football Playoff championship is set as No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 4 Cincinnati, 27-6, in the Cotton Bowl and No. 3 Georgia downed No. 2 Michigan, 34-11, in the Orange Bowl. … Bowl matchups today include Penn State-Arkansas (ESPN2, noon), Iowa-Kentucky (ABC, 1 p.m.), Oklahoma State-Notre Dame (ESPN, 1 p.m.), Utah-Ohio State (ESPN, 5 p.m.) and Baylor-Ole Miss (ESPN, 8:45 p.m.).