Auburn’s Porter Admits Taking Money

Auburn forward Chris Porter admitted taking $2,500 from a sports agent, a confession his coach hopes will lead the NCAA to quickly reinstate the star player.

“Chris has admitted to a mistake. He has been honest and forthcoming,” Coach Cliff Ellis said. “I’m now hoping honesty prevails and Chris will be allowed back on the court.”

Porter, a preseason All-America selection, was suspended Sunday before the No. 19 Tigers played No. 8 Florida.

Two sources said that Porter needed money to prevent his mother from being evicted from her rural south Alabama home.

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Oregon senior A.D. Smith will miss the Ducks’ final three regular-season games because of surgery to repair his fractured left cheekbone. The 6-8 forward, injured against USC on Saturday, will be out at least two weeks but could return in time for the postseason. Oregon has three games left, all at home: against Arizona State on Thursday, No. 3 Arizona on Saturday and Oregon State on March 11. Smith, Oregon’s leading rebounder at 5.9 a game and second-leading scorer at 15.3, had started 58 games in a row. . . . Arizona finally received some good news when Richard Jefferson was medically cleared to play again this week. Jefferson, who fractured his right foot in the opening minutes of a Jan. 8 game against Stanford, is expected to play at Oregon State on Thursday night. Starting center Loren Woods is out for another two to four weeks because of a back injury.

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Angie Lee, taking heat for mounting losses and dwindling attendance, resigned as the Iowa women’s coach.