Saint Mary’s heads back to postseason in the 16-team NIT

Saint Mary’s season is still alive after the Gaels were selected on Sunday night to compete in the truncated National Invitation Tournament.

The Gaels (14-9), who lost to No. 1 ranked Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference semifinals last week, will face Western Kentucky (20-7) in a first-round game Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.

Should the Gaels advance past the Hilltoppers, they would face the winner of Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 25.

Saint Mary’s was one of just 16 teams chosen to compete in the NIT this season as the coronavirus pandemic forced organizers to slice the usual 32-team field in half. In addition, all games are set for Frisco and Denton, Texas.

That will take the semifinals and championship game out of Madison Square Garden for the first time in the 83-year history of college basketball’s oldest postseason tournament. The NIT champion has been crowned in New York City every year since the tournament started in 1938.

This marks the 14th straight season the Gaels have (or would have) made the postseason, and this year also marks the seventh time they’ve played in the NIT during that stretch.

The other teams competing in the NIT tournament are Boise State, Buffalo, Colorado State, Davidson, Dayton, Memphis, Mississippi State, N.C. State, Richmond, SMU, Saint Louis, and Toledo.

INDIANA FIRES COACH ARCHIE MILLER >> Indiana fired men’s basketball coach Archie Miller after a 12-15 season. Miller, 42, compiled a 67-58 record in four seasons with the Hoosiers, including a 33-44 record in the Big Ten.

Athletic director Scott Dolson said “private philanthropic funding” paid for Miller’s $10.3 million buyout.

Indiana missed the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season this year.

Dolson said the search for a new coach will begin immediately. Names already linked to the position include former Michigan coach John Beilein, Texas Tech’s Chris Beard and Baylor’s Scott Drew, ESPN reported. MINNESOTA TO PART WAYS WITH PITINO>> Minnesota is expected to part ways with head coach Richard Pitino, multiple media outlets reported.

Pitino, the son of longtime college coach Rick Pitino, guided the Golden Gophers to a 14-15 record (6-14 Big Ten) during his eighth season at the helm in 2020-21.

Pitino, 38, has a 141-123 record (5496 Big Ten) since taking over at Minnesota before the 2013-14 season. He’s reportedly is a candidate for the job at New Mexico.

Soccer

BRONCOS’ SMITH WINS 500TH GAME >> Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith became just the third coach in NCAA women’s soccer history to win 500 games when the Broncos beat 13thranked BYU on Saturday night.

Only North Carolina’s Anson Dorrance (882) and Connecticut’s Len Tsantiris (570) have won more games than Smith, now in his 34th season at Santa Clara.

Baseball

GRAY LIKELY TO START SEASON ON IL >> Cincinnati Reds right-hander Sonny Gray could start the season on the injured list after back pain forced him to skip his spring training outing Sunday.

The 31-year-old former A’s standout said he has dealt with back spasms this month while trying to pitch at full intensity. He plans to wait several days before picking up a ball, and he said the delay in throwing could spoil his plans to be the Reds’ Opening Day starter.

“It’s nothing that anyone, I think, is overly concerned about,” Gray said. “It just makes sense. You go back and forth and it’s one of those things. I feel OK. Do I keep going? Do I keep throwing?”

YANKS’ BRITTON HAS ELBOW SURGERY >> New York Yankees left-hander Zack Britton had surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow.

The reliever is likely to be out until at least May and perhaps until summer. The team has not specified a timeframe.

Britton, 33, is a two-time All-Star who was 1-2 with a 1.89 ERA and eight saves in 20 appearances during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

BRAUN LEANING TOWARD RETIREMENT >> Ryan Braun says he’s strongly leaning toward retirement, but the Milwaukee Brewers’ home-run leader isn’t ready to make any decision regarding his future.

Braun visited the Brewers’ spring training site Monday and said he hasn’t picked up a bat since the end of the 2020 season. The 2011 NL MVP became a free agent when the Brewers declined to exercise a $15 million mutual option in his contract last October.

“I’m strongly leaning in the direction of being done as an active player,” the 37-year-old Braun said. “But I think you can always push that decision back. I’m still young enough, still working out, still in shape. If something were to change, I might as well leave that door open as long as possible.”

Golf

THOMAS NOW NO. 2 IN RANKINGS >> Justin Thomas climbed to No. 2 in the official world golf rankings following his victory at The Players Championship on Sunday.

The win vaulted Thomas past Jon Rahm despite the Spaniard’s tie for ninth place at TPC Sawgrass.

Dustin Johnson retained a healthy cushion at No. 1 in the world rankings despite settling for a tie for 48th at The Players.

Ex-Cal star Collin Morikawa remained at No. 4, with Bryson DeChambeau moving up a spot to No. 5. TWO WITHDRAW AFTER POSITIVE TESTS >> Gary Woodland and Scott Piercy have withdrawn from the upcoming Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. after testing positive for COVID-19, the PGA Tour announced.

Dog racing

SEAVEY WINS IDITAROD >> Dallas Seavey on Monday won the pandemic-shortened Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, matching the most wins ever by a musher.

It’s the fifth title for the 34-yearold Seavey. Rick Swenson, who won five titles between 1977 and 1991, is the only other musher to win five Iditarod titles.

Aleksander Barkov scored a tiebreaking short-handed goal in the third period, and the Florida Panthers beat the slumping Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Monday night.

Barkov poked in a loose puck from right in front with 6:34 left. It was the Panthers’ first short-handed goal this season.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots and won his sixth straight start. Down 3-1, the Panthers scored five unanswered goals to win their fourth straight game.

PENGUINS 4, BRUINS 1 >> Evgeni Malkin scored on a power play for his 1,100th career point and Pittsburgh beat visiting Boston. Malkin is the third Russianborn player to reach 1,100 points in the NHL, joining Alex Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov. Malkin has eight goals on the season and also had an assist while extending his points streak to eight games.

PREDATORS 4, LIGHTNING 1 >> Calle Jarnkrok had a shorthanded goal and three assists, helping Nashville win at Tampa Bay. Pekke Rinne stopped 38 shots and picked up his 14th career assist in Nashville’s first victory against Tampa Bay in six meetings on the season. Mattias Ekholm had a goal and an assist, and Eeli Tolvanen and Viktor Arvidsson also scored.

FLYERS 5, RANGERS 4 >> Jakub Voracek scored at 3:47 of overtime to give Philadelphia a win over New York. Claude Giroux, Joel Farabee and Ivan Provorov each had a goal and an assist, and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Flyers, who won for the third time in eight games.

CAPITALS 6, SABRES 0 >> Alexander Ovechkin matched Phil Esposito for sixth on the NHL’s career list with his 717th goal and Washington won at Buffalo. Ovechkin

scored in the third period, helping send the Capitals to their fifth straight win with his 1,299th career point — one shy of becoming the 35th player to reach 1,300. CANUCKS 3, SENATORS 2 >> J.T Miller scored in overtime and Thatcher Demko made 44 saves as Vancouver won at Ottawa.