Gonzaga, Baylor dominate All-America teams
Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25. Makes sense they’d hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press men’s All-America teams.
The Bulldogs’ Corey Kispert and the Bears’ Jared Butler led the way with first-team nods Tuesday. They were joined by unanimous pick Luka Garza of Iowa, a two-time selection, along with Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
The Bulldogs also landed big man Drew Timme and freshman sensation Jalen Suggs on the second team while Joel Ayayi was an honorable mention pick. The Bears had Davion Mitchell on the third team and MaCio Teague as an honorable mention.
It is the first time Baylor, which earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, has had a first-team All-American.
USC’s Evan Mobley made the second team, and Oregon’s Chris Duarte was a third-team selection.
NEW MEXICO HIRES YOUNGER PITINO >> Richard Pitino was hired on Tuesday as New Mexico’s head coach, hours after Minnesota finalized his firing following eight seasons with the Gophers. The 38-year-old Pitino is the son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
UTAH FIRES COACH KRYSTKOWIAK >>
Utah fired basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak after 10 seasons on Tuesday. Krystkowiak, 56, was relieved of his duties five days after his team ended its season with a 91-85 double-overtime loss to USC in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Utah finished 12-13 this season, the Utes’ first losing season since 2013,
Krystkowiak went 183-139 while at Utah. He took the Utes to two NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2015 and the second round the next season.
NCAA TO ALTER TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE IF BYU ADVANCES >> The NCAA will juggle the men’s basketball tournament schedule to keep BYU from playing on a Sunday should the Cougars advance to the Sweet 16, said Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball.
By school policy, BYU doesn’t compete on Sundays.
The Cougars (20-6) are the No. 6 seed in the East Region and open the tournament on Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s First Four game between UCLA and Michigan State. Should they win that game, and also defeat the winner No. 3 Texas and No. 14 Abilene Christian, they would advance to the Sweet 16.
Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in the East Region are set for Sunday, March 28, and Tuesday, March 30. Should BYU qualify, Gavitt said the East and Midwest regions will flop schedules, with the East games moving to Saturday, March 27, and Monday, March 29.
TOURNAMENT TEAMS STILL HAVE RACIAL GRADUATION GAP >>
A diversity report released Tuesday found that a significant graduation gap continues to exist between white and Black basketball players for the teams competing in this year’s NCAA Tournament, particularly on the men’s side.
The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida examined the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for the teams competing in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and found that white male student-athletes graduated at a rate 13.5 percentage points higher than Black male student-athletes.
White players on average had a GSR of 93.8%, compared to 80.3% for Black players.
The gap was slightly lower on the women’s side with white players recording a graduation rate of 97.9% compared to 91.8% for Black players.
Gonzaga and Michigan are the winners in the eyes of the study.
Both schools have teams in the men’s and women’s tournament with 100% graduation rates.
Tennis
NADAL (BACK) WILL SKIP MIAMI OPEN, FOCUS ON CLAY SWING >> Rafa Nadal will skip the Miami Open that begins later this month in a bid to recover from a back injury in time for the clay court swing, the Spaniard said on Tuesday.
Nadal had not played since his quarter-final exit at the Australian Open last month and also skipped the ATP 500 event in Dubai.
Golf
TIGER RECOVERING BACK HOME IN FLORIDA >> Tiger Woods is back at home in Florida to resume his recovery from career-threatening leg injuries he suffered when his SUV ran off a road and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs last month.
“Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery,” Woods said in a tweet posted Tuesday night. “I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.”
Woods was injured Feb. 23. He was on his way to a television shoot for GolfTV a little after 7 a.m. when his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side near a steep road known for wrecks, authorities aid. He had to be pulled out through the windshield.
He had a lengthy surgery that day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for shattered tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. He was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for follow-up.