Gonzaga, Baylor top NCAA ranks
Gonzaga and Baylor have played like the best teams all year. The committee that will select the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament sees it that way too.
The Bulldogs were the No. 1 seed followed by the Bears in rankings released Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. It was part of a snapshot of the top 16 seeds with a month to go before Selection Sunday, starting with the teams that have been 1-2 in the Associated Press poll all season and remain unbeaten.
Third-ranked Michigan and fourth-ranked Ohio State followed as the other two No. 1 seeds.
Kentucky athletic director and committee chairman Mitch Barnhart said 17thranked Florida State and 20th-ranked USC were among the most discussed teams that didn’t make the cut, saying the Seminoles and Trojans were “bumping their heads” on that list.
Pitchers Rich Hill and
Collin McHugh agreed to one-year contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays . ... Lefthander James Paxton is returning to Seattle on an $8.5million, one-year contract . ... Arizona agreed to a $1.75million, one-year deal with infielder Asdrubal Cabrera. ... New York Mets pitcher
Seth Lugo needs elbow surgery and will miss the start of the season . ... Pitcher
Matt Har vey agreed to a minor league contract with Baltimore, and outfielder
Jay Bruce did the same with the New York Yankees.
Wide receiver Chris Hogan, who played eight seasons in the NFL, announced he signed with the Premier Lacrosse League and declared his eligibility to be selected in the league’s draft next month.
The Ottawa Senators acquired forward Ryan Dzingel from Carolina for forwards Alex Galchenyuk and Cedric Paquette . ... Arizona forward Johan Larsson was suspended for two games by the NHL for illegally checking a player in the head . ... Edmonton forward Jesse Puljujar vi is eligible to resume all team activities after being in the COVID-19 protocol . ... Columbus activated defenseman Zach Werenski off injured reserve.
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman stopped Gilbert Burns in the third round of their UFC 258 main event in Las Vegas.
Kaillie Humphries goes into the final day of the major international sliding season with a chance at another world championship, in second place midway through the women’s monobob race. ... Two-time Olympic champion skier Ted Ligety retired six days early because of a bad back, pulling out of his final event in Italy.
Former AC Milan star Pato signed a one-year deal with Orlando City . ... Crosscountry World Cup races in the Czech Republic next weekend were canceled.