Auriemma tests virus positive
Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home, the school announced, just hours before it was named a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Auriemma received both COVID-19 vaccines and was nine days from being fully vaccinated before testing positive on Sunday.
Connecticut finished at No. 1 in the Associated Press women’s college basketball poll for 16th time.
The Gonzaga men’s team closed the regular season the same way the Bulldogs opened it — at No. 1 in the AP poll. They’re the first team to top the poll from start to finish since Kentucky in 2014-15 and the 14th overall. USC finished at No. 23.
Indiana, which hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2016, fired men’s basketball coach Archie Miller and raised enough cash from private donations to cover his $10.3-million buyout . ... Minnesota fired Richard Pitino after he compiled a 54-96 regularseason record over eight years in the Big Ten and had only three conference finishes higher than 10th place. ... DePaul fired coach Dave Leitao six years into his second tenure. The Blue Demons went 5-14 in a season delayed by COVID-19 . ... Boston College hired Earl Grant as coach, bringing in the man who led the College of Charleston to the NCAA tournament . ... Iowa coach Fran McCaffery signed a four-year contract extension through 2027-28 after leading the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes to the Big Ten tournament semifinals and their highest NCAA tournament seeding since 1987 . ... Iowa State and coach Steve Prohm parted ways . ... Butler guard Myles Tate will need offseason surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during last week’s Big East tournament . ... Kansas State forward Antonio Gordon will transfer for his junior season.
The Atlantic Coast Conference eliminated its rule requiring athletes to sit out a season if they transfer within the league. The move is the latest across college sports to loosen restrictions on transferring athletes so they can play right away. The NCAA is moving toward making the one-time exception available for all athletes.
New York Yankees lefthander Zack Britton had surgery to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow. The reliever is likely to be out until at least May . ... YouTube will broadcast a Major League Baseball package of games for a third season, starting April 7.
Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was among three players who withdrew from the Honda Classic after testing positive for the coronavirus. It matched the most players who have had to withdraw from one tournament because of a positive test since the PGA Tour returned from the COVID-19 pandemic in June. The tour said Scott Piercy and Doc Redman also tested positive.
Freshman Nico Young, the former Newbury Park standout, helped Northern Arizona win the NCAA men’s cross-country championship. He finished fourth overall.
Richard Gasquet defeated Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Dubai Championships in the United Arab Emirates, for his 550th career victory. French compatriot Jeremy Chardy upset ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. ... Jelena Ostapenko advanced to the second round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy by beating Paula Badosa 6-2, 6-2 in Russia.