Conference only for Pac-12
The Pacific 12 has become the second major conference to shift to a conference-only fall schedule amid growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement came after a meeting of the Pac-12 CEO Group on Friday, a day after the Big Ten opted to eliminate nonconference games for all fall sports.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports continues to be our No. 1 priority,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.
The Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences are still weighing options for fall sports. On Wednesday, the Ivy League became the first Division I conference to suspend all fall sports until at least January.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a conference comprised of historically black colleges, also suspended all fall sports.
BASKETBALL
The Golden Eagles, a team of mostly former Marquette players, advanced to the semifinals of The Basketball Tournament for the third consecutive year after an 83-76 victory over Brotherly Love, a team made up mostly of players from Philadelphia.
The winner-take-all, $1 million-plus tournament is being staged in a “bubble” in Columbus, Ohio, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dwight Buycks (19 points), Darius JohnsonOdom (18 points) and Jamil Wilson (15 points) paced the Marquette team.
The Golden Eagles lost in the championship game last season.
Duke, Lawson talking: Duke is in talks with Boston Celtics assistant coach and former WNBA all-star Kara Lawson to lead its women’s program, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The 39-year-old Lawson has become the leading candidate to replace Joanne P. McCallie, who announced last week she wouldn’t return for a 14th season.
SPEEDSKATING
World champion short-track speed skater Lara van Ruijven died as a result of complications from an autoimmune reaction, the Netherlands skating association said. Van Ruijven was 27.
She died in a hospital in the French city of Perpignan, where she had been in a critical condition for days.