In sports briefs from Thursday, the French Open schedule is pushed back a week due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Paul George's 33 points lead the Clippers past the Suns in a matchup of two of the Western Conference's top teams.
National Sports
Jalen Suggs is leaving Gonzaga after one season for the NBA.
Jalen Suggs held the title for about a year. Hunter Sallis held it for less than a month. Now it belongs to Chet Holmgren.
Arizona has hired longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd as its next men's basketball coach. The school said Wednesday that Lloyd will receive a five-year contract, pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents.
Arizona fired head coach Sean Miller on Wednesday, creating a vacancy at one of the top men's basketball programs in the West. Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd is considered one of the leading candidates to replace Miller.
Gonzaga sophomore Drew Timme on Saturday was named the Karl Malone power forward of the year, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.
And on the final night of the season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs — who had seemingly had everything clicking from the season's opening tip — ended with an out-of-synch and disjointed showing in Monday night's 86-70 loss to the Bears in the NCAA championship game.
Heck, everyone’s entitled to an off night. But that beatdown Baylor put on undefeated Gonzaga with the national title on the line — nobody saw that coming.
Now comes the hard part for Gonzaga. Less than 16 hours after walking off the floor with one of the most scintillating wins in the game's history, the barely-still-undefeated Bulldogs returned to the practice court Sunday to get ready for the national championship game.
Gonzaga has given fans the NCAA championship game they wanted with a shot for the ages.
INDIANAPOLIS — The weight of the line, not the lure, unspools the reel. The timing, the rhythm whisk the fly back and forth before it lands in the desired spot.
Gonzaga got on a roll and put on a show Tuesday night, moving to 30-0 on the season and cruising into the Final Four with an 85-66 beatdown of previously rolling Southern California.
Those who've followed the top-seeded Zags in the NCAA Tournament have probably recognized Drew Timme for one of two things: impeccable footwork in the post that belies his 6-foot-10, 235-pound frame and allows him to outplay more athletic bigs, or the Fu Manchu that's set the internet ablaze in becoming the biggest viral sensation of this year's tournament, even outlasting revered Loyola Chicago chaplain Sister Jean.
Drew Timme scored 22 points and top-seeded Gonzaga did against Creighton what it’s done throughout this unblemished season, rolling past the fifth-seeded Bluejays with versatile offense and efficient defense to win 83-65 on Sunday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
He was already enjoying a terrific season, and now Drew Timme is one of the stars of March after two games of the NCAA Tournament.
Destinee Wells scored 25 points and had seven assists in a turnover-free game as the younger and smaller 12th-seeded Belmont Bruins held on for their first tourney victory, pulling off a 64-59 upset over fifth-seeded Gonzaga on Monday.
Gonzaga’s stay at No. 1 is now 12 straight weeks and its stay in the AP college basketball rankings is 90 consecutive weeks. The former is a school record and the latter is the longest active streak in the nation.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga finished the season in the same spot its occupied in nearly every USA Today college basketball poll over the last two months.
SPOKANE — It's barely begun, but the week couldn't be going any better for the Gonzaga women.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga had no tape of North Dakota to study, so coach Mark Few said his staff improvised on the fly.
SPOKANE — Junior wing Corey Kispert loves the new, deeper 3-point line that goes into effect this season.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Washington State’s CJ Elleby are on the 20-player watch list for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
Canada stamped its name in the FIBA World Cup record book Saturday with the help of a couple of former Gonzaga standouts.
SPOKANE — A knee injury has ended former Gonzaga standout Kelly Olynyk’s stint with the Canadian national team this summer.
Brandon Clarke had a delayed start to the NBA Summer League while waiting for his draft-night trade from Oklahoma City to Memphis to become official on July 7.
LOS ANGELES — Former Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr. didn’t hear his name called in Thursday’s NBA draft but he quickly landed an NBA opportunity.
CHARLOTTE — Former Gonzaga point guard Josh Perkins is joining the Charlotte Hornets on an Exhibit 10 contract.
WASHINGTON — Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura became the first player from Japan to get chosen in the first round of the NBA draft, taken with the No. 9 overall pick by the rebuilding Washington Wizards on Thursday night.
SPOKANE — The guessing game is in overtime. It should reach full fervor Thursday in the hours leading up to the NBA draft.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga sophomore guard Zach Norvell Jr. and junior forward Killian Tillie are testing the NBA waters.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke, who quickly became a fan favorite with his high-flying dunks and acrobatic blocked shots, has declared for the NBA draft.
SPOKANE — Rui Hachimura is leaving Gonzaga.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura is positioned to add another significant accomplishment to his basketball career.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Gonzaga was not going to be bullied by Florida State again with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.
SPOKANE — Rui Hachimura became the third Gonzaga player named a first-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Certainly you remember an injured Killian Tillie on the sideline.
SPOKANE — This is Jessie Loera’s team now, though she deflected that notion with the same grace she shows on the court.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — When it comes to a 16 seed beating a 1, it’s still true — anything really can happen in the NCAA Tournament.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga’s Laura Stockton and Jill Townsend will miss the women’s NCAA Tournament because of leg injuries.
LAS VEGAS — Gonzaga had its 21-game winning streak end in the West Coast Conference tournament title game.
LAS VEGAS – Rewind to last week and Gonzaga entered the postseason kicking around pros and cons of the old rust-vs.-rest debate.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Saint Mary’s heard for weeks about the NCAA Tournament bubble.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga is No. 1 just about everywhere you look.
SPOKANE — Gonzaga’s Mark Few is one of 11 semifinalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Zykera Rice’s last-second shot gave Gonzaga a chance to play for another West Coast Conference tournament championship. The Zags will have to find a way to win it without two key players who were lost to injury.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Zach Norvell Jr. doesn’t believe there is a team in the country that can compete with No. 1 Gonzaga when it plays its best game.
LAS VEGAS — Hours before the start of the WCC Tournament on Thursday, Gonzaga coach Mark Few talked about the benefits of winning the regular-season title and earning a bye into the semifinals.
