Despite losing West Coast Conference player of the year Filip Petrusev, the Gonzaga received 28 first-place votes and 1,541 points from a 64-member national media panel and will open the season at No. 1.
That was just enough to edge Baylor (24 first-place votes) by a single point for the top spot in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 heading toward the delayed Nov. 25 start of the season.
“It’s a great honor to be selected No. 1,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “We understand that it is more a reflection of what our program has accomplished over the years and hope to play up to that standard as we start our season.”
Villanova received 11 first-place votes and was third, followed by Virginia with the remaining first-place vote. Iowa was picked fifth behind national player of the year front-runner Luka Garza, its highest preseason ranking in school history.
Then came a wave of bluebloods with Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Duke and Kentucky completing the top 10.
• Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo has tested positive for COVID-19, the school’s athletic department announced Monday.
Associate head coach Dwayne Stephens will lead the Spartans’ practices while the 65-year-old Izzo is in isolation for 10 days. Izzo, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, says he has minor symptoms and will stay connected with his coaching staff and players virtually.
WOMEN: Muffet McGraw has kept busy since retiring last spring from coaching Notre Dame.
From teaching a sports business leadership class at the university to helping on Election Day as a poll worker, the Hall of Famer women’s basketball coach has stayed active. Now she’s ready to add a new job to her list: serving as a studio analyst for the ACC Network.
“It’s a new challenge I’m looking forward to. I thought it was a way to stay connected with something I spent my entire life doing,” McGraw said. “Women’s basketball has been a passion of mine.”
McGraw said she’ll be able to provide a different view as a former coach. She talked to Andy Landers and Seth Greenberg, who have transitioned from coach to studio analysts for ESPN, to see how they prepare.
“I know it will take a little bit of time to get comfortable,” she said. “It will be different watching a game and not watching film after. I have a lot to learn.”
GOLF
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Kevin Sutherland and Paul Broadhurst fought darkness through six playoff holes on Sunday, neither able to make a putt to end the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.
When they returned Monday morning, they faced a different challenge: the crisp desert air.
Figuring the ball wouldn’t fly as far, Sutherland made the proper adjustment, hitting a 7-iron on the par-4 17th hole to 4 feet.
Sutherland made the putt, ending the final PGA Tour Champions event of the year after nine playoff holes played over two days.
Sutherland and Broadhurst were forced to return to Phoenix Country Club to finish after playing to a stalemate over six playoff holes in near darkness on Sunday. They continued to match each other through two playoff holes on a chilly morning in the desert, the second with dueling birdies.
Sutherland finally broke through on the ninth playoff hole, hitting his 163-yard approach shot close to the flag. He made the putt to win his fourth PGA Tour Champions title after Broadhurst got up-and-down for par from short of the green.
BASEBALL
MINOR LEAGUE PRESIDENT: Peter Woodfork was appointed Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of minor league operations and development on Monday and will oversee the farm teams under their new structure.
MLB is taking over governance of the minors from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues following the expiration of the Professional Baseball Agreement on Sept. 30. The National Association had governed the minors since 1901; president Pat O’Conner announced Sept. 8 that he is retiring on Dec. 31 after 13 years in charge.
Minor leagues hope to resume play next year after missing 2000 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 44-year-old Woodfork won three Ivy League baseball titles as an infielder at Harvard, from which he graduated in 1999.
He worked three years in the Labor Relations Department of Major League Baseball, became director of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox from 2003-05 and assistant general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2005-10, then returned to MLB in March 2011 as senior vice president of baseball operations, overseeing the umpiring department.
He will report to executive vice president Morgan Sword in the baseball economics and operations department. Woodfork will oversee the player development system, including licensed affiliates, partner leagues and club player development departments. He will have responsibility for governance, scheduling, umpiring, license compliance and administration of affiliated teams.
SOCCER
PORTUGAL OFFICES RAIDED: Portuguese authorities raided the offices of soccer clubs Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Santa Clara on Monday as part of an investigation into fraud, corruption and money laundering.
All three clubs confirmed the searches and said they were collaborating with authorities.
Some homes and two law firms also were raided by authorities. Part of the investigation is related to the transfer of players.
Sporting said in a statement the investigation is related to alleged irregularities from 2011-14. It congratulated authorities’ efforts to promote transparency in Portuguese soccer. Sporting leads the Portuguese league after seven matches. Benfica is third and Santa Clara eighth.
FIGURE SKATING
U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS: The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are being moved from San Jose, California to Las Vegas.
The national federation said Monday the switch was based partly on the successful bubble environment used for Skate America last month at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. San Jose will now get the 2023 nationals, while the 2022 event, which serves as the Olympic trials, will be in Nashville.
Nationals will take place Jan. 11-21 in Las Vegas. Nathan Chen, a two-time world champion who has won the last four U.S. titles, will lead the field. He won Skate America. Senior competition will take place from Jan. 11–17, and junior competition from Jan. 19–21. As with Skate America, no spectators will be allowed.
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