



Duke’s Cooper Flagg, a freshman forward, was named the John R. Wooden Award winner as the nation’s top men’s player, beating Auburn’s Johni Broome by 178 votes on Saturday. He is Duke’s eighth Wooden winner, the most of any school.
Flagg averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
The other finalists were Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida, Mark Sears of Alabama and Braden Smith of Purdue.
Flagg was previously named the Associated Press Player of the Year on Friday.
Women’s basketball
USC’s Watkins earns Wooden award >> JuJu Watkins is adding more hardware to her trophy case.
The Southern California sophomore guard won the John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s outstanding women’s basketball player. She beat out UConn’s Paige Bueckers, who won in 2021, by 46 votes.
Watkins averaged 24.6 points per game for the Trojans before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in their second-round NCAA Tournament win over Mississippi State.
Racing
Verstappen takes pole for Japanese Grand Prix >> Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start from pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix after turning in the top time in qualifying in his final attempt.
Lando Norris of McLaren will start alongside on Sunday with teammate Oscar Piastri on the second row with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
Verstappen claimed the pole on his final lap, setting a lap-record for the Japanese circuit of 1 minute 26.983 seconds. It was his 41st pole.
Verstappen was asked how this ranked among his many accomplishments in F1.
Golf
Boutier beats Buhai to advance >> Celine Boutier outlasted Ashleigh Buhai on the 28th hole Saturday in the longest match in the five-year history of the T-Mobile Match Play, sending the Frenchwoman to quarterfinals.
The previous record was 22 holes, set twice.
Boutier faced Madelene Sagstrom later Saturday. Sagstrom also needed extended time, beating Carlota Ciganda in 19 holes.
Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul routed Nataliya Guseva 8 and 7. Thitikul is the only remaining player ranked in the top 10. Seven of the eight in the field were eliminated Friday on the final day of round-robin play, including No. 1 and defending champion Nelly Korda.
Escuder wins Augusta Women’s Amateur tournament >> Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain understood what it takes to win at the home of the Masters and delivered a gem with a clutch flop shop to start the back nine and a 4-foot par putt at the end for a 4-under 68 to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Bernat Escuder, who grew up in the same region as Masters champion Sergio Garcia and U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester, made up a two-shot deficit against defending champion Lottie Woad and held off a late charge by Asterisk Talley.
Soccer
Bayern’s Muller to leave club after 25 years >> Thomas Muller will leave Bayern Munich this summer after a 25-year career at the German club.
The 35-year-old Muller said in a joint announcement with Bayern, that his “incredible journey” with his boyhood club will end in July.
The midfielder’s contract is set to expire after the season and he’s seen limited game time.
PSG wins record-Extending 13th league title >> Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 and won a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title without losing a game and with six matches to spare.
PSG needed only a draw but forward Désiré Doué got the only goal at a festive Parc des Princes bathed in sunshine to make it 23 wins in 28 games so far, with 80 goals scored and 26 conceded.
It was PSG’s 11th French championship since Qatari backers QSI took over the club in 2011, with the other two coming in 1986 and ‘94.