Community Picks: North Dakota 0% vs Northern Colorado 0%

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) -- Jordan Wilson scored 24 points and Jordan Davis 16 to help Northern Colorado to a 90-80 win over Southern Utah Thursday night, for its first road win in eight tries this season. Continue to Article

January 21, 2016 11:37:pm EST

OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Joel Bolomboy posted his 15th double-double in 16 games, scoring 14 points and grabbing 17 rebounds to help power Weber State past Northern Colorado, 85-68, to win its third straight game to open the Big Sky Conference season. Continue to Article

January 09, 2016 11:51:pm EST

An injury to UConn's best defender could hurt the Huskies' chances of contending for the American Athletic Conference title. Junior center Amida Brimah will undergo surgery on Wednesday afternoon after breaking the third finger on his right hand during practice Monday. He is expected to miss the next 6 to 8 weeks while recovering from the injury. The absence of Brimah robs UConn of an elite shot blocker who can also make an impact running the floor, attacking the offensive glass and finishing above the rim. Brimah was averaging 7.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks this season despite only playing 20.9 minutes per game. "Amida is one of the best defensive players in the country, so obviously not having him has a big impact on us,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said said in a statement. “But you never know when somebody can get hurt, which is why everybody always has to be ready to play." The timetable for Brimah's return puts him out for several of UConn's biggest games including non-league matchups with Texas and Georgetown and showdowns with fellow AAC contenders Cincinnati and Tulsa. There's a chance he could be back in time for both the Huskies' games against 18th-ranked SMU on Feb. 18 and March 3, but that will depend on how quickly he heals.  In Brimah's absence, UConn (7-3) will likely feature a lot of small lineups with freshman Jalen Adams joining Sterling Gibbs and Rodney Purvis in the backcourt, Daniel Hamilton sliding to power forward and Shonn Miller at center. That was the quintet Ollie started against UMass Lowell on Sunday when Brimah sat out with a minor groin injury. When Ollie wants to go bigger, he has that option too. Junior Kentan Facey has been the team's third big man so far this season, but freshman Steven Enoch has shown promise in limited minutes and senior Phil Nolan is a proven defender. “Everyone will have to lift their level of play — the big men, of course, but our guards, as well will have to play better defense on the perimeter without Amida in there," Ollie said. "We look at it as an opportunity for somebody to step up and have an impact on the game and the program. And I believe every player on this team has the capability to do that." - - - - - - - Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg Continue to Article

December 22, 2015 6:50:pm EST

Forgive Greg Gard for the mess in his office. Wisconsin's game Wednesday against Green Bay is Gard's debut as the Badgers' interim coach following the abrupt retirement of longtime boss Bo Ryan. ''What I've learned in terms of the structure of the program, the foundations, what works, what doesn't work, and what I believe in, is very coach Ryan-related,'' Gard said Tuesday afternoon at his office. Continue to Article

December 22, 2015 6:31:pm EST

The two-month battle between David Collette and Utah State has reached an outcome that likely won't fully satisfy either side.  Collette told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that he will enroll at Utah next month and pay his own way for the next two semesters. The 6-foot-10 forward said he won't be eligible to play for the Utes until mid-December 2016.  "I chose [Utah] because it's close to home and it has in-state tuition," Collette told Yahoo Sports. "I can't really afford to take my family out of state when we're paying for me and my wife to go to school. This will be a lot cheaper." The decision from Collette ends a saga that began when he blindsided Utah State last month by quitting the team two days before its season opener. Collette had been a projected starter for the Aggies after averaging 12.8 points and 5.0 rebounds as a redshirt freshman the previous season. Utah State informed Collette in late November that it had denied his request for a release granting him and his family permission to speak with other schools. That restriction forbade Collette from having direct contact with any other Division I coaches and forced him to pay tuition on his own for two semesters at whichever school he chose.  The timing of Collette's decision to transfer was Utah State's primary frustration since it left the Aggies no time to find a replacement. In a Nov. 11 release announcing Collette's sudden departure, Utah State coach Tim Duryea also brought up the possibility of tampering by other schools, noting that it may have played a role in the unusual timing. "I think there were a lot of factors in play that, unfortunately, have become a trend in college basketball of schools poaching other schools' players," Duryea said. "I don't feel good and don't like how things transpired." Collette has vehemently denied that any other program influenced his decision by expressing interest directly to him or through a third party. He instead attributes his abrupt exit to a deteriorating relationship between him and Duryea, a longtime Utah State assistant who ascended to head coach when Stew Morrill retired last spring. "I compare Utah State to a bitter ex-girlfriend," he told Yahoo Sports last month. "I feel like I broke up with Utah State and now she's doing everything she can to get back at me." While Collette could not have contact with Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak and his staff since announcing his intent to transfer from Utah State, he's optimistic that the Utes program will be a better fit. Collette will join a frontcourt that is likely to lose 7-foot NBA prospect Jakob Poeltl but should return standout forwards Kyle Kuzma and Brekkott Chapman as well as promising center Jayce Johnson. "I was actually recruited by Coach K out of high school, so I already had somewhat of a feel for him," Collette said. "I know he's a great coach and I would be honored to play for him." - - - - - - - Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg Continue to Article

December 22, 2015 3:12:pm EST