BYU going from MWC to WCC in hoops (AP)
BYU is perfectly happy with “Plan B.” Two weeks after BYU’s original intention to go independent in football collapsed in a matter of hours, athletic director Tom Holmoe made the announcement Wednesday that has been haunting him for much of the last month: The Cougars are going solo in football, accepting the many risks with the hopes of greater rewards.

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Hawks sign free agent C Thomas (AP)
The Atlanta Hawks have signed free agent center Etan Thomas to add bulk in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-10 Thomas spent most of his career with the Washington Wizards but finished last season with Oklahoma City. He’s averaged 5.8 point and 4.8 rebounds per game over his eight-year career, which includes 74 starts.

Suspended G West returning to Celtics (AP)
Delonte West is returning to the Boston Celtics. The team announced Wednesday that it has signed the 6-foot-3 guard, who was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2010-11 season after pleading guilty to weapons charges in Maryland. West played his first three seasons with Boston before being traded to Seattle in 2007 in the deal that brought Ray Allen to the Celtics.

Mills lifts Australia into next round (AP)
Australia beat Angola 76-55 Thursday to clinch third place in Group A of the basketball world championship. Patty Mills had 11 points for Australia, which broke open the game with an 11-0 run in the second quarter. No player scored in double figures for Angola, which played without top scorer Olimpio Cipriano.

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Krstic helps Serbia upset Argentina (AP)
Aleksandar Rasic made four free throws in the last 11 seconds Thursday to help Serbia upset top-ranked Argentina 84-82 and win Group A at the basketball world championship. Argentina captain and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola sank two free throws with 38 seconds left to make it 77-77, but Serbia’s Dusko Savanovic hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.

Drexel moves on from offseason arrests (AP)
Bruiser Flint wants to focus on basketball, not a possible trial. He loved the sights, sounds and competitive basketball Drexel experienced on last week’s tour of Turkey that let Flint, the Dragons’ 10th-year coach, get an early look at an unexpected new lineup. Drexel’s summer vacation in Cesme and Istanbul came at a perfect time for the troubled program.

Barea, Puerto Rico ousted from worlds (AP)
Charles Abouo scored 19 points to lead Ivory Coast to an 88-79 win over Puerto Rico on Thursday at the basketball world championship. Despite the win, China will move on to Istanbul on a point differential ahead of the Ivory Coast and Puerto Rico in Group C. Mohamed Kone had double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Mamadou Lamizana added 17 points for the Ivory Coast.

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US improves to 5-0 at worlds with rout (AP)
Eric Gordon scored 21 points and the United States pulled away from Tunisia after sleepwalking through the first half, winning 92-57 on Thursday in its final game of pool play at the world championship. With nothing to play for, the Americans led their winless opponent by only four points early in the third quarter before turning the game into a rout over the final 15 minutes.

Hand out 5 months after knee surgery (AP)
Guard Whitney Hand is expected to miss the first half of Oklahoma’s season after a setback in her recovery from a right knee injury that kept her out of the Sooners’ run to the Final Four last season. Hand had microfracture surgery Tuesday after cartilage damage was found during an arthroscopic procedure initially intended to reduce swelling in the knee.

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Spartans G Lucious charged with DUI (AP)
Michigan State guard Korie Lucious has been charged with drunken driving. The 20-year-old Lucious was pulled over early Monday near the East Lansing campus and his blood-alcohol level was 0.09 percent, according to a police report. The legal limit in Michigan is 0.08 percent. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo issued a statement saying he’s aware of the ticket and was still gathering information.

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Slovenia tops Brazil, now 2nd in Group B (AP)
Jaka Lakovic scored 20 points, hitting consecutive 3-pointers to halt a furious Brazil comeback, and Slovenia blew nearly all of a 17-point lead before holding on for an 80-77 victory Wednesday. Slovenia (3-1) took sole possession of second place in Group B, while Brazil (2-2) came up just short again after losing by two to the United States on Monday.

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Clarke, Bouchman leaving Temple program (AP)
Redshirt sophomore forward Chris Clarke and sophomore forward Carmel Bouchman have decided to leave the Temple men’s basketball program. The Owls are the three-time defending Atlantic 10 Conference champions. Clarke, who used his redshirt year last season after transferring to Temple from Pensacola Junior College, has decided to transfer to Division II Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Tickets go on sale for games in London (AP)
Tickets have gone on sale for the first regular-season NBA games in Europe. The New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors will play a pair of games at the O2 Arena in London on March 4-5. The NBA is planning a week of activities across Britain, including basketball clinics and 3-on-3 competitions. Nets guard Devin Harris says “everyone involved in bringing the games to London is excited about playing…

US easily wins first meeting with Iran (AP)
In the political arena, Iran vs. the United States is a matchup that gets attention. In a basketball arena, not so much. “For me, it’s a normal game,” Iran captain Mahdi Kamrany said. The United States won it easily, earning a top seed in the knockout round of the world championship with an 88-51 victory Wednesday in the first meeting between the countries with a history of contentious…

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Plea in works for former Spartan Vincent (AP)
Court filings show a plea bargain is in the works for ex-Michigan State basketball star and retired NBA player Jay Vincent, who appeared in court Tuesday on charges in a $2 million Internet scam. Vincent was silent in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids as a not-guilty plea to fraud and tax charges was entered on his behalf.

Hand out 5 months after knee surgery (AP)
Guard Whitney Hand is expected to miss the first half of Oklahoma’s season after a setback in her recovery from a right knee injury that kept her out of the Sooners’ run to the Final Four last season. Hand had microfracture surgery Tuesday after cartilage damage was found during an arthroscopic procedure initially intended to reduce swelling in the knee.

BYU going from MWC to WCC in hoops (AP)
As BYU’s deadline approached and many speculated it could not pull off a move to be independent in football, the Cougars were keeping hope alive while coming up with a way to revive the dreams that crashed two weeks ago. Turns out the Cougars’ statements of reviewing and evaluating all options were accurate, as shown by the school’s surprise announcement Tuesday: BYU is going…

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Kansas G Henry transfers to NAIA school (AP)
Guard C.J. Henry has transferred from Kansas to Southern Nazarene University in the NAIA. The Oklahoma City school announced Friday that Henry was one of three players transferring in from Division I schools. Henry was the New York Yankees’ first-round pick in the 2005 draft but returned to playing basketball after three years and signed with Memphis.

US needs more from reserves at worlds (AP)
The last U.S. basketball team was so stacked that Dwyane Wade was the sixth man. Chris Paul and Chris Bosh were also part of that second unit, one good enough to beat any starting five in the world. When Mike Krzyzewski looked down at the bench he has now Monday, it sure didn’t seem he liked what he saw.

Spartans G Lucious charged with DUI (AP)
Michigan State guard Korie Lucious has been charged with drunken driving. The 20-year-old Lucious was pulled over early Monday near the East Lansing campus and his blood-alcohol level was 0.09 percent, according to a police report. The legal limit in Michigan is 0.08 percent. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo issued a statement saying he’s aware of the ticket and was still gathering information.

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Regulators probing Jordan son’s partying (AP)
MGM Resorts International was under investigation after the underage son of basketball great Michael Jordan bragged on Twitter about partying at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub, Nevada gambling regulators said Monday. Officials were examining whether the casino operator violated laws prohibiting drinking or gambling by minors, Nevada Gaming Control Board enforcement chief Jerry Markling said.

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