The news gets worse as the week goes on for BYU basketball.
Not only has the team had to deal with a heartbreaking WCC Championship loss earlier this week, now it has to adjust to one of its top playmakers — Kyle Collinsworth — being out with a torn ACL.
Collinsworth went down in the second half of the championship, gripping his right knee in pain. After being escorted back into the locker room, he returned to sit on the bench with an ice pack to cheer on his team.
Since Collinsworth is set for surgery early next week and out for the remainder of the season, head coach Dave Rose anticipates he will recover in time for practices starting next fall.
The timing could not get any worse, as Collinsworth was having some of the best games of his career just before the injury. In the WCC quarterfinal game against Loyola Marymount, Collinsworth scored 23 points and had 16 rebounds, both career highs. He was honored to the All-WCC First Team and the All-WCC Tournament Team this season in the WCC conference, a huge accomplishment just after his return to basketball from a mission to Russia.
The absence could prove harmful to the Cougars as they try to convince the NCAA tournament selection committee that they are worthy of a spot in the upcoming tournament. BYU will find out whether or not it is headed to the tournament this coming Sunday, just three days away.
