University of Colorado officials closed their basketball arena to the public Wednesday night because of weather-related hazards, forcing its men’s basketball team to play in an empty building during an 84-73 win Dec. 17 against Portland State.

Colorado made the announcement before the game as wind gusts reached an estimated 96 mph near Boulder, whipping up debris, snapping trees and endangering travelers.  

“Due to high winds, power outages around Boulder, and potentially hazardous road conditions, tonight's men's basketball game against Portland State will be played without fans,” the announcement stated. “The CU Events Center will be closed to the public.”

The Buffaloes proceeded to improve to 10-1 by generating their own energy in what felt like a closed scrimmage or throwback to the 2020-21 season, when fans weren’t allowed at games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Freshman guard Isaiah Johnson came off the bench to score 20 points.

“Kind of a weird night tonight for the Buffaloes,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said afterward.

Can I get a... Sko Buffs 🦬🗣️
Portland State vs. Colorado Highlights 🎬#Big12MBB | @CUBuffsMBBpic.twitter.com/MhPFDCkAgd

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) December 18, 2025

Boyle jokingly added that he’d like to petition the NCAA to rule the game as a neutral-site contest instead of a home game.

“I doubt if I’ll win that, but it might help our NET ranking,” he said.

The university said fans with paid tickets to the game would be issued a single-use promo code for tickets to the next home game against Northern Colorado on Dec. 28.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Colorado basketball played game without fans

Green Bay men's basketball coach Doug Gottlieb plans to "take a break" from his radio show. Gottlieb wants to put his complete focus on his coaching duties.

The former Oklahoma State guard was hosting a national sports talk radio show before he was hired by Green Bay in May 2025.

"As of now, we're going to take a break from it," Gottlieb said in his news conference after Green Bay's 67-64 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday. "I've got to have a life. I've got to be there for these kids. I've got to really dig in because we're building something cool here."

Gottlieb expects to continue doing his podcast.

Green Bay has won two of its last three games since Gottlieb expressed his frustration after an 80-78 loss to Robert Morris on Dec. 4. Gottlieb was caught on camera throwing a chair on his way back to the locker room following that loss.

Green Bay was up by as many as 11 points with 3:54 left in the second half. But the Colonials cut Green Bay's lead down to two points with 35.7 seconds left, when the Phoenix were called for a 10-second violation after not advancing the ball past midcourt.

Robert Morris made a go-ahead 3-pointer and Green Bay made just one of two free throw attempts to leave the game tied. Nikolaos Chitikoudis provided Robert Morris with the victory after making the winning layup with 2.4 seconds left to play.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Doug Gottlieb taking break from radio show to focus on basketball team