As head coach Sundance Wicks comes to the end of his second year in Laramie, no one can dispute the steady progress this season has made, which bodes well for the 2026-27 campaign.
Considering the massive roster shakeup the Pokes had to go through, finishing the regular season with an 18-13 record and going 14-4 to defend their title in Arena Auditorium, it’s something you do every day and Sunday.
advertise
Viewing their season from a Mountain West perspective, Wyoming managed to climb out of the bottom quarter of the conference standings and knock on the door of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Colorado State.
A step in the right direction should not be taken for granted.
However, that brings the Cowboys’ two close wins over Utah State and Fresno State by a combined five points, which in a different reality would have tied the Cowboys with the Rams and Rebels.
Regardless, they now have a chance to learn from their regular season successes and failures and apply those lessons when they take the field at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
advertise
During the last few games in February and early March, it felt as though a different Cowboy would step up every night to push the Cowboys over the finish line.
One night Damarion Dennis will come.
The other one is Haden Bennett.
Who could forget rising star Nasir Meyer?
The one constant, however, is the continued and steady influence of leading scorer Leland Walker. He hasn’t had an eye-popping performance since early February and has been limited by opposing defenses.
But when he’s able to see the court well and shoot with some pace, he’s scored 20-plus points five straight nights.
advertise
As a veteran ball-handler, his biggest improvement over the past few weeks has been his ability to handle the rock without falling into careless turnovers.
Walker has committed just two turnovers in his past five games, including three straight games with zero turnovers.
The wild card that could upset Wyoming in the first round is the performance of the aforementioned Nasir Meyer.
He’s been under the radar lately, but when the 6-foot-7 freshman takes the floor — beware.
Meyer tends to score intermittently, as evidenced by consecutive double-digit scoring periods during five games (14, 26, 25, 12 and 14), four games (10, 27, 13 and 13) and most recently, six games (19, 12, 22, 11, 12 and 14).
advertise
When he stalled, it never lasted more than two games in a row.
In Wyoming’s last two wins, Meyer scored nine points and seven points, respectively.
If his performance this season is any indication, we should see an above-average performance from Nasir Meyer when the Pokes take on his hometown University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Wednesday.
As it relates to what the Cowboys are facing this week, it’s not a stretch to say that they may face the toughest road to the Mountain West Championship.
As a ninth seed, they will open the tournament against Josh Pastner and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – a team that has won six of its past nine games, including narrow losses to Colorado State and San Diego State. Despite their poor record, the Rebels have one of the best players in the Mountain West in Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, a 6-foot-1 guard who can score as well as the best players in the country.
advertise
Since January 30, the performance types of “DGA” are as follows…
-
At Nevada: 26 points, 4-for-9 from 3-point range.
-
At Fresno State: 28 points, 6-4 from 3-point range.
-
contrast. Grand Canyon: 29 points, 3-8 from three-point range.
-
contrast. San Jose State: 24 points, 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
-
At Boise State: 36 points, 6-for-12 from 3-point range.
-
contrast. Colorado State: 31 points, 6-for-12 from 3-point range.
-
Air Force: 21 points, 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
-
At Grand Canyon: 30 points, 6-11 from 3-point range.
-
contrast. Nevada: 42 points, 8-for-14 from 3-point range.
-
contrast. Utah State: 10 points, 2-6 from 3-point range.
-
At San Diego State: 32 points, 5-for-11 from 3-point range.
This man is a certified barrel master.
Is he going to play in his home stadium in front of his home fans?
If he gets hot early, not only will Wyoming be in danger territory, but so will the rest of the conference.
But let us believe in Weeks and his companions and witness their astounding achievements.
They then have a quarterfinal date with top-seeded Utah State.
After that, either fourth-seeded Grand Canyon or fifth-seeded Nevada could advance to the semifinals.
Then, if the odds are correct, the finals will feature No. 2 San Diego State, No. 3 New Mexico State, No. 6 Boise State or No. 7 Colorado State.
advertise
If you confidently said you knew who would represent the bottom half, I would never believe you.
For Wyoming, if they can beat the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, then everything else is gravy.
It’s that simple.
But Sundance Wicks won’t stop there.
He’s witnessed the same results as we have across the country:
Ninth-ranked Drake defeated No. 1 Belmont in the Missouri Valley quarterfinals.
No. 10 Georgia Southern has won five games in five days heading into Monday night’s Sun Belt Championship game.
No. 7 Idaho defeated No. 2 Montana State in the Big Sky quarterfinals.
No. 9 Campbell defeated No. 1 UNC Wilmington in the CAA quarterfinals.
advertise
Why not us?
Why not Wyoming?
The No. 9 Cowboys will take on No. 8 University of Nevada, Las Vegas in a matinee game on Wednesday, tipped off at 1 p.m. (Mountain Time) on the Mountain West Network.
