The Mountain West is approaching the midpoint of conference play with a matchup between the Wyoming Cowboys (11-9, 4-3 MWC) and the Air Force Falcons (8-11, 1-6 MWC). Wyoming just grabbed a tough home win over #24 Colorado State, winning 79-76 in overtime as 8.5-point home underdogs. Air Force is coming off a road loss to Fresno State 84-70, going down as just four point underdogs. Air Force won both conference matchups against Wyoming last season. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 EST from Clune Arena in Colorado Springs.
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The Wyoming Cowboys are making a run an in attempt to climb the Mountain West standings. They have won three of their last four games, but still sit two games back behind the league leading Utah State Aggies. Wyoming will be on the road here, and they lost their last three conference road games, dropping matchups with New Mexico, Utah State and San Diego State. The Cowboys pulled off an upset in their last game defeating Colorado State, as Wyoming was led by guard Sam Griffin with 24 points in the win.
Cardiac Cowboys.
That's just what we do. pic.twitter.com/OxM15A9B5d— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) January 28, 2024
Sam Griffin is second in the Mountain West in scoring with 18.7 PPG as a 6'3 senior guard for Wyoming. He is the top shooter on the team with 49 made threes on 41.5% shooting from deep. Griffin has scored 16 or more in his past four games, including a high of 26 in a win over Nevada. Akuel Kot is another scoring guard, the 6'2 senior is averaging 15.5 PPG, and has scored 16 or more in his last three. Kot can also shoot from deep with 42 made threes on the season. Their best frontcourt player is 6'9 senior Mason Walters, he averages 12.4 PPG and 4.3 RPG and does most of his scoring in the paint. Brendan Wenzel is a 6'7 wing who leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 per game while scoring 8.8 PPG.
Wyoming is currently ranked 184th overall according to KenPom. They rank 163rd in offensive efficiency and 230th in defensive efficiency. The Cowboys play slow, they rank 193rd in tempo based on their pace of play. Joe Lunardi 9;s Bracketology currently projects that the Mountain West will get five teams in the NCAA Tournament, but neither Wyoming or Air Force would get a bid if the tourney started today.