The Cowboys begin their quest for an NCAA Tournament berth and conference title this week at the Mountain West Championship. The Pokes are the No. 7 seed and open the tournament on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. MT, against No. 10 Air Force. Wyoming finished the regular season with an 18-13 overall record and an 8-10 mark in conference play. Air Force is 11-20 overall and finished 4-14 in MW play.

 

The contest can be seen on the Mountain West Network (GoWyo.com) and on Twitter. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 25 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network. Fans can follow live stats, watch and listen to the contest on GoWyo.com. 

Head coach Allen Edwards and the Cowboys finished the regular season with a 74-62 win over San Jose State to earn the seventh seed in the MW Championship.  Wyoming heads into the championship as one of the hottest three point shooting teams in the nation. The Pokes have hit double-digit three pointers in eight consecutive games. Wyoming has 297 three pointers this season ranking second in school history behind last season’s 307. Wyoming has scored 2,411 points this season for the seventh most point in school history. Defensively, Wyoming has 148 blocks this season to lead the MW to rank fifth in single-season school history. Wyoming is holding opponents to 40.4 percent from the field for second in the MW and No. 25 in the nation. Wyoming is second in the league in rebounding at 38.6 per game and grab 30.1 defensive rebounds per game for fourth in the nation.

The Falcons wrapped up the regular season with a 98-70 loss at home to Boise State. Air Force is seventh in the MW in scoring offense at 73.3 points per game. AFA is allowing 74.1 points per night. The Falcons are third in the MW in three point percentage at 36.7, as they have hit 252 this season. Air Force grabs 35.1 rebounds per game and allow only 34.3 rebounds per night. The Falcons are known for moving the ball and rank second in the MW in assists this season at 15.1 per game.

The Cowboys are led by sophomore guard Justin James. He was named the MW Sixth Man of the Year by conference media members on Sunday. He adds 15.5 points per game for seventh in the MW. He is fifth in the league shooting 46.5 percent from the field. He has scored 20 or more points nine times this season. Junior forward Hayden Dalton adds 12.5 points per game and grabs a team-best 8.3 rebounds per night for fifth in the MW. He has recorded 10 double-doubles this season. Senior guard Jason McManamen became UW’s all-time leader in three pointers at Colorado State and has 197 in his career. He adds 11.8 points per game for the Pokes. Junior forward Alan Herndon adds 11.2 points per night with 6.1 rebounds per game. He has 64 blocks this season to rank third in the MW. He has 102 in his career ranking sixth all-time at UW.

The Falcons are led in scoring by Hayden Graham at 12.4 points per game. He recently went over 1,000 career points. He also leads the team adding 5.8 rebounds per game. Frank Toohey adds 10.8 points per game with 4.2 rebounds. Jacob Van adds 10.5 points per night and leads the team with 2.9 assists per game. Van is also shooting a team-best 82 percent from the free throw line.

The Cowboys are 77-36 all-time against the Falcons. UW is 5-1 in neutral site games and last met in the MW Championship in 2010 with the Falcons defeating UW 59-40 in the first round. Wyoming is 3-1 all-time against AFA in the MW Championship.

Should the Cowboys advance, they would face No. 2 Colorado State in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT.