Cowboys have plenty to play for in March

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowboys could play the spoiler in the next few days, although they have more important things on their minds.

Instead of being satisfied with putting a dent in the plans of BYU or New Mexico, the Cowboys are looking to help their own cause and keep the momentum going into next week’s Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas.

Yes, a win over BYU on Wednesday in the A-A (6 p.m.) or over New Mexico on Saturday (1:30 p.m.) would seriously damage both teams’ hope to catch Utah for the regular-season league title.
But the Cowboys are more concerned with themselves and extending their season-high four-game win streak.

“There is a lot to play for, a lot of basketball left. We’re not satisfied yet,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “I believe that as the head coach. There is still some meat on this bone that we want to try to go get, so to speak. This is obviously a big week for us.”

Two wins would put the Cowboys in prime position to pick up some type of postseason play, whether it would be the NIT, the CBI or the CollegeInsider.com tourney. Of course, if the Cowboys win out this week and next week, they’ll be going to the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re just trying to keep the momentum going into the tournament,” Schroyer said. “We try to not to get too high or too low. We’re going to have to play our best basketball to have an opportunity to pull an upset at home.”

It was just a couple of weeks ago that the Cowboys were struggling at 14-10 and 3-7 in league play, with not much hope on the horizon. But two wins at home and two on the road have changed that perspective.

Schroyer said it was just a matter of talking to the team about the next day and trying to get better.

“I’ve always believed and always will believe that if you just try to get a little better each day, the wins at the end will take care of itself,” he said. “From the bye week, we just got better and recommitted as a program and that has carried us to winning the last four.”

The Cowboys are also 12-1 at home this season and will be looking to use a little home-court magic for two more games.

Schroyer said that like a lot of teams in college basketball, they are more comfortable on their own home court.

“It is an environment that, like probably everywhere else in this country, you just feel more comfortable at home, sleeping in your own bed,” he said. “Traveling in this league is so hard. We have so many new faces. We’re starting to figure out how to win some games on the road. We’re moving forward, but obviously we have to try to continue to play as well as we can.”

The one thing that the Cowboys have going against them this week is the fact that they are facing two teams that also have a lot to play for and are likely NCAA tournament bound. And the Cougars have won eight straight against Wyoming, to make matters worse.

“I think we obviously know that BYU is the cream of the crop and they have been among the best in this league the last four or five years,” Schroyer said. “For us to have an opportunity to play them at home, it is big for our fans, big for our guys. We’re just trying to play our best basketball and we’re playing pretty well.”