Cowboys Can Leapfrog San Jose State in Standings With Win

LARAMIE -- Sundance Wicks said he sported a pair of bushy lamb-chop sideburns during his days at Campbell County High School.

They matched the curly afro on his head.

"That's probably why I never had a girlfriend," Wyoming's first-year head coach joked.

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That facial hair, he added, still grows in sporadically. He's envious of real beards.

So, anyway, how's the focus in the Cowboys' locker room right now?

While the bench boss is still his lax, fun-loving self, the guys in this lineup have an opportunity in front of them Saturday afternoon when the San Jose State Spartans pay a visit to the Arena-Auditorium.

Win, and leapfrog the Spartans in the standings. Lose, and Wyoming is almost certainly looking at the No. 9 seed with the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas just 19 days away.

A dangling carrot, at this stage of the season, is all you can ask for. Wicks has been hammering home that point all week long.

"A lot," he said Friday. "We talk about meaningful games in February and March ... It's really hard, I think, to keep your team motivated and having hope, right?  If you can't see anything, there's nothing in front of you. That's why they put the rabbit on the track. You know, you have to chase the rabbit."

Latrell Davis and the Spartans outlasted the Cowboys 67-58 during the first meeting in late January. The sophomore guard netted 22 points off the bench in the process. After an unlikely victory at UNLV, Wicks' ragtag bunch has a chance to go on a mini-run in a top-heavy league.

Beat the Spartans and there was a real shot at a three-game winning streak. That didn't happen.

Scottie Ebube netted a career-high 22 that night, but free throws were again the black mark on the final stat line. Wyoming missed eight of those. The visitors were also outrebounded by 10 on the defensive glass and drilled just 6-of-31 three-point attempts.

Ebube, who was suspended for "cultural conduct" before the New Mexico game on Feb. 12, has been reinstated, according to Wicks. Will he play Saturday? That remains to be seen.

Having the 6-foot-10, 275-pound center in the mix certainly wouldn't hurt.

"That's the emphasis we drove home yesterday is, you have to have a paint presence," Wicks said. "How do you have a paint presence? There's three ways you have a paint presence: You can drive the ball into the paint, you can pass the ball to the paint with your big guys or you can grab offensive rebounds.

"So, two of those three have to happen. And if you don't have a paint presence for your bigs, you have to be able to get the ball to the paint with your guards. You have to go be able to make winning plays."

Matija Belic suffered an ankle injury Tuesday night against Air Force. Despite being in a walking boot, Wicks said the junior is going to give it a go against the Spartans.

Obi Agbim had a rare off-night in the first matchup.

Wyoming's leading scorer (17.9 ppg) was limited to just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting. That was by far his worst outing in a Cowboy uniform and the only time this season the Colorado product has failed to reach double-figures.

What happened?

"They were really physical with him," Wicks said bluntly. "I think what I like about San Jose's guards is they really like to take on the challenge of guarding the other team's guards. I mean, they've got really good, athletic, big guards, right? It's kind of the formula that we're looking for as we go forward here. You want to get like-sized individuals that have physicality and toughness where you could switch everything and you can really disrupt."

Former Utah State guard Josh Uduje, and former Fresno State menace, Donovan Yap, had plenty to do with that.

You remember Yap.

The Las Vegas native torched the Cowboys for 16 points in the opening round of the conference tournament last March. He helped lead that improbable comeback that saw the Bulldogs erase a seven-point deficit with just 2:54 to go in regulation. Yap was 4-of-5 from the field and drained 7-of-8 attempts from the line.

"He's done a really good job of finding those tough guys, man," Wicks said, referring to SJSU head coach Tim Miles. "More tough than talented. He has some talented guys that are pretty tough right now, and that equates to some success."

SJSU is 12-16 overall and, like Wyoming, 5-11 in Mountain West play.

The similarities don't end there.

The Spartans have narrow losses to San Diego State (twice), Boise State, UNLV, Utah State. Miles' bunch even handed frontrunning New Mexico its first league loss back in mid-January.

That was the Spartans' signature win.

The Cowboys have also taken the Mountain West's heavy hitters to the deep end. Twice they had the Lobos and Aggies on the ropes. They nearly caught the Aztecs flat footed inside Viejas Arena, too.

"They're a hard out, right? They played everybody close, as well," Wicks said. "I mean, it's the same league. This league is brutal. You have to come prepared every night, mentally and physically. So, San Jose State is no different. I mean, they're a tough, gritty team. They have hard-nosed guards. They play a style of play where each one of their guards is playing with irrational confidence and can wiggle and hit some shots."

Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

Mountain West Standings:

New Mexico: 14-2, 22-5

Utah State: 13-3, 23-4

San Diego State: 11-4, 18-6

Colorado State: 11-4, 17-9

Boise State: 10-5, 18-8

UNLV: 8-7, 14-12

Nevada: 7-8, 15-11

Wyoming: 5-11, 12-15

San Jose State: 5-11, 12-16

Fresno State: 1-15, 5-22

Air Force: 0-15, 3-23

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players