Tuck’s Take: Pokes Again Bullied in the Paint in Forgettable Loss

LARAMIE -- There are plenty of philosophies out there when it comes to attacking a zone defense.

Ball movement, spacing and exposing gaps are near the top of that list.

Ultimately, though, lighting up the scoreboard is the remedy.

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Wyoming failed miserably in that category Tuesday night inside an all-but vacant Save Mart Center, falling 62-58 to a Fresno State team that hadn't won a game in a school-record 46 days. A team that was riding an 11-game losing streak. A team in the midst of a gambling scandal.

Did I mention the Bulldogs give up a Mountain West-worst 80.1 points per game? That ranks 345th out of 355 Division-I basketball programs.

"Crap, me and my staff could have got out there and shot some of those open looks that we got," head coach Sundance Wicks said on his postgame radio appearance after the Cowboys closed out the regular season 12-19 overall and 5-15 in Mountain West play. "It's just what it is when you play zone -- you're going to have to hit shots."

Wyoming hit 12 triples on the night. Obi Agbim and Kobe Newton combined for 10 of those. The issue? The visitors attempted a season-high 40 from deep. They tied a low with just eight makes inside the arc.

That's a paltry 33% from the field against a team that allows its opponents to connect at a 46.4% clip.

Again the interior presence -- or lack there of -- served as the weak link. Fresno State's bigger guards took full advantage, tormenting their counterparts in the lane and either finding the bottom of the bucket or heading to the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs attempted 28 freebies, sinking 20. Wyoming finished 6-of-10.

Forward Elijah Price also had his way in the paint, netting a team-best 16 points. Fellow big Alex Crawford added 15 more.

Believe it or not, Wyoming actually finished with two more makes from the field in this one.

Speaking of stunners, the same team that owned the glass against San Diego State (39-23) just three days ago, was outrebounded, 45-33. Fresno State, again sitting at the bottom of the standings, gives up a league-worst 41 of those an outing.

Three players -- Price (13), Crawford (11) and Mor Seck (9) -- hauled in more boards than this entire Cowboy team. Fresno State also outscored the Cowboys by 10 in the post.

Wicks, for the third time in four games, questioned the "toughness" of his roster.

"That's a testament of want-to, right?," he said postgame.

Sure is.

What about making some hay in the paint? Cole Henry played 26 minutes. Touko Tainamo was on the floor for 20. Scottie Ebube added 14.

That trio accounted for just 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

The guards, outside of those flurry of threes, added just six more. It didn't help matters that Jordan Nesbitt attempted just two shots and capped this forgettable night with a goose egg in the box score in 21 minutes of action.

Wicks, like he's done so many times this season, pointed to size as the main culprit. That, he added, will be rectified in the offseason.

Remember, he threw this band of misfit toys together at the 11th hour, in less than 30 days, in the months of May and June, no less.

Still, he needs way more production from this lineup.

"We are not bigger, we are not stronger than any of these teams," he added. "... They just put their chest into our guys, bullied us and just shot little five footers at the rim. I mean, there's a level of want-to there, but there's also, a level of I'm not big and I'm not strong, so if I'm not big and I'm not strong, man for man, that guy's going to beat you.

"That's been the common theme with San Diego State, San Jose State and Fresno State. It's just, they just bullied us, right?"

So, now the main question is: Which Wyoming team shows up next week at the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas?

The one that took newly crowned regular-season champion New Mexico, along with Utah State and San Diego State, to the deep end in all six meetings, or the one that gave up 96 points in a loss at Boise and suffered two blowout losses at the hands of its hated Border War rival?

"We may go down in history as the team that almost beat everybody," Wicks said last Saturday after a 72-69 setback against the Aztecs.

While that could ultimately be chiseled on the tombstone of this 2024-25 campaign, Wyoming still has a chance to play the role of pest in Sin City. The "Third season" starts Wednesday afternoon against a San Jose State team that swept the season series.

"Let's not show up to Vegas and not have the effort that we need to have, amongst anything else," Wicks said. "I'd love Wyoming fans to stay in Vegas for a little bit, enjoy their beers and have a good night's sleep. You know, then they wake up and do it again. I'd love to do that.

"So, I told them, I'm going to flush this in 24 hours then we get it up and prep for San Jose. Any of those guys that want to make that trip with us and be about the right stuff, let's go on and do that."

Tipoff inside the Thomas and Mack Center is set for 12 p.m.

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