Tuck’s Take: Wyoming Embarrasses Fresno State in Season Finale

FRESNO, Calif., -- Mason Walters has been preaching the complete-game gospel.

Brendan Wenzel said this game was about closing out the regular season the right way and building momentum for next week's Mountain West Tournament.

Jeff Linder was blunt: He is simply seeking improvement.

Check. Check. Check.

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Wyoming shot nearly 60% from the field and held the Bulldogs to 16 made buckets -- just five in the second half -- in an 86-47 laugher Saturday afternoon in Fresno. Akuel Kot led the visitors with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Walters added 14, including hitting a pair of triples, in the win.

Wenzel finished with 13 points and Sam Griffin capped this outing with 10.

This was the worst conference loss in Fresno State basketball history.

These two teams will again hook up on Wednesday inside the Thomas and Mack Center in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.

This one, though, was as dominating as it sounds.

"I just thought our collective discipline and effort, especially on the defensive end, it was outstanding," Linder said postgame. "Now, obviously, you have to turn around, you have to play these guys again. You can't look at what the final score was today, knowing that once you get to the conference tournament, it's a different deal.

"But I'm really pleased with how we're trending in the right direction, especially on the defensive end of the floor."

If it wasn't for a 12-point performance from reserve guard Jalen Weaver, this could've been much worse. The junior from Aurora, Colo., sank 5-of-9 shots and was 2-of-4 at the free-throw line.

The rest of the Bulldogs were just 11-of-47 from the field, including a 2-for-10 outing for former Wyoming sharpshooter Xavier DuSell. Fresno State also missed eight from the charity stripe, misfired on 11 triples and finished with only eight assists. Wyoming also blocked four shots.

The home team closed this one on a 2:33 scoring drought and missed 14 of its last 16 shots, including the final six.

"They were letting our guards shoot, but we don't really have a big (pick and) roll threat," Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson said postgame. "... Our guards got in there and either didn't make the shot or kicked it out and we didn't make it. So, I don't think we're going to get much bigger by next Wednesday, but we're hoping that Enoch (Boakye) will be a little bit more healthy and be able to give us something."

Saturday inside the Save Mart Center, the 6-foot-11 center gave the Bulldogs two points, both of which came at the line. He missed all four of his shots from the floor and grabbed just four rebounds.

The Cowboys' big men took full advantage, too.

Walters scored seven of the team's first nine points and capped his night with six makes on 10 attempts. He also got off the schneid from deep, connecting on a three to make this a 5-0 game early on. He had missed 22 of his last 23 from beyond the arc. He would add another triple at the 13:21 mark of the first half.

Cam Manyawu finished with nine against the Bulldogs' vertically challenged lineup. Caden Powell chipped in with eight and even Oleg Kojenets got in on the act, finishing at the rim twice for four points.

The Cowboys outscored the 'Dogs 44-22 in the paint.

That's not all.

Those four also combined to pull down 25 boards. Fresno State, as a team, finished with just 29. Wyoming, 41.

"Those guys did a tremendous job, especially from a rebounding standpoint," Linder said. "Mason had nine, Caden had seven, Cam had seven -- that's what we need to do. If you want to win games in March, you want to win games in the conference tournament, you have to sit down and guard people. You have to limit people to one shot."

The Cowboys led by as many as 41 points Saturday, threatening to crack the record books for most-lopsided wins in Mountain West history.

Colorado State boat raced Nevada by a record-breaking 56 points back in 2015. Wyoming is on this list twice, both 45-point setbacks. Air Force did that to Steve McClain's undermanned team in 2007. New Mexico did it, too, the following season.

This was Wyoming's third road win in league play this season. Those victories have come against San Jose State, Air Force and now Fresno State. Linder jokes that the Cowboys are 6-0 against teams in their "tax bracket," referring to NIL funding.

Linder and Co. won't have much time to enjoy this one.

One would have to think a motivated Bulldogs' squad will be bringing some pride to the yard in Sin City. Hutson said as much Saturday.

"I think we'll play better defense. I would bet on that," he said, adding that his oft-injured roster is still trying to "figure things out" in March. "I'm not a betting man, but we're going to fight to make sure we play better defense."

Linder is sure of that.

"They've had a really tough year, a lot like we did last year with the injuries," he said. "When the wrong guys get hurt and you lose that many guys, it's tough. He's done a good job to kind of keep those guys together and continue to play hard. We know that we're going to get their best come Wednesday."

Fresno State (11-20, 4-14) enters Wednesday's play-in game on a seven-game skid after the season sweep at the hands of Wyoming. The Cowboys (15-16, 8-10) have won two straight.

What if I told you this new-look lineup, littered with rookies, nomads and players from lower-level divisions, would finish the season a game under .500 and with eight victories in this league?

They just did.

"It was a really good job," Linder said. "It was a mature effort by our group. We looked like a good team today."

Tipoff between the Pokes and Bulldogs is slated for noon Mountain Time and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.