Mounting Foul Calls Could Eventually Cost Wyoming, Wicks Says

LARAMIE -- The worst always comes first.

Before the raucous postgame locker room celebration began after Tuesday night' 106-79 rout of visiting South Dakota, Sundance Wicks delivered a hard truth to his team -- "You've got to defend without fouling."

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So while it's warranted to toast to an unblemished home record in the non-conference season, a masterful game plan, courtesy of Director of Strategy and Advanced Analytics Tim O'Flannigan and the second outing this winter in which the Cowboys eclipsed the century mark on the scoreboard, the second-year head coach knows the constant contact could soon be costly.

"That's going to lose us a game," Wicks said, bluntly. "I don't want to lose because teams are just going to go to the free-throw line. And the collateral damage of all this is that if we foul every 30 seconds, we cannot play at pace, and we cannot use the altitude to our advantage, period. End of story.

"It's a rest timeout every time we foul. Every time they get to go to the free-throw line and shoot two shots, it's rest."

The visitors, who were on the ropes at times during this 27-point blowout, got plenty of rest.

The Coyotes attempted 33 freebies, draining 25 of those. South Dakota had more makes than Wyoming did tries (17of-21).

This is nothing new.

In 10 games this season, the Cowboys only three times have had an attempt advantage at the stripe. Those were victories over Denver (101-59), Norfolk State (75-67) and Northern State (99-75). In Wyoming's two losses, both in the state of Texas, the disadvantage was glaring.

Sam Houston State shot 11 more. To make matters worse, the visitors made just nine of their 22 shots at the line. In a four-point setback in Lubbock, the Cowboys went a perfect 13-for-13. The problem? Texas Tech, the No. 20 team in the country at the time, finished 18-of-30.

When it comes to the fouls-per-game category on the NCAA's official website, you have to scroll all the way to the final page to find Wicks' squad. Wyoming sits at No. 354 out of 361 Division-I programs, averaging 22.1 per outing.

"Webber."

That's what Wicks shouts to the five on the floor when he sees the opposition is gassed, referring to former Michigan and NBA star Chris Webber, bent over grabbing his extra baggy shorts below the knees.

That happened only one time against the Yotes.

"The rest of the game, we fouled," Wicks added. "I'm not happy about that."

Naz Meyer, twice named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week already in his young career, got busy working on a third honor in this one. The rookie from Los Angeles poured in a game-high 26 points, the most from a Wyoming rookie since Graham Ike netted 32 back in 2021 during a 111-80 blowout of San Jose State in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Again, that party was temporarily put on hold.

"That's the first thing he walked in the locker room and talked to us about," Meyer said with a smile. "When we're in Laramie, Wyoming, with the elevation, we want to use that to our advantage and not give teams breaks at the free-throw line, you know what I mean? We want to have constant pressure because we train here every day. So, we have to stop fouling."

Guards Khaden Bennett and Matija Belic both fouled out midway through the second half. Big man Kiani Saxon, who earned the coveted buffalo statue for his nine-rebound performance, finished with four.

Wicks often talks about style points and playing the game the right way.

If it wasn't for South Dakota's big night at the stripe, this win could've been even more lopsided. And, admittedly, Wicks said he's had this one circled since his Cowboys dropped a one-point contest in Vermillion 364 days ago.

"I feel like it's just being disciplined," Meyer continued. "It's something we're gonna work on, though. We're definitely going to work on it. It's probably our biggest flaw, defensively. So, we're going to fix it."

Wyoming (8-2) closes out the non-conference slate Monday night at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls where it will take on South Dakota State (6-5). Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

"When we're defending and fouling, it's going to come back to bite us in the butt at some point, unless, when we get to Mountain West play, they stop blowing the whistle, which I'm praying to God," Wicks added.