The Wyoming Cowboys were ranked in the top 25 at one point in the season, but several losses in conference play dropped them to the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, Wyoming won the Mountain West Tournament with a win over San Diego State, clinching the conference's automatic bid.
Resume:
Record – 25-9 (11-7 in MWC)
RPI – 73
Strength of Schedule – 182
Starting Lineup:
G Josh Adams (Jr.) – 13.1 ppg, 3.5 apg
G Riley Grabau (Sr.) – 9.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg
G Charles Hankerson, Jr. (Sr.) – 6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg
F Larry Nance, Jr. (Sr.) – 16.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg
F Derek Cooke, Jr. (Sr.) – 8.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Key Player:
Larry Nance, Jr.
Nance is the son of former NBA player Larry Nance, Sr., and he's turned himself into a second-round NBA prospect during his time at Wyoming. At 6'8", 235 pounds, Nance is athletic enough to play on the perimeter while still being strong enough to dominate opponents on the block.
Biggest Strength:
Defense
Wyoming has developed a reputation for being able to absolutely shut opponents down, sporting a top 10 defense that gives up only 56 points per game. They don't force a lot of turnovers, but their defensive system keeps opponents out of the paint and makes them take tough, contested jump shots late in the shot clock.
Biggest Weakness:
Offensive Rebounding
Wyoming is a good, but not great, defensive rebounding team, yet they're among the worst teams in the country in offensive rebounding. This is simply by design as the Cowboys prefer to have guys get back on defense to prevent fast breaks rather than crash the glass.
Outlook:
Wyoming has the experience, star player, and defense necessary to pull off the first-round upset, but that will largely depend on who they play.
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