There was no doubt that Sundance Wicks’ basketball team was devastated after letting the New Mexico Lobos slip away with a win on the Cowboys’ home court last Tuesday. After holding the Lobos to a abhorrent 18.5% in the first half–and allowing only 18 points, a season low for the Lobos–the Cowboys gave up a 43 points in the second half and were outscored by 21 points as well on the way to a 61-53 loss to the Lobos.
The Lobos’ beatdown of San Diego State the following Saturday made that loss hurt that much more, as well. The Cowboys had a chance to put the first dent in the armor of New Mexico, who sits alongside Utah State at the top of the Mountain West with an undefeated 6-0 league record.
“When you watch New Mexico play San Diego State, you’re sitting there thinking that we let that one slip away and that’s the stuff you gotta go take. You gotta go earn it,” Wicks said.
Home court advantage?@wyo_mbb plays their home games at 7,220 feet above sea level 😮 pic.twitter.com/XWVyNFAodT
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 8, 2025
The Cowboys will have a chance to relent some of that frustration tomorrow, when they take to the road to take on Boise State, a team they have already played in their first five games of conference play. The Broncos took down the Cowboys on their home court just two short weeks ago, in a game where the Pokes’ leading scorer, Obi Agbim, turned his ankle in the closing minutes of the contest, allowing the Broncos to run away with it by a score of 67-58.
Agbim will return to the floor for the first time since the Cowboys’ last outing against Boise State, where he will hope to lead the Cowboys to their second road in conference play and avoid being swept by the Broncos this season.
“Obi was full go in practice yesterday,” Wicks said in his weekly presser earlier this morning. “[He] looked good, looked sharp.”
Get to know Boise State
The Broncos enter the matchup off a heartbreaking road loss to Utah State, that saw the Broncos lose off a rare four point play in the dying seconds of the game. The Cowboys will certainly get the best of an angry Broncos’ squad, and Wicks and his Cowboys are certainly preparing for that to be the case.
“Got to go into the lion’s den right now. I know, probably, the mentality of what Boise is feeling right now is that after that heartbreak and loss at Utah State, this is probably a must-win for them,” Wicks said.
Time to get mean with it. pic.twitter.com/37f4mBqC2o
— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) January 1, 2025
Even in spite of the loss, the Broncos had one of their best shooting nights against Utah State, making 14 of 26 attempts from deep with a 52.9% mark from the field. The Broncos had a similar sort of night in Laramie, connecting on eight of 20 attempts from deep and 45.7% from the field against the Pokes.
The Cowboys will have to slow down the likes of Alvaro Cardenas and Tyson Degenhart if they want a chance to slip away from Boise with a win, as those two have been catalysts in their wins this season, including in Laramie. Cardenas and Degenhart finished with 19 and 16 that night, respectively.
Can the Cowboys find a signature Mountain West road win this season?
A season ago, the Cowboys lacked a signature road win that kept them from breaking into the top half of Mountain West, leaving them in limbo between the top and bottom halves of the league. Six of the Cowboys’ eight league wins came against the three teams below them in the standings, while only two of their league wins a year ago came against teams above them in the standings, and those two wins came at home.
While the Cowboys have been extremely competitive in the Mountain West this season–none of their losses have come by double digits–they have struggled to close out close games, leading to a 2-3 start in league play, including two losses to undefeated New Mexico and Utah State. Wicks’ is looking for his team to take the next step towards competing at the top of the Mountain West–and that means coming out on the right side of these close encounters.
“We got to go steal one at some point, playing close and competitive games is all fun, I love it, but at some point you got to turn the page and you got to be able to go steal one,” Wicks said.
