I will be very disappointed

[okcwyocowboy]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

[kansasCowboy]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

While I tend to agree that we have a really good shot at going out on top with these seniors, to say we will never do it again is just preposterous. If we continue to recruit like we are, then we will have a future group of seniors who can be (potentially) significantly better than this group of seniors. That's what I've been saying all along. People think just because we're senior heavy, we should be amazing. But when you look at where these guys came from. Nance has exploded into a star, from a nobody in HS. Grabau was a Mr. Colorado, for "some reason" wasn't being recruited by anybody. he's since stepped up to an effective role player. Hank, had potential, but never fully developed, Cooke with his limited experience before becoming a Cowboy has grown into an effective role player as well. And as it turns out, Bentz has just been a hidden gem for four years.
But our new recruit far out weigh these seniors coming into their own freshman year. More talent, more athleticism, and intangibles. And we're going and getting kids who have bigger schools interested in them. I say when these Incoming fresh arr seniors and we compare their group to this one, we'll notice the difference. And that's a tale tale sign of a program moving in the right direction.
But as of now, GO POKES!!! Win the Tourney!!!

[J-Rod]

On paper, these basketball brands on our side of the bracket appear to be easy. But come on....give credit where it's due. Boise State is ranked, and has won 14 of their last 15 to win the regular season title. Utah State is always a threat under Stew Morrill.

I'm one who believes Wyoming can and just might make the MW Championship game. But let's not talk about our opponents like we're taking on two Big Sky schools. There is the possibility Utah State could win on Thursday, and Boise State just might be the better team at the moment. That's why we play the game. If the Pokes happen to lose, it will be at the hands of a worthy opponent.

I'm actually cautiously optimistic about this week....but geez...you talk about USU and BSU like they're a typical September football opponents. Boise State will be the first ranked opponent Wyoming has seen all season if we beat the Aggies.

[LanderPoke]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

Geez. Step off the ledge. We'll be a tourney team in 2-3 years if we stay the course.

[HiCountryCowboy]

I've noticed an interesting regression happening to Cowboy fans (even though I'm following your post, I'm not calling you out LanderPoke) - it used to be "wait until next year" and now it's "2-3 years" for multiple sports. Man are we ++++ed if we have to wait too much longer!

Win this +++++ now!

[Cuttslam]

I've noticed an interesting regression happening to Cowboy fans (even though I'm following your post, I'm not calling you out LanderPoke) - it used to be "wait until next year" and now it's "2-3 years" for multiple sports. Man are we ++++ed if we have to wait too much longer!

Win this +++++ now!

Now we are on the 7 yr plan. That's depressing.

[okcwyocowboy]

Boise State will be the first ranked opponent Wyoming has seen all season if we beat the Aggies.

Rankings don't mean much. Murray State was ranked on Sunday. They won 25 straight games. They lose their conference championship on a buzzer beater and they have no chance of making the tournament. Wyoming was ranked this season as well. We already beat Boise once. If this team can't win this weak tournament, they will go down as a big disappointment in my book. This is the weakest MWC tourney ever. UNLV and New Mexico are not going to be this down for long.

[okcwyocowboy]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

While I tend to agree that we have a really good shot at going out on top with these seniors, to say we will never do it again is just preposterous. If we continue to recruit like we are, then we will have a future group of seniors who can be (potentially) significantly better than this group of seniors. That's what I've been saying all along. People think just because we're senior heavy, we should be amazing. But when you look at where these guys came from. Nance has exploded into a star, from a nobody in HS. Grabau was a Mr. Colorado, for "some reason" wasn't being recruited by anybody. he's since stepped up to an effective role player. Hank, had potential, but never fully developed, Cooke with his limited experience before becoming a Cowboy has grown into an effective role player as well. And as it turns out, Bentz has just been a hidden gem for four years.
But our new recruit far out weigh these seniors coming into their own freshman year. More talent, more athleticism, and intangibles. And we're going and getting kids who have bigger schools interested in them. I say when these Incoming fresh arr seniors and we compare their group to this one, we'll notice the difference. And that's a tale tale sign of a program moving in the right direction.
But as of now, GO POKES!!! Win the Tourney!!!

I'm not saying we'll never have better teams than this one...What I'm saying is this MWC tournament is the weakest one in history. New Mexico and UNLV are down. Winning the MWC tourney will never get any easier than this. We have the Seniors and experience to do it.. I'll be extremely disappointed if we lose to utah state or boise state. On paper this is the easiest MWC championship schedule Wyoming has had. There really is no excuse in my opinion.

[J-Rod]

Rankings don't mean much. Murray State was ranked on Sunday. They won 25 straight games. They lose their conference championship on a buzzer beater and they have no chance of making the tournament. Wyoming was ranked this season as well. We already beat Boise once. If this team can't win this weak tournament, they will go down as a big disappointment in my book. This is the weakest MWC tourney ever. UNLV and New Mexico are not going to be this down for long.

I don't know what to tell you then. Trying to justify the conference's level of play by ignoring rankings and rpi is a hard argument to win. There are three MW teams in the Top 35. That isn't ACC-level amazing, but it's hardly weak either. I too have/had high expectations for this team, but claiming they'll be a big disappointment for falling to a ranked or close-to-ranked team isn't fair. I get it....all Wyoming fans are starved for success. At this point it seems like short of an access bowl or NCAA Tournament berth, all seasons are failures in the eyes of Cowboy fans. If this team doesn't get to the dance, it will suck...but if a 22/23/24 win season is a failure at Wyoming, then damn....I missed the day Laramie turned into Chapel Hill of the West.

[okcwyocowboy]

Rankings don't mean much. Murray State was ranked on Sunday. They won 25 straight games. They lose their conference championship on a buzzer beater and they have no chance of making the tournament. Wyoming was ranked this season as well. We already beat Boise once. If this team can't win this weak tournament, they will go down as a big disappointment in my book. This is the weakest MWC tourney ever. UNLV and New Mexico are not going to be this down for long.

I don't know what to tell you then. Trying to justify the conference's level of play by ignoring rankings and rpi is a hard argument to win. There are three MW teams in the Top 35. That isn't ACC-level amazing, but it's hardly weak either. I too have/had high expectations for this team, but claiming they'll be a big disappointment for falling to a ranked or close-to-ranked team isn't fair. I get it....all Wyoming fans are starved for success. At this point it seems like short of an access bowl or NCAA Tournament berth, all seasons are failures in the eyes of Cowboy fans. If this team doesn't get to the dance, it will suck...but if a 22/23/24 win season is a failure at Wyoming, then damn....I missed the day Laramie turned into Chapel Hill of the West.

Wyoming was ranked this season as well... Losing to a WAC team that we already beat this year.......

[bladerunnr]

We have not made it out of the quarter final round since 2007 and we've never won the MWC tournament. I would be happy if we won our first game. In fact, I believe we are a better team than Utah state and losing to them would be a disappointment. After that, everything is gravy.

[WilyWapiti]

We have not made it out of the quarter final round since 2007 and we've never won the MWC tournament. I would be happy if we won our first game. In fact, I believe we are a better team than Utah state and losing to them would be a disappointment. After that, everything is gravy.

+1

[NowherePoke]

We have not made it out of the quarter final round since 2007 and we've never won the MWC tournament. I would be happy if we won our first game. In fact, I believe we are a better team than Utah state and losing to them would be a disappointment. After that, everything is gravy.

Logically, I agree. However, I will say that I think this is our best chance to win the MWCT in over a decade. Granted, we haven't won a conference tourney in over 25 years, so that's not saying much, but still.

[NowherePoke]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

While I tend to agree that we have a really good shot at going out on top with these seniors, to say we will never do it again is just preposterous. If we continue to recruit like we are, then we will have a future group of seniors who can be (potentially) significantly better than this group of seniors. That's what I've been saying all along. People think just because we're senior heavy, we should be amazing. But when you look at where these guys came from. Nance has exploded into a star, from a nobody in HS. Grabau was a Mr. Colorado, for "some reason" wasn't being recruited by anybody. he's since stepped up to an effective role player. Hank, had potential, but never fully developed, Cooke with his limited experience before becoming a Cowboy has grown into an effective role player as well. And as it turns out, Bentz has just been a hidden gem for four years.
But our new recruit far out weigh these seniors coming into their own freshman year. More talent, more athleticism, and intangibles. And we're going and getting kids who have bigger schools interested in them. I say when these Incoming fresh arr seniors and we compare their group to this one, we'll notice the difference. And that's a tale tale sign of a program moving in the right direction.
But as of now, GO POKES!!! Win the Tourney!!!

Never is a long time, however I think this will be our best shot in a while for a number of reasons. The most obvious being that players like Nance don't come along very often and the role players around him are experienced.

Some further notes on your post:

1. "continue to recruit like we are" - I would argue that this is the reason we aren't going to see anything better for the foreseeable future. We cannot continue to recruit at this level and expect to be successful in the MWC. We simply are not recruiting at a top half MWC level. Now, some of our recruits will blossom and develop like Nance and Adams have done, but if we continue to recruit an entire roster of developmental prospects we will never build the depth required to compete at the top of the league.

2. Nance certainly has developed into an impressive player from a modest recruit but Nance was as highly recruited as anybody in our current class, with the exception of Justin James (and if James was available in the spring like Nance was he would probably really see some nice offers, impressive get for Shyatt and staff). The other players in the class all had mid-major type offers like the MAC offers that Nance had. Compare that with the recruits being signed by BSU and FSU (to say nothing of SDSU, UNLV, and UNM, but I don't expect us to match their recruiting for a number of reasons).

[TSpoke]

Rankings don't mean much. Murray State was ranked on Sunday. They won 25 straight games. They lose their conference championship on a buzzer beater and they have no chance of making the tournament. Wyoming was ranked this season as well. We already beat Boise once. If this team can't win this weak tournament, they will go down as a big disappointment in my book. This is the weakest MWC tourney ever. UNLV and New Mexico are not going to be this down for long.

I don't know what to tell you then. Trying to justify the conference's level of play by ignoring rankings and rpi is a hard argument to win. There are three MW teams in the Top 35. That isn't ACC-level amazing, but it's hardly weak either. I too have/had high expectations for this team, but claiming they'll be a big disappointment for falling to a ranked or close-to-ranked team isn't fair. I get it....all Wyoming fans are starved for success. At this point it seems like short of an access bowl or NCAA Tournament berth, all seasons are failures in the eyes of Cowboy fans. If this team doesn't get to the dance, it will suck...but if a 22/23/24 win season is a failure at Wyoming, then damn....I missed the day Laramie turned into Chapel Hill of the West.

Wyoming was ranked this season as well... Losing to a WAC team that we already beat this year.......

Whose the WAC team? I'm pretty sure everyone in the tournament is a MWC team. If you mean former WAC team then every team in the tournament is a WAC team.

This conference is down a little bit from a couple years ago but not as much as people think. We don't have a top 15 team and our bottom is really bad(mainly SJSU who is not at the tourney). UNLV and UNM are down but Boise is way up. SDSU is still there CSU is up slightly we are up a bit. There is less seperation at the top but it is still a fine conference. The MW is gonna get 3 possibly 4(if we or someone else upsets the tournament and things fall right) thats pretty good. Last year we only got 2 which was pretty pathetic.

This year we have a conference RPI ranked 11th, which is pretty bad for the MWC but not the worst ever. Last year we were 10th and in 04-05 we were also 11th and and in 03-04 we were all the way down at 17th. So say this is the worst the MW conference ever is wrong.

That being said we have one of the best draws we have ever had and an experienced team so I really like our chances and have high hopes for us and if we don't make the championship game I will be dissapointed. So lets get out there and take it to USU.

[TSpoke]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

While I tend to agree that we have a really good shot at going out on top with these seniors, to say we will never do it again is just preposterous. If we continue to recruit like we are, then we will have a future group of seniors who can be (potentially) significantly better than this group of seniors. That's what I've been saying all along. People think just because we're senior heavy, we should be amazing. But when you look at where these guys came from. Nance has exploded into a star, from a nobody in HS. Grabau was a Mr. Colorado, for "some reason" wasn't being recruited by anybody. he's since stepped up to an effective role player. Hank, had potential, but never fully developed, Cooke with his limited experience before becoming a Cowboy has grown into an effective role player as well. And as it turns out, Bentz has just been a hidden gem for four years.
But our new recruit far out weigh these seniors coming into their own freshman year. More talent, more athleticism, and intangibles. And we're going and getting kids who have bigger schools interested in them. I say when these Incoming fresh arr seniors and we compare their group to this one, we'll notice the difference. And that's a tale tale sign of a program moving in the right direction.
But as of now, GO POKES!!! Win the Tourney!!!

Never is a long time, however I think this will be our best shot in a while for a number of reasons. The most obvious being that players like Nance don't come along very often and the role players around him are experienced.

Some further notes on your post:

1. "continue to recruit like we are" - I would argue that this is the reason we aren't going to see anything better for the foreseeable future. We cannot continue to recruit at this level and expect to be successful in the MWC. We simply are not recruiting at a top half MWC level. Now, some of our recruits will blossom and develop like Nance and Adams have done, but if we continue to recruit an entire roster of developmental prospects we will never build the depth required to compete at the top of the league.

2. Nance certainly has developed into an impressive player from a modest recruit but Nance was as highly recruited as anybody in our current class, with the exception of Justin James (and if James was available in the spring like Nance was he would probably really see some nice offers, impressive get for Shyatt and staff). The other players in the class all had mid-major type offers like the MAC offers that Nance had. Compare that with the recruits being signed by BSU and FSU (to say nothing of SDSU, UNLV, and UNM, but I don't expect us to match their recruiting for a number of reasons).

Austin Conway was recruited by some pretty big schools and was offered by Indiana and would have gotten more offeres if he hadn't committed early. He was mainly a football prospect till last summer. This season would have gotten him a lot of attention and as it is I would put beating Indiana for a recruit up against anything FSU or BSU has done.

[djm19]

You mean the same WAC teams who have come in and have consistently beaten us year after year for conference titles?

Football and Basketball both.

Football, for example, since these "WAC" teams joining the conference, we are:

Boise State: 0-4
Nevada: 0-1
Fresno State: 1-2
SJSU: 0-2
Hawaii: 1-1
USU: 0-2

Wow. We definitely should look down on these "WAC" schools. We are clipping along at a solid 16% win percentage vs "WAC" schools. 2-12.

[stymeman]

i expect us to AT LEAST get to the Championship game, for me anything else is total failure, time to talk the talk and walk the friggen walk...and no I don't think i'm being too much of a critic on this...it's our turn to make some noise not just talk about it like always seems to be the case!!!
Esp with the bracket we've got....time to Pony up!!! GO POKES

[NowherePoke]

If we don't win the MWC tournament. The MWC just isn't very good. We have to beat 2 teams from the WAC (who we already beat) to make the Championship game. We have a bunch of Seniors. The ONLY team that should be able to compete with us is SDSU. Everyone else just isn't very good. If we can't do it in this watered down conference...... with all these Seniors..........in this bracket...... then we may never ever do it again.

While I tend to agree that we have a really good shot at going out on top with these seniors, to say we will never do it again is just preposterous. If we continue to recruit like we are, then we will have a future group of seniors who can be (potentially) significantly better than this group of seniors. That's what I've been saying all along. People think just because we're senior heavy, we should be amazing. But when you look at where these guys came from. Nance has exploded into a star, from a nobody in HS. Grabau was a Mr. Colorado, for "some reason" wasn't being recruited by anybody. he's since stepped up to an effective role player. Hank, had potential, but never fully developed, Cooke with his limited experience before becoming a Cowboy has grown into an effective role player as well. And as it turns out, Bentz has just been a hidden gem for four years.
But our new recruit far out weigh these seniors coming into their own freshman year. More talent, more athleticism, and intangibles. And we're going and getting kids who have bigger schools interested in them. I say when these Incoming fresh arr seniors and we compare their group to this one, we'll notice the difference. And that's a tale tale sign of a program moving in the right direction.
But as of now, GO POKES!!! Win the Tourney!!!

Never is a long time, however I think this will be our best shot in a while for a number of reasons. The most obvious being that players like Nance don't come along very often and the role players around him are experienced.

Some further notes on your post:

1. "continue to recruit like we are" - I would argue that this is the reason we aren't going to see anything better for the foreseeable future. We cannot continue to recruit at this level and expect to be successful in the MWC. We simply are not recruiting at a top half MWC level. Now, some of our recruits will blossom and develop like Nance and Adams have done, but if we continue to recruit an entire roster of developmental prospects we will never build the depth required to compete at the top of the league.

2. Nance certainly has developed into an impressive player from a modest recruit but Nance was as highly recruited as anybody in our current class, with the exception of Justin James (and if James was available in the spring like Nance was he would probably really see some nice offers, impressive get for Shyatt and staff). The other players in the class all had mid-major type offers like the MAC offers that Nance had. Compare that with the recruits being signed by BSU and FSU (to say nothing of SDSU, UNLV, and UNM, but I don't expect us to match their recruiting for a number of reasons).

Austin Conway was recruited by some pretty big schools and was offered by Indiana and would have gotten more offeres if he hadn't committed early. He was mainly a football prospect till last summer. This season would have gotten him a lot of attention and as it is I would put beating Indiana for a recruit up against anything FSU or BSU has done.

Conway's recruitment isn't exactly that straightforward. Conway's recruitment was very reminiscent of Jaydee Luster. Not a terrible thing by the way, but both saw a high level of recruitment as younger players (Conway was originally offered by IU in 2012) with their recruitment slowing down as they got older (Luster landing at NMSU and Conway at Wyoming with an offer from Rice as well). The reason is that they didn't grow as projected. Conway appears to be a better athlete than Luster so I am not saying he will be the same player, but his recruitment situation was similar as a small guard.

In terms of BSU, they have signed a Top 100 player (Hutchison) and a Top 150 (Austin) in the last two classes along with Harwell (who had offers from Wyoming and CU among other) and beat out UNM (along with Nebraska, etc.) for David Wacker (Texas 5A player of the year). Their second tier of recruits is pretty impressive too as they signed very successful JC players in Kevin Allen (who had high major offers) and Montigo Alford. They also recruit internationally which can be tough to judge at signing day but has produced for them in past (Drmic, Duncan, etc.).

Beyond that is just the obvious fact that they lost a first team All-MWC player to injury before the conference season and still went 14-4 in the MWC. Leon Rice is a good coach, but so is Larry Shyatt. The difference is that they have a deeper bench of talent with Marks, Webb, Duncan, Thompson, etc.

[JimmyDimes]

I'd argue Boise is much better without Drmic. We'll see how they do without Marks. A team Wyoming was able to beat by double figures.