2017–18 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

2017–18 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record20–13 (10–8 MW)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaArena-Auditorium
Seasons
2017–18 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 24 Nevada 15 3   .833 29 8   .784
Boise State 13 5   .722 23 9   .719
New Mexico 12 6   .667 19 15   .559
Fresno State 11 7   .611 21 11   .656
San Diego State 11 7   .611 22 11   .667
Wyoming 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
UNLV 8 10   .444 20 13   .606
Utah State 8 10   .444 17 17   .500
Air Force 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
Colorado State 4 14   .222 11 21   .344
San Jose State 1 17   .056 4 26   .133
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by Allen Edwards in his second year as head coach at Wyoming. The Cowboys played their home games at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 20–13, 10–8 in Mountain West play to finish in sixth place. They defeated San Jose State in the first round of the Mountain West tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to New Mexico. Despite having 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Previous season

The Cowboys finished the 2016–17 season 23–15, 8–10 in Mountain West play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the first round of the Mountain West tournament to Air Force.[1] They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) where they defeated Eastern Washington,[2] UMKC,[3] and Utah Valley[4] to advance to the best-of-three championship series against Coastal Carolina. They defeated Coastal Carolina two-games-to-one to win the CBI championship.[5] The Cowboys were the second consecutive Mountain West team to win the CBI after Nevada did so in 2016.[6]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Jeremy Lieberman 11 G 6'1" 175 Junior Calabasas, CA Graduate transferred to California Baptist
Jonathan Barnes 21 C 6'10" 245 Junior Parker, CO Graduate transferred to UC–Colorado Springs
Jason McManamen 23 G 6'5" 195 RS Senior Torrington, WY Graduated
Morris Marshall 25 G 6'4" 180 Senior White Springs, FL Graduated

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Hunter Thompson
#38 PF
Pine Bluffs, WY Pine Bluffs High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sep 6, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Anthony Mack
#72 SF
Blairstown, NJ Blair Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Nov 2, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:2/5 stars
Hunter Maldonado
#98 SF
Colorado Springs, CO Vista Ridge HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 6, 2016 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:2/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout:   Rivals:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "ESPN – Wyoming Cowboys Basketball Recruiting 2017". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

Preseason

In a vote by conference media at the Mountain West media day, the Cowboys were picked to finish in seventh place in the Mountain West.[7]

Roster

2017–18 Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Nyaires Redding 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 166 lb (75 kg) RS Jr Westwind Prep
Washington State
Solon, OH
G 1 Justin James 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Oldsmar Christian HS Port Saint Lucie, FL
F 2 Andrew Moemeka 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Oldsmar Christian HS Lake City, FL
G 3 Alexander Aka Gorski 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Sunrise Christian Academy Lund, Sweden
F 5 Alan Herndon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Widefield HS Colorado Springs, CO
F 5 Hunter Thompson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Pine Bluffs HS Pine Bluffs, WY
G 10 Cody Kelly (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Campbell County HS Gillette, WY
G 12 Hunter Maldonado 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Vista Ridge HS Colorado Springs, SO
G 13 Sam Averbuck (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Suffield Academy Santa Rosa, CA
F 14 Austin Mueller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr ThunderRidge HS Highlands Ranch, CO
F 15 Brodricks Jones 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Lawndale HS
UTEP
Los Angeles, CA
F 20 Hayden Dalton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Chaparral HS
Central Wyoming College
Parker, CO
G 24 Louis Adams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Orr Academy HS
Odessa College
Chicago, IL
G 25 Anthony Mack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Fr Blair Academy Las Vegas, NV
F 33 Jordan Naughton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Etiwanda HS Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 10/17/17

Statistics

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG BPG SPG PPG
Louis Adams 31 3 19.2 .479 .426 .705 2.6 1.5 0.3 0.6 9.7
Alexander Aka Gorski 31 11 22.5 .344 .288 .744 1.9 1.0 0.0 0.4 6.8
Sam Averbuck 10 0 3.1 .000 .000 .000 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.0
Hayden Dalton 33 33 33.3 .458 .403 .838 7.8 2.6 0.5 0.9 17.7
Alan Herndon 33 32 31.9 .512 .336 .609 5.7 2.0 2.2 0.8 11.8
Justin James 32 32 31.2 .472 .308 .726 6.0 3.1 0.5 1.1 18.9
Brodricks Jones 15 0 4.6 .167 .125 1.000 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.7
Cody Kelley 33 23 23.2 .390 .351 .641 2.4 2.9 0.0 0.9 5.2
Hunter Maldonado 29 19 21.2 .388 .304 .735 2.2 1.4 0.2 1.0 5.3
Andrew Moemeka 29 3 10.7 .541 .000 .684 2.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 1.8
Austin Mueller 13 0 6.5 .556 .500 1.000 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.1
Jordan Naughton 9 0 6.9 .571 .000 .667 1.2 0.0 0.1 0.1 2.0
Nyaires Redding 32 9 13.9 .359 .394 .877 1.0 1.3 0.0 0.5 3.7

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2017*
8:30 pm
Regis W 75–65 
Arena-Auditorium (6,058)
Laramie, WY
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm
Chattanooga
Cayman Islands Classic
W 74–65  1–0
Arena-Auditorium (5,056)
Laramie, WY
Nov 13, 2017*
9:00 pm, P12N
at Oregon State W 75–66  2–0
Gill Coliseum (3,874)
Corvallis, OR
Nov 20, 2017*
12:30 pm
vs. South Dakota State
Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals
W 77–65  3–0
John Gray Gymnasium (900)
George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 21, 2017*
12:30 pm
vs. Louisiana
Cayman Islands Classic semifinals
W 70–61  4–0
John Gray Gymnasium (654)
George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 22, 2017*
5:30 pm
vs. No. 12 Cincinnati
Cayman Islands Classic championship game
L 53–78  4–1
John Gray Gymnasium (1,530)
George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 26, 2017*
4:00 pm
New Mexico Highlands W 83–70  5–1
Arena-Auditorium (4,205)
Laramie, WY
Nov 29, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Denver L 78–88  5–2
Magness Arena (1,662)
Denver, CO
Dec 2, 2017*
4:00 pm
Drake
MW–MWC Challenge
W 96–89 2OT 6–2
Arena-Auditorium (4,853)
Laramie, WY
Dec 6, 2017*
5:00 pm, SECN+
at South Carolina L 64–80  6–3
Colonial Life Arena (10,205)
Columbia, SC
Dec 9, 2017*
4:00 pm
Pacific W 86–72  7–3
Arena-Auditorium (4,606)
Laramie, WY
Dec 12, 2017*
7:00 pm
Eastern Washington W 93–88 OT 8–3
Arena-Auditorium (4,363)
Laramie, WY
Dec 16, 2017*
8:00 pm
Texas Southern W 72–66  9–3
Arena-Auditorium (4,487)
Laramie, WY
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm
Northern Colorado L 84–91  9–4
Arena-Auditorium (4,289)
Laramie, WY
Mountain West regular season
Dec 27, 2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3
San Diego State W 82–69  10–4
(1–0)
Arena-Auditorium (4,823)
Laramie, WY
Jan 3, 2018
8:30 pm, CBSSN
at Nevada L 83–92  10–5
(1–1)
Lawlor Events Center (9,188)
Reno, NV
Jan 6, 2018
6:00 pm, ATTSNRM
Boise State W 79–78 OT 11–5
(2–1)
Arena-Auditorium (5,301)
Laramie, WY
Jan 10, 2018
7:00 pm, Stadium
at New Mexico L 66–75  11–6
(2–2)
The Pit (9,846)
Albuquerque, NM
Jan 13, 2018
2:00 pm, CBSSN
Colorado State
Border War
L 73–78  11–7
(2–3)
Arena-Auditorium (7,014)
Laramie, WY
Jan 20, 2018
7:00 pm
at Utah State W 85–77  12–7
(3–3)
Smith Spectrum (7,148)
Logan, UT
Jan 24, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 23 Nevada W 104–103 2OT 13–7
(4–3)
Arena-Auditorium (5,017)
Laramie, WY
Jan 27, 2018
3:00 pm
at San Jose State W 90–86 OT 14–7
(5–3)
Event Center Arena (1,742)
San Jose, CA
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm, ATTSNRM
at Colorado State
Border War
W 91–86 2OT 15–7
(6–3)
Moby Arena (4,177)
Fort Collins, CO
Feb 3, 2018
12:00 pm, ATTSNRM
Fresno State L 62–80  15–8
(6–4)
Arena-Auditorium (5,690)
Laramie, WY
Feb 7, 2018
7:00 pm
Utah State W 83–65  16–8
(7–4)
Arena-Auditorium (4,672)
Laramie, WY
Feb 10, 2018
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at UNLV L 70–85  16–9
(7–5)
Thomas & Mack Center (11,421)
Paradise, NV
Feb 14, 2018
9:00 pm, CBSSN
at San Diego State L 77–87  16–10
(7–6)
Viejas Arena (10,494)
San Diego, CA
Feb 17, 2018
2:00 pm
San Jose State W 89–75  17–10
(8–6)
Arena-Auditorium (5,731)
Laramie, WY
Feb 20, 2018
7:00 pm, ATTSNRM
New Mexico L 114–119  17–11
(8–7)
Arena-Auditorium (4,321)
Laramie, WY
Feb 24, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Fresno State W 78–68  18–11
(9–7)
Save Mart Center (9,645)
Fresno, CA
Feb 28, 2018
7:00 pm
Air Force W 66–54  19–11
(10–7)
Arena-Auditorium (5,731)
Laramie, WY
Mar 3, 2018
5:00 pm, ATTSNRM
at Boise State W 95–87  19–12
(10–8)
Taco Bell Arena (10,303)
Boise, ID
Mountain West tournament
Mar 7, 2018
4:00 pm, Stadium
(6) vs. (11) San Jose State
First round
W 74–61  20–12
Thomas & Mack Center (4,994)
Paradise, NV
Mar 8, 2018
9:30 pm, CBSSN
(6) vs. (3) New Mexico
Quarterfinals
L 75–85  20–13
Thomas & Mack Center (7,138)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source[8][9]

References