On Saturday afternoon, the Wyoming Cowboy men’s basketball team faced off against the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels in a game that was touted as a matinee. The Pokes came out strong at first, but that quickly fizzed as the Rebels maintained the score advantage throughout the game, leading for over 32 game minutes. The final score was Wyoming 57, UNLV 68.
Offensive Woes:
Wyoming shot just 19% (4-21) from beyond the arc, compared to UNLV who shot 38% (6-16). The Cowboys struggled on free throws too, making just three for 33%, while the Rebels went 16-for-19 (84.2%). Cole Henry led the team with six assists throughout the game.
Rebounding and Paint Presence:
Wyoming was outrebounded 34-32 but had more offensive rebounds at 10-6. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize. In the paint, UNLV outscored Wyoming 38-30.
Defensive Shortcomings:
Wyoming failed to generate any fast break points (0 to UNLV’s 9). Wyoming had three steals compared to UNLV’s five but nearly matched UNLV for turnovers with 10 compared to 11 for UNLV. Turnovers are a chance for a team to claw back, but UNLV was able to gain 11 points on turnovers compared to Wyoming’s 9.
Player Performances:
It’s not a big surprise that Wyoming’s scoring leader was Obi Agbim with 14 points (6-13 FFG, 1-6 3PT, 1-1 FT), but the team needed more efficiency throughout the game. Magija Belic led the team with 6 rebounds, and Cole Henry had 6 assists.
Coach’s Take:
Sundance Wicks didn’t shy away from passion when he addressed the media post-game. The first thing he spoke about was controlling attitude and effort: "There’s two things in this life that we talk about a lot in our program about what you can control… You are in control of your attitude and you are in control of your effort." "Tonight, we had a very lackluster attitude and… very uninspired effort. And that’s not good enough to beat a team that was desperate on a five-game losing streak."
Sundance continued, "I’m not sure we deserved success today. I’m not sure we deserved to win today." "You have to give everything—your whole soul and being—to this game if you want to learn how to win."
What was Wicks’s message to his team in the locker room postgame? "At some point, you gotta put your heels in the ground." "There needs to be a collective, unified front of guys that want to put their heels in the ground and say, ‘We’re going to fight till the very end.’"
Before the new year, Sundance told us that Cole Henry was the person who said what needed to be said as a leader on the team. The graduate forward didn’t hold back during the postgame press conference: "I might have to change some of my vocabulary because we only have so many games left. I don’t have another year to build for the future—I want to win now." Henry continued: "It’s frustrating as a leader because I call it out, and coaches call it out. I want to be a coach someday, so I guess I’m getting some good experience with this, as much as I hate it." Knowing his career as a collegiate basketball player is waning, he has his eyes set on one thing: winning and making a Mountain West Conference tournament run. "I want to have a good experience in Las Vegas, and really, you know, potentially come away with a win or two, three—make it a Cinderella story," Henry stated.
Σχόλια