University of Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards gives instructions from the bench Oct. 30 during an exhibition game against Northwest Nazarene at Arena-Auditorium.
University of Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards gives instructions from the bench Oct. 30 during an exhibition game against Northwest Nazarene at Arena-Auditorium.
LARAMIE – The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team admittedly isn’t built to play football on the basketball court. But when you head to Columbia, South Carolina, and face a team coached by Frank Martin, that’s what you’re in for.
The Cowboys (1-1 overall) fell to the Gamecocks 66-32 on Sunday, a result that looks hard to spin as a positive. UW shot just 23.1% from the field, and was outrebounded 41-21. There’s not much you can do when the opposing team is just that much bigger and more physical than yours. The Gamecocks play bully-ball; they want to impose their will and force you into submission. Sometimes the opponent is just “bigger, stronger, faster,” UW coach Allen Edwards said.
But as he sat in his office Tuesday morning, Edwards spoke positively of his team. Sure, losing a basketball game by nearly five touchdowns was a tough pill to swallow. But his team competed from tip-off until the final buzzer sounded, and there’s something to be said for that.
“To be quite honest, I learned that we were tougher than I anticipated,” Edwards said. “I complimented (Hunter) Thompson with his aggression and ability to get seven rebounds … I complimented (Austin) Mueller being 6-foot-6 and going against guys that are 30 pounds heavier than him … I didn’t think our guys tucked their heads between their legs and just scattered.
“Our message to our guys was more about the war. The battle, we lost the battle. How can you continue to improve within this game?”
Mueller, a redshirt sophomore, was aware of the size discrepancy the Gamecocks presented coming into the game. But the key to being unafraid is to look at opponents as “faceless,” he said. In the heat of the moment, losing by 34 is brutal. But after a few days of film study and reflection, Mueller and the Cowboys are holding their heads high.
“That’s probably one of the most physical games of basketball I’ve ever played,” Mueller said. “Carrying that into opponents, knowing that you might have 6 inches and 50 pounds on us … but we’re not backing down from that.”
The 2019 Pokes are built on a culture of defense; it has been preached since offseason workouts began. While the results weren’t necessarily there Sunday, redshirt sophomore guard Hunter Maldonado saw progress.
“We’ve been harping on what our culture has been about,” Maldonado said. “I think toward the end of that game, we stayed true to ourselves. And that’s a huge takeaway from that game.”
The Cowboys’ defensive intensity will be tested over a four-game homestand that begins tonight against Cal State Fullerton. Them Titans (0-2) have lost games to BYU and Stanford by a combined 34 points. Despite the optics, UW is preparing for a battle, albeit a different one than the team encountered in South Carolina.
“They play hard, and they drive it. They really drive to the basket, and they take a good amount of threes,” Edwards said. “Keeping them out of the paint is going to be huge. Stopping them in transition is going to be huge.”
Following a matchup with Cal State Fullerton are home games against Oregon State, Detroit-Mercy and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Winning games early in the season at Arena-Auditorium is important, according to Edwards. Not only is it key to have the crowd on your side, but players have the luxury of sleeping in their own beds and don’t have to worry about traveling across the country. Additionally, winning games early in the season creates confidence. While his team isn’t lacking it, it could always use more.
“Wins obviously feed into (confidence). It helps you grow,” Edwards said. “That’s why I think it’s important.”
Maldonado isn’t putting a ton of stock in the Cowboys’ record on the homestand, though. Instead, he wants to see the same toughness and fight he saw from his teammates against the Gamecocks. If the Pokes can do that, they’ll be just fine, Maldonado said.
“I won’t go out there and say we have to win … but we’re going to play the best ball we can, we’re going to go out there and compete how we know how to compete, and just keep getting better every single day,” Maldonado said. “At the end of the day, the cards will fall where they may, and we’ll be in good position to win those games.”
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