Wyo’s Big Border War Win Could Help Punch Their Ticket to the Big Dance

The one glaring weakness for this year's Wyoming Cowboys has been the lack of production from the bench.  With sixth man forward Alan Herndon sidelined indefinitely with mononucleosis, the Pokes already thin rotation looked to get even weaker coming into last night's Border War rematch with Colorado State.  Luckily, nobody told that to Jeremy Lieberman.

The reserve guard came off the bench to score 8 big points as the Cowboys cruised to a 59-48 victory over the Rams in Laramie.  On a night when the normally reliable Josh Adams struggled to find his shot, Lieberman picked the perfect time to have his best game of the season.  The Pokes' hot perimeter shooting combined with dominating performances in the paint from forwards Larry Nance Jr. and Derek Cooke Jr., who both posted double-doubles in a convincing win over the CSU.

The win moves Wyoming's record to 19-4 overall, 8-2 in conference play.  More importantly, it helps their chances of receiving an at large invitation to the NCAA Tournament next month, if they are unable to win the conference tournament and claim the Mountain West's one automatic bid.

Coming into last night's game, Colorado State was ranked #28 in the RPI index, which is one of the major criteria for the NCAA Tournament selection committee. With the win, Wyoming moved up 16 spots, from 78th to 62nd, in the latest RPI.  Even though the Cowboys remain on the tournament bubble, a season sweep of the Rams could help sway the committee in the their favor.

Of course, none of that will matter if the Pokes don't take care of business down the stretch.  Wyoming has 8 games remaining before the conference tournament tips off in Las Vegas on March 11th.  This weekend, they'll travel to the Air Force Academy to take on the 10-12 Falcons, who have only 3 conference wins.

The Cowboys will try to avoid another letdown on the road leading up their rematch with San Diego State next Wednesday. The Aztecs dealt Wyoming their only home loss of the season last month in Laramie, and are tied with the Pokes for first place in the Mountain West.

If Wyoming can avenge their loss to San Diego State next week, they figure to be a shoe in for the Big Dance next month.  Even if they are unable to pull off that upset, their dominating win against Colorado State last night could go a long way in punching their ticket for March Madness.