COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., -- When Hunter Thompson splashed a triple with 3:04 remaining in overtime Wednesday night, that was the 200th successful three-pointer of the season for the Cowboys.

Here's some visual proof:

They accomplished that feat in just 20 games. I think I can even figure out the math on that.

That average of 10 makes per outing ranks Wyoming 23rd in the nation in that category out of 340 Division-I teams. They are 17th in attempts with 575.

So, what does it all mean?

Well, when the Cowboys hit that magic number of 10 -- or more -- they are 10-4 overall. Oddly enough, Wyoming hit exactly 10 triples in all four of those losses, including back-to-back blowouts at the hands of San Diego State in the last series of January. The next game was against hated Border War rival, Colorado State. The Pokes narrowly lost that one, 74-72. They hit 10 threes that afternoon, too.

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Another magic number is 33. As in 33% from beyond the arc.

When the Cowboys do that they are 9-2. They reached that mark in one of those losses to the Aztecs. They did it again at Air Force.

The Pokes highest output of the season came in the finale of that series against the Falcons. Xavier DuSell stroked five of the Cowboys' 16 from deep that day in Colorado Springs. Drake Jeffries added four and Hunter Maldonado, Kenny Foster and Marcus Williams each sank a pair.

Wyoming's worst outside shooting day came back on Feb. 6 when the Cowboys fell to the Rams at home, 68-59. They hit just 6-of-26 attempts. That equates to 23.1%.

Thompson, who helped lead the Pokes to an 83-74 victory over New Mexico Wednesday night with 14 points off the bench, also has some luck following him around in this category. When the junior from Pine Bluffs hits at least two from beyond the arc, Wyoming is 6-0. When he doesn't, the Pokes are just 5-8. Only two of those teams -- Nevada and Oregon State -- currently have winning records. The other three are a combined 14-40 on the season.

 

To recap: Thompson hitting at least two from deep is a good thing for Wyoming.

When the Cowboys hit at least 33% of their shots from beyond the arc, that's not a bad thing, either.

When Wyoming hits 11 triples in a game, they are 6-0.

Basically, this team lives by the three and dies by the three, but you already knew that. Here it is in black and white.

 

 

Mountain West Conference standings

1 Boise State (17-4, 13-3)

2 Colorado State (14-4, 11-3)

3 Utah State (14-6, 11-3)

 

4 San Diego State (16-4, 10-3)

5 Nevada (14-7, 9-5)

6 Fresno State (9-8, 7-8)

7 UNLV (8-11, 5-7)

8 Wyoming (11-9, 5-8)

9 San Jose State (5-13, 3-11)

10 Air Force (4-16, 2-14)

11 New Mexico (5-12, 1-12)

 

Here is all you need to know about tonight's tilt in the Springs:

WHO: Wyoming (11-9, 5-8) at New Mexico (5-12, 1-12)
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. MST
WHERE: Clune Arena, Colorado Springs, Colo.
TV: CBS Sports Network (Channel 221 on DirecTV, 158 on Dish Network, 734 on XFinity, 94 on Verizon Fios 
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
STREAMING: CBS Sports Network
TICKETS: None
BOX SCORE: Live stats
ROSTERS: Wyoming / New Mexico
VEGAS ODDS: Wyoming -5.5, O/U 139.5
HISTORY: New Mexico leads the all-time series 75-69 (Wyoming won 83-74 in overtime Wednesday night)
HEAD COACHES: Jeff Linder / Paul Weir

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