Colorado State Embarrass’s Wyoming Cowboys

One of the things that the University of Wyoming Cowboy Basketball team (18-12, 4-12) had earlier in the year when they got off to the best start in program history was senior leadership. On the floor the Pokes could rely on the senior on the squad to bring confidence and leadership to the floor. Unfortunately for the University of Wyoming that has gone away as the Colorado State University Rams had thier way with the Cowboys tonight winning 78-56.

Tonight in the friendly confines of the Double AA Arena the Colorado State University Rams (23-7, 10-5) came to Laramie and usually this rivalry would bring out the best in Cowboy basketball players. This rivalry would motivate individuals to bring their A game.  Specifically the seniors. Players like Leonard Washington and Derrious Gilmore. Not tonight. Tonight the senior let their team, their coach and the State of Wyoming down. Washington, who had missed UW’s previous game with a back injury, fouled out after scoring three points and pulling down one rebound. Gilmore scored 12 points and dished four assists. Defense which had been the peg that the Cowboys hung their hat on earlier in the season didn't exist against the Rams tonight.  Three players reached double-digits for Colorado State.  But it was Colton Iverson who set the tone as the Rams turned a 15-point first half lead into a 22-point win.

And now it's on to the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Wyoming will earn an eighth or ninth seed entering the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas next week. If so, the Cowboys will play in the tournament’s first game, a play-in between the two lowest-ranked teams in the tournament. That game takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack center. The winner of the contest will advance to the quarterfinals. The loser will be sent home. A place that only two months ago seemed unlikely for the University of Wyoming Cowboys.