Photo source: Wyoming AthleticsLAS VEGAS — A lot has changed since Wyoming humiliated UNLV on the floor in early January.
The Cowboys rolled into the first meeting and left with a 98-66 blowout win in Laramie on Jan. 6, a game that felt like a statement. But statement games have a short shelf life in the Mountain West, and both programs look completely different entering Wednesday’s opening-round clash at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV quietly became one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch, sweeping regular-season champion Utah State and collecting quality wins over Boise State, Grand Canyon, and UNR. Wyoming answered with a five-of-six closing run of its own, arriving in Las Vegas playing its best basketball of the year.
Now they meet again, this time with a season on the line and Utah State lurking in the quarterfinals for whoever survives.
To get the Cowboys’ perspective, The Scarlet Standard spoke with Bryan Stevens of WyoNation.com, one of the sharpest Wyoming voices in the Mountain West media landscape, about what has changed since the blowout, how Wyoming plans to slow down Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, and what it would mean for this program to finally break through and win a tournament game.
Stevens covers Wyoming basketball for WyoNation and can be found on X at @wyoBS.
Q&A with Bryan Stevens, WyoNation.com
Wyoming beat UNLV by 32 in the first meeting, but both teams look a lot different now. From Wyoming’s side, what has changed the most since that game?
Wyoming has done a lot of lineup tweaking since that game. Leland Walker is acting primarily as a facilitator rather than a scorer, which in turn leads to a lot more scoring opportunities for Meyer, Bennet, and Dennis. You’ll likely see all of Walker’s points come in the 2nd half of the game. Gavin Gores has played a much bigger role down the stretch as well. He and Naz Meyer have continued to improve as the season has progressed. The biggest thing that has changed for them is they are protecting the ball MUCH better.
The Cowboys have won five of their last six and seem to be playing their best basketball entering Las Vegas. What has fueled that late-season surge?
Unselfish basketball has been the catalyst. Sunny has been preaching it all year, but things have really come together since the whooping they took at Utah State. The team is fully bought in to what the staff is wanting them to do and executing at a very high level.
Sundance Wicks said Wyoming has been “winning in the margins.” What does that look like on the floor, and why has it become such a big part of this team’s identity?
Winning in the margins is Sunny’s way of saying they’re doing the little things that don’t show up on a stat sheet. Things like setting good ball screens, making the pass before the assist, boxing out, and closing out on 3 point defense.
Wyoming has created an edge with offensive rebounding and free-throw play lately. How important are those areas in a tournament setting, especially against a team like UNLV?
Wyoming has been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country all season, which is very surprising considering this is a guard heavy team. Getting extra possessions is a big focus of this staff. Not only do they get more opportunities to score, but the opposition gets fewer. They’re taking the air out of the ball and keeping teams out of their rhythm. That’s a huge factor against a team like UNLV that likes to get out and run.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is obviously the headliner for UNLV. Wyoming held him to 10 points in the first meeting. What did the Cowboys do well in that matchup, and how repeatable is that game plan now?
Against elite players like Dra the Cowboys really focus on getting the ball out of his hands and making sure he doesn’t get it back. They had a lot of success attacking him in isolation in the 2nd half with Walker and Dennis getting downhill and drawing blocks. I also think that UNLV didn’t have a great gameplan going into the game in Laramie. DGL didn’t have much impact in the first half, but they clearly focused on getting him involved in the 2nd half.
From a matchup standpoint, which Wyoming player could cause the most problems for UNLV on Wednesday?
Damarion Dennis is the player to watch against UNLV. He’s a small guard, but plays with a LOT of energy. You’ll see him in on almost every rebound, shooting 3s, acting as the primary ball handler, and generally being a pest on the defensive end of the floor.
On the other side, what concerns you most about the version of UNLV Wyoming is about to see in this tournament game?
Great players like DGL can get the Cowboys into foul trouble very quickly. The biggest problem for Wyoming is going to be shortening the bench due to fouls. There’s also not much depth in the post. Wyoming only has 4 true post players available right now. If any of them start running into foul trouble it will be a problem.
Sundance Wicks has talked about the pressure of getting past the first round. How significant would it be for this program to win that opening game for the first time since 2022?
Sunny has outlined his year-over-year strategy a few times this season. Last year was about survival. This year is about improvement. It would show a TON of improvement to get that first tournament win in several years. They accomplished one goal by winning 5 of their last 6 league games, which hasn’t happened since ’99-’00. Winning in the tournament is a major focus.
With Utah State waiting in the quarterfinals, how much do you think that potential next-round matchup matters, if at all, to Wyoming’s mindset entering this game?
Wyoming isn’t looking at any paths through the bracket. They’re only worried about the next game. That being said, Utah State is a horrible matchup for the Pokes. They boat raced Wyoming in Logan. Wyoming changed up the game plan for the Aggies visit to Laramie, but still fell short. If the Cowboys can get by the Rebels the Aggies are going to be a very tough draw.
Big picture, if Wyoming is going to advance on Wednesday, what has to happen over 40 minutes?
They have to shut down DGL, keep turnovers under 10, and have at least 8 more possessions than UNLV. They’ve also got to find ways to get the ball in the hoop. There have been a lot of times this season where they went on 4+ minute scoring droughts. That cannot happen in the tournament.
Player to Watch
Adam Harakow has been very good as of late. He’s a 6’7″ swingman that plays with a LOT of energy, can hit the 3, and is very capable playing anywhere from the 2 to the 4 on the floor. He’s also a lefty, which gives some defenders fits.
X-Factor
Gavin Gores is the X factor in this game. Wyoming has to be able to somewhat neutralize the post play for UNLV. Tyrin Jones and Kimani Hamilton were the top scorers for UNLV in the game earlier this year. Gavin will need to hold down the post on defense and bring a spark offensively, which he has been doing very well in the last few weeks.
Bryan Stevens covers Wyoming basketball for WyoNation.com. Follow him on X at @wyoBS for Cowboys coverage and Mountain West analysis. UNLV and Wyoming tip off Wednesday at 1 p.m. MT at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
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