The Wyoming men’s basketball team has had Nevada’s number in recent seasons, going 8-2 against the Wolf Pack in their last 10 matchups.

But here’s the thing. Wyoming hasn’t been very good during that period, which dates back to a win over the Wolf Pack in the 2020 Mountain West Tournament. The Cowboys are 84-193 during the six-year period of success against Nevada with just one noteworthy season, that being the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament campaign.

“Wyoming has always given us problems for whatever reason,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said after the Wolf Pack’s 73-68 loss to San Diego State on Tuesday snapped the team’s seven-game winning streak.

But this year’s Wyoming team, under second-year head coach Sundance Wicks, is pretty good. The Cowboys have matched Nevada’s record through 15 games — 11-4, albeit against a much easier schedule — and is one win shy of tying last year’s victory total. Wyoming walloped UNLV, 98-66, on Tuesday for it most lopsided conference win since 2001. It ranks 94th in the KenPom standings, only its second time in the top 100 in the last 13 years.

Wyoming takes on Nevada at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lawlor Events Center with the game airing live on Nevada Sports Net with a 6:30 p.m. pregame show. Wyoming beat writer Alex Taylor of WyoSports.com said the Cowboys, who were projected ninth out of 12 MW teams in the preseason poll, have been better than projected.

“I would say they’ve exceeded the expectations up to this point,” Taylor said. “I think we could all agree on that. Obviously, non-conference wasn’t necessarily the most challenging out of any of the Mountain West teams. And I think Sundance Wicks has kind of brought that up in some of their struggles in conference play already this year.”

Wyoming has split its first four MW games, beating UNLV and Air Force by double-digits and losing to Grand Canyon and New Mexico by double-digits. The Cowboys have played only four road games, going 1-3 in those contests with the lone win over Air Force. But Wyoming played ranked Texas Tech tough on the road before losing 76-72.

The team has good balance, ranking 101st in KenPom offense and 89th in defense. Wyoming’s most notable change this season has been the pace with which it plays, going from 318th in the country to 154th. That tempo has been led by point guard Leland Walker, a transfer from Florida Atlantic who is averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 assists per game.

“It’s a complete polar opposite of last year’s team where they’re at their best when they’re playing fast,” Taylor said. “We saw that against UNLV. That was at home, so you can kind of credit some of that to the elevation. They were leading the Mountain West in scoring offense for really the first two months of the season up until conference play started. In some of those losses, Grand Canyon held them to 70 and New Mexico held them to 58. When they’re getting 75- to 80-plus points a game, that’s really where their strength is. A lot of Wyoming fans have said, ‘Oh, I don’t think this Wyoming team needs to shoot 30 threes a game,’ but you ask Sundance about that he says, ‘No, I want to shoot more.'”

Wicks accepted Wyoming’s job in mid-May last season, a late change that put him behind the ball in building a roster. He had a regular offseason to restock his team from the portal this year with the Cowboys much better as a result. While Wyoming has racked up 11 wins, none are against top-145 teams in KenPom with the best victories over UNLV (147), Austin Peay (181) and South Dakota State (189). The Wolf Pack will provide a stiffer test Saturday, especially up front.

“When you look at Wyoming, this is gonna be a disadvantage for them all year in the Mountain West, and we kind of knew this going in, but their tallest forward is maybe 6-7, 6-8,” Taylor said. “And Matija Belic is their starting center and he’s day-to-day right now. I don’t know his official status for Saturday. Sundance Wicks harps on it all the time. They’ve gotta win the offensive rebound category and rebounding as a whole. That was a problem against Grand Canyon and New Mexico. It was the first game that stuck out where they kind of got dominated on the glass.”

Meanwhile, Nevada looks to avoid back-to-back losses before next Wednesday’s big road game at MW-leading Utah State. To do so, it must beat a Wyoming team that has found a way to torment the Wolf Pack in recent seasons.

“They’ve got to bounce back,” Alford said of his players. “We’ve got to get Saturday before we go back on the road.”

You can watch the full video interview with Alex Taylor at the top of this page. You can follow him on Twitter here.

The Wyoming men’s basketball team has had Nevada’s number in recent seasons, going 8-2 against the Wolf Pack in their last 10 matchups.

But here’s the thing. Wyoming hasn’t been very good during that period, which dates back to a win over the Wolf Pack in the 2020 Mountain West Tournament. The Cowboys are 84-193 during the six-year period of success against Nevada with just one noteworthy season, that being the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament campaign.

“Wyoming has always given us problems for whatever reason,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said after the Wolf Pack’s 73-68 loss to San Diego State on Tuesday snapped the team’s seven-game winning streak.

But this year’s Wyoming team, under second-year head coach Sundance Wicks, is pretty good. The Cowboys have matched Nevada’s record through 15 games — 11-4, albeit against a much easier schedule — and is one win shy of tying last year’s victory total. Wyoming walloped UNLV, 98-66, on Tuesday for it most lopsided conference win since 2001. It ranks 94th in the KenPom standings, only its second time in the top 100 in the last 13 years.

Wyoming takes on Nevada at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lawlor Events Center with the game airing live on Nevada Sports Net with a 6:30 p.m. pregame show. Wyoming beat writer Alex Taylor of WyoSports.com said the Cowboys, who were projected ninth out of 12 MW teams in the preseason poll, have been better than projected.

“I would say they’ve exceeded the expectations up to this point,” Taylor said. “I think we could all agree on that. Obviously, non-conference wasn’t necessarily the most challenging out of any of the Mountain West teams. And I think Sundance Wicks has kind of brought that up in some of their struggles in conference play already this year.”

Wyoming has split its first four MW games, beating UNLV and Air Force by double-digits and losing to Grand Canyon and New Mexico by double-digits. The Cowboys have played only four road games, going 1-3 in those contests with the lone win over Air Force. But Wyoming played ranked Texas Tech tough on the road before losing 76-72.

The team has good balance, ranking 101st in KenPom offense and 89th in defense. Wyoming’s most notable change this season has been the pace with which it plays, going from 318th in the country to 154th. That tempo has been led by point guard Leland Walker, a transfer from Florida Atlantic who is averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 assists per game.

“It’s a complete polar opposite of last year’s team where they’re at their best when they’re playing fast,” Taylor said. “We saw that against UNLV. That was at home, so you can kind of credit some of that to the elevation. They were leading the Mountain West in scoring offense for really the first two months of the season up until conference play started. In some of those losses, Grand Canyon held them to 70 and New Mexico held them to 58. When they’re getting 75- to 80-plus points a game, that’s really where their strength is. A lot of Wyoming fans have said, ‘Oh, I don’t think this Wyoming team needs to shoot 30 threes a game,’ but you ask Sundance about that he says, ‘No, I want to shoot more.'”

Wicks accepted Wyoming’s job in mid-May last season, a late change that put him behind the ball in building a roster. He had a regular offseason to restock his team from the portal this year with the Cowboys much better as a result. While Wyoming has racked up 11 wins, none are against top-145 teams in KenPom with the best victories over UNLV (147), Austin Peay (181) and South Dakota State (189). The Wolf Pack will provide a stiffer test Saturday, especially up front.

“When you look at Wyoming, this is gonna be a disadvantage for them all year in the Mountain West, and we kind of knew this going in, but their tallest forward is maybe 6-7, 6-8,” Taylor said. “And Matija Belic is their starting center and he’s day-to-day right now. I don’t know his official status for Saturday. Sundance Wicks harps on it all the time. They’ve gotta win the offensive rebound category and rebounding as a whole. That was a problem against Grand Canyon and New Mexico. It was the first game that stuck out where they kind of got dominated on the glass.”

Meanwhile, Nevada looks to avoid back-to-back losses before next Wednesday’s big road game at MW-leading Utah State. To do so, it must beat a Wyoming team that has found a way to torment the Wolf Pack in recent seasons.

“They’ve got to bounce back,” Alford said of his players. “We’ve got to get Saturday before we go back on the road.”

You can watch the full video interview with Alex Taylor at the top of this page. You can follow him on Twitter here.