Cowboys get 25th commitment to 2010 Class

Austin Daniels a 5'10 170lb DB from Mt. SAC (CA) committed to the Wyoming Cowboys for the 2010 season thus becoming the 25th and final recruit. Barring any surprises the Pokes are finished with recruiting two days before the February 3rd signing date.

It's interesting that the Pokes went with a JUCO DB to complete the class. The Pokes already had three DB commits prior to Daniels and the Cowboys are returning all their starters in the secondary next year. I would have loved for the Pokes to grab one more High School Wide Receiver or TE to complete the class.

Daniels finished the year with 55 tackles and 2 interceptions. Though small in stature Daniels is quick with a 4.45 time for the 40. Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State and Oregon all had interest in Daniels but it appears that none had officially offered him.

Coach Christensen and his staff have a system they use for recruiting that is different than most schools. So if they like Daniels then I'm glad he is on board. They know the team and where they need to add depth so they must really like Daniels. It is pretty hard to find much on him besides stats. There are no pictures or highlight videos posted on the web of Daniels so he is definitely an under the radar recruit.

Once the full class is finalized and introduced on Wednesday expect a full analysis from Cowboy Altitude. Congrats to the Cowboys staff for having such a successful year recruiting. I doubt they rest much as recruiting for 2011 has already begun.

Loss to Air Force: UGLY

The Air Force Falcons (9-11, 1-6) had lost six in a row and have been win less in Mountain West play since March 5th, 2008. Until now, thanks to a disappointing performance by the Cowboys. The Pokes (9-12, 2-5) also remain win less on the road this year and will probably finish the year the 0-11 on the road after the 70-63 loss. Air Force was the closest thing to a gimme game on the road this season and the Pokes failed.

The Falcons run a very well disciplined offense that controls the ball and waits to find a shot. Imagine that a well disciplined team from a Military school. Wyoming played uninspired ball on the road and failed to be aggressive and get to the basket.

On Wednesday nights win the Pokes did a great job of limiting their three point shooting. Long range shooting is not this team's forte and they seem to forget that fairly often. The Pokes went from 5 of 22 from behind the arc for a disappointing 22%. Just because your opponent is hitting three pointers doesn't mean you match them - play your game. Ryan Dermody is the big culprit here - Derm's played 20 minutes and took eight attempts but only hit on trey.

Desmar Jackson was the lone bright spot for Wyoming with 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting and six rebounds. This Jackson's second consecutive game leading the team in scoring and putting up 21 points. Djibril Thiam nearly had a double double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Evan Washington led the Falcons with 23 points and 7 assists in a career best game. Michael Lyons added 16 and Grant Parker had 12. The Falcons hit 11 of their 25 three pointers including their first three.

Next week the Cowboys host the UNLV Rebels on Wednesday and on Saturday the Pokes travel to Fort Collins.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Desmar Jackson has another 21 point game. Glad he is making the most of his minutes.

Cowboy Low: Ryan Dermody can't make a basket this year. Well I guess did he did make one.

Cowboy Foe: Evan Washington had 23 points to lead all scorers.

Preview: Wyoming Cowboys at Air Force Falcons

Wyoming Cowboys at Air Force Falcons
1:30 PM MST
TV: The Mtn

The Wyoming Cowboys (9-11, 2-4) will be looking to extend one streak and break another when the head down to Colorado Springs on Saturday to face the Air Force Falcons (8-11, 0-6). The Cowboys are looking for their first winning streak since November after defeating the Utah Utes on Wednesday. Standing in their way is a winless record on the road this season and scrappy young Falcons squad. Will the Falcons get their first conference win in 23 tries or will the Pokes grab their first road win? Let's see who has the advantage.

Wyoming is without their leading scorer Afam Muojeke for the rest of the season but others are stepping up to fill that role. Adam Waddell has been playing his best ball of the season recently and his coming off a 13 point 22 rebound effort. Waddell did injure his ankle on Wednesday and is questionable for this weekend. That would leave the Pokes very thin inside as 7-3 Boubacar Sylla is the only other center on the roster and has not been impressive so far this year. Freshman Desmar Jackson has been a spark plug off the bench for the Pokes and put 21 point in 20 minutes against the Utes.

Wyoming uses a full court press that forces lots of turnovers but have struggled on defense and allow a league high 74 points a game. The Falcons have been riddled with injuries all season but are nearing full strength. The Falcons run a slow and deliberate offense that hasn't managed more than 54 points in their six conference losses.

Senior Grant Parker has appeared in the last two games for the Zoomies after missing 10 games with a pelvic injury. Parker leads the team with 15 points and 5 rebounds a game. Evan Washington and Tom Fow are the only other Falcons to average double digits in scoring this season. Parker could give the Pokes trouble inside if Waddell is unable to go for the Cowboys. Seven players have missed a total of 43 games for Air Force this year.

Wyoming swept the season series last year while Air Force took both 2008 meetings. Elevation shouldn't be a factor as both teams are used to playing in the thin air of the Front Range.

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
WYO	9-11	77.3	74.7	9-6	0-5	W1
AFA	8-11	60.2	62.8	7-4	0-7	L6

Six Bowl Games for Mountain West in 2010?

Is the Mountain West sticking with the Humanitarian Bowl?

With the addition of the Independence Bowl to the Mountain West Bowl season it seemed like the Mountain West would be dropping it's lowest ranked bowl the Humanitarian Bowl which is played in Boise, ID.

According to Pete Fiutak from College Football News the Mountain West is keeping the affiliation with the Humanitarian Bowl which brings its bowl affiliations up to six from five last year. With TCU making the Fiesta Bowl the Cowboys ended up in New Mexico and Bowling Green filled the MWC slot in Boise since no other Mountain West team had the required six wins. Fiutak does say that there are a few educated guesses in these matchups so maybe something will change. I wrote the Director of the Humanitarian Bowl Kevin McDonald to find out more.

Here is the quick response from Humanitarian Bowl Executive Director Kevin McDonald:

We are working on a four year deal…it should be done in the next 30 days….can’t say which conference!

The Humanitarian Bowl does make sense geographically for the Mountain West but do we really want three bowl matchups versus the WAC in one year? More on that in two paragraphs.

If TCU were to qualify for another BCS game next season the Mountain West could possibly send seven teams to the post season. Though it could be nearly impossible for a league with only nine teams to have seven teams post six victories in the same season.

Bad news for the Mountain West is that the Poinsettia Bowl is dropping it's Pac 10 affiliation for Navy for WAC #5 starting in 2010. The Midshipmen have posted a solid squad the last few years but the the #5 WAC team will be a huge mismatch. Last year Utah embarrassed the Cal Bears in the Poinsettia Bowl. In 2013 the Mountain West team would face the Army Black Knights if they qualify. If you think I'm joking... sorry. Check out the news release from the P Bowl.

Mountain West Bowl Lineup

1) Las Vegas vs. Pac 10 No. 5,
2) Poinsettia vs. Navy or WAC No. 5,
3) Independence vs. ACC No. 7,
4) Armed Forced vs. Conference USA No. 4,
5) New Mexico vs. WAC No. 3,
6) Humanitarian vs. WAC No. 2 ?????

Cowboy gets back on the winning track

Muojeke who? Without their leading scorer for the rest of the season the Wyoming Cowboys defended their home turf in a 75-69 victory over the Utah Utes. The Cowboys (9-11, 2-4) snapped their three game losing streak with huge games from Adam Waddell and Desmar Jackson. Waddell was a monster on the boards grabbing 22 rebounds as well as 13 points. Desmar Jackson came off the bench to score 21 points in 20 minutes to lead the Pokes offensively.

Wyoming led 35-32 at halftime then built a 12 point lead early in the second. Utah made a 9-0 run led by Carlon Butler who scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half. The Utes led 67-66 with 2:27 remaining but the Cowboys hit seven free throws in the final 46 seconds to seal the victory.

Wyoming scored 22 points off 19 Ute turnovers. The Pokes made the game much closer than it needed to be by hitting only 23 of their 44 free throw attempts. Besides Waddell and Jackson two other Cowboys reached double digit scoring: Djibril Thiam added 16 and A.J. Davis chipped in 10. The Pokes had 11 assists to only 10 turnovers for the game.

Carlon Brown was the main weapon for the Utes tonight, his 31 points were more than the Utes next highest scorers Marshall Henderson (13) and Jay Watkins (12) combined. With the loss Utah (10-10, 3-3) continued their up and down season with another surprising loss. Last week the Utes knocked off the UNLV Rebels on in Las Vegas.

The game wasn't televised so only the 4,000 in attendance were able to watch the game live. Utah leads the series 92-75 while the Pokes hold a 49-32 home court advantage. These two teams will face off in Salt Lake City on February 27th.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: This one is tough so I'll have to give it to both Adam Waddell and Desmar Jackson. When the Pokes needed it most these two youngsters served notice that they want to take a leadership role on this team.

Cowboy Low: Ryan Dermody had an opportunity to step up with Muojeke out but managed only 3 points in 18 minutes. He'll need to be more aggressive if he expects to make the most of his Senior season.

Cowboy Foe: Carlon Brown was on fire connecting for 31 points.

Love for DC and Wyoming from ESPN

Graham Watson a blogger from ESPN wrote a nice article on the Cowboys under first year head coach Dave Christensen.

“It really solidifies what we’re trying to do,” Christensen said. “I don’t
have to sell on my philosophy and my vision because now it's there. And now [the
current players] are going to sell it because they got through it and they know
how it works.”

The success from the 2009 season will hopefully create a snowball effect. The Cowboys have a very bright future thanks to Christensen.

Read the full article.

Video of QB Emory Miller

Emory Miller out of Mesquite, TX (HORN HS) committed to the Cowboys on Monday. Here is some video footage of Miller and his team. Pretty entertaining stuff here, gives you a good feel for him as a person and an athlete.


Find more videos like this on FOX HiLites DFW


Here is the intro video for Horn HS that played on their video screen before every home game. Pretty impressive production value for a high school. Miller is #11.

Preview: Runnin' Utes at Wyoming Cowboys

Utah Utes at Wyoming Cowboys

Wednesday, January 27th
7:00pm MST
Arena-Auditorium
TV: none

With a week off to clear their minds and prepare the Wyoming Cowboys (8-11, 1-4) need a new vibe as they prepare for the last 11 games this season. Missing will be leading scorer Afam Muojeke the MWC Freshman of the Year last season. Muojeke had surgery over the weekend to repair his left knee which he injured in last weeks loss at BYU.

The Runnin' Utes (10-9, 3-2) bring a Jekyll and Hyde squad to Laramie for the first meeting of these teams this year. With wins over Illinois, Michigan and UNLV the Utes can play with nearly any team. Losses to Pepperdine, Seattle and Idaho show they lack consistency. Carlon Brown leads the Utes with 13 points a game despite coming off the bench for the last nine games. Freshman guard Marshall Henderson takes nearly seven 3 point attempts each game hitting a third and averaging 11 points. David Foster is a beast at 7-3 and averages 4.4 blocks a game.

Who will step up for Wyoming with Muojeke out? That is a hard question to answer. Adam Waddell is the most likely candidate with four double digit games in his last five. Arthur Bouedo has averaged 7 points a game in his last five games this year and shown a knack for hitting threes. A.J. Davis is the second leading scorer for the Pokes but saw only limited minutes prior to Muojeke going down.

Both games this week are winnable for the Pokes. A bid advantage at home should help against Utah and then on Saturday the Pokes travel to Colorado Springs to face a young Air Force team that is winless in conference play.

Hoops: Rotation down the stretch

GIVE DESMAR THE BALL THE LAST TWO MONTHS

With Afam Muojeke out the remainder of this season the Pokes rotation could get a overhaul with 11 games remaining in the regular season. With a 1-4 conference record so far Wyoming should focus on getting the younger players as much playing time as possible to help speed their development.

I'm not saying bench the starters but aside from Adam Waddell no one really has a starting spot locked down in my opinion.

So a college basketball game has 200 minutes in regulation. Here is my ideal rotation for the remainder of the season.

Center:

30 minutes - Adam Waddell could be the center of the Pokes offense now with Muojeke out. Should continue to start and see plenty of minutes.

10 minutes - Boubacar Sylla has seen less minutes lately but sitting on the bench isn't going to help his development. He should play at least 10 minutes each game.

Power Forward:

18 minutes - Amath M'Baye. Has a trouble with fouls but provides great energy off the bench. M'Baye should have a chance at starting and see if that helps his game.

15 minutes -Djibril Thiam has been the starter here for most for most of the season averaging 9/5. Thiam will be a Senior next year and will still have the inside track on starting next year.

7 minutes - Daylen Harrison is a rollie pollie 6'6 220 lbs bowling ball. His body type gives him the widest size on the Pokes front court. Also want him to see 7 minutes at SF for a total of 14 minutes to see what the kid can do.

Small Forward:

20 minutes - A.J. Davis at 6'6 is a versatile wingman. Want to see what he can do at the three spot for most of each game.

13 minutes -Ryan Dermody. A three point threat but has shoot only33% from the field this year. Should start on Senior Day as he is the only Senior on the team.

7 minutes - Daylen Harrison another 7 minutes per game at SF for him. Give the Pokes a little bit larger lineup at times.

Shooting Guard:

30 minutes - Arthur Bouedo has shown moments of brilliance at times this season. Since he sat out of the first half of the season let's make him a primary option in the offense for the rest of this year.

10 minutes - Desmar Jackson at 6'5 is a combo guard that has shown some nice hustle on defense lately. His size and passing abilities could him in handy when he is on the floor at the same time as Luster.

Point Guard:

25 minutes - Jaydee Luster is the team captain and does a nice job of distibuting the ball. His offensive game is improving with a new found ability to hit the three.

15 minutes - Desmar Jackson should see lots of playing time down the stretch. Hopefully he can average 20-25 minutes a game while playing the 1 and 2 for the Pokes.


Breakdown:

Waddell - 30 minutes
Bouedo - 30 minutes
Jackson - 25 minutes
Luster - 25 minutes
Davis - 20 minutes
M'Baye - 18 minutes
Thiam - 15 minutes
Harrison - 14 minutes
Dermody - 13 minutes
Sylla - 10 Minutes

What do you think? Who deserves more minutes? Less?

Interested to see what lineup Schroyer throws out there on Wednesday against the Utes. Let's see what some of these guys can do... who will become a LEADER on the team?

23 and 24

Wyoming received two more commitments from athletes that visited Laramie over the weekend. These are two key recruits for the Pokes who could help right away in 2010. These commits are #23 and #24 for Wyoming with less than 10 days remaining until the February 3rd signing date. The Pokes are looking sign one more recruit to make their class a NCAA maximum 25 recruits.




QB Emory Miller - Mesquite, TX (HORN HS)

At 5'10 190 pounds Miller isn't the largest QB in the land but that isn't the end of the world. As the Pokes found out with ACS last year good things can come in small packages. Miller is a dual threat QB like ACS and should fit the the offensive scheme better than CJ Bennett who had previously committed to Wyoming.

Bringing in another QB for the Pokes is vital with backup QB Robert Benjamin transferring this semester. Dax Crum would have been the backup QB to start the year and I don't think anyone really wanted that except Crum. QB Sam Stratton has also commited this year but he is coming off a major knee injury suffered in the Fall and will most likely red shirt his first year in Laramie.

Playing in Texas where high school football is life is great for building players that can handle pressure. The Pokes now have four recruits in the last two years who hail from the Lone Star State. Air Force and Navy had also offered.




DT BJ Sumter - Roswell, NM (New Mexico Military Institute)

The Defensive Line was a worry with three starts lost to graduation but things are looking up now. After visiting on Saturday Sumter committed on Sunday. Along with fellow linemen from New Mexico Military Institure Kurt Taufa'asau the D line should be in much better shape in the Fall.

Sumter is originally from Columbia, SC and will have two years of eligibility left when he arrives in Laramie.

Mountain West Standings: 1/25/10

Mountain West Conference Standings

	Conf	All
BYU (14)	5-0	20-1
New Mexico	4-2	18-3
UNLV	4-2	16-4
Utah	3-2	10-9
San Diego St.	3-3	14-6
Colorado St.	2-3	11-8
TCU	2-3	10-10
Wyoming	1-4	8-11
Air Force	0-5	8-10

BYU showed they are still one of the top teams in the country with their road win over San Diego State. New Mexico is back on track after a couple weeks of struggles. This week Wyoming faces Utah and Air Force. A split is likely since it could be tough to knock off Utah. If the Pokes lose to Air Force then the rest of the season could be really ugly without Muojeke.

Kenny G?

The Cowboy and Cowgirls hoops teams have the weekend off so I was watching the East West Shrine game in Orlando, FL. A number of Mountain West players are playing and Max Hall wasn't very impressive.

At halftime they were interviewing Todd McShay from ESPN who was at the game. The commentators were going over McShay's top 5 picks for the NFL draft but you can barely hear him because their is smooth jazz is being pumped into stadium.

Turns out Kenny G is the halftime show for the East West Game. Seriously? Kenny G? Of all things that are anti-football and terrible entertainment for a halftime show I'm pretty sure that Kenny G is at the top of the list. Celine Dion would be a better choice... barely.

Are there no local high school marching bands that could perform? A contest involving little kids? Kids are always cute - especially if you dress them up in over sized t shirts and make them do athletic activities that they don't have the motor skills to perform.

--

Other tidbit I heard watching the game. Eastern Washington had their QB Matt Nichols playing and apparently EWU has received the "ok" from the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA if they want to use RED TURF in their stadium. I actually like the idea - would help bring some publicity to Cheney, Washington which is hard to do. It has to look better than Boise's blue turf - right?

Muojeke done for the year

Wyoming will be without their leading scorer sophomore Afam Muojeke for the remainder of this season the University of Wyoming announced this morning. Muojeke injured his left knee on Wednesday nights game against the BYU Cougars. This is the same knee he injured earlier this year that caused him to miss three games, he also redshirted his freshman year after dislocating the knee cap in his left knee.

So with three injuries in three years has the left knee become a chronic injury for Muojeke? A weakened joint that will give out more and more often? Let's hope not for his and the team's sake.

Muojeke, a native of Jamaica, Queens, N.Y., was averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals a game entering the BYU game. He ranked second in the Mountain West Conference in scoring and fourth in steals. He had scored 15 or more points in 13 of 15 games prior to the injury.

Obviously this is a huge blow for the team. But could be a blessing in disguise as this is a very young Cowboys team and a lot of players weren't seeing muching playing time recently. Desmar Jackson, A.J. Davis and Daylen Harrison should all see some more court time.

Hopefully Muojeke will heal quickly and be able to practice next Fall when the season starts.

Boubacar Sylla meet David Foster

Foster is the skyscraper with arms on the left

When the Utah Utes come to town on the 27th they will bring 7'3 Center David Foster the tallest player in the Mountain West with them. Height is about the only thing that Foster has in common with the Pokes 7'2 Center Boubacar Sylla.

Now before we get ahead of ourselves I want to say that I like Sylla. Alot of Pokes fans aren't very impressed with him so far but I consider him a very tall diamond in the rough that just needs a lot of polishing. Sylla is still very raw in his development as evidenced by high school stats and watching him play. At Stoneridge Prep Sylla averged only three points and three rebounds per game. Sylla played soccer as a child and didn't pick up his first basketball till age 12. Soccer and basketball use a completely different set of motor skills.

Lets take a quick look at how each player has done so far this year:

David Foster #51 C

2009-10 STATS
PPG	APG	3p%	RPG	BPG	SPG
6.1	0.7	.000	4.9	4.3	0.2

FG% - .571 FT % - .600
David Foster Stats

Foster has appeared in 16 games this season and is averaging 21 minutes per contest.

Boubacar Sylla #33 C

2009-10 STATS
PPG	APG	3P%	RPG	BPG	SPG
3.5	0.1	.000	3.5	1.1	0.2

FG% - .469 FT% - .656
Boubacar Sylla Stats

Sylla has appeared in 19 games this season and is averaging 13 minutes each time out.


Neither player is a true force scoring or on the boards. In fact if Sylla played equal minutes as Foster their scoring and rebound output would be nearly identical. The glaring difference is in blocks where Foster is fifth in the nation with 68 blocks a 4.3 average per game. Sylla leads the Pokes with 1.2 blocks a game a difference of nearly three rejections a game.

I don't feel that Sylla will ever be a huge offensive force but what the Pokes need is a defensive force in the paint. Things that Sylla needs to work on: footwork, agility, timing, anticipation. Once he gets for familar with the pace of the college game and defending Sylla could become a force like Foster.

For a big man Sylla has done a nice job on his free throws by hitting 65% this season. A couple layups a game plus some free throws could give him a solid 8-10 points a game. On defense Sylla doesn't realize when someone is attacking the basket behind him and slides over to defend. This instinct and feel for the game can take a while to develop but will pay dividends once it does.

Still doubtful? Well take a look at this player who is a case very similar to Sylla's:

Hamady Ndiaye was one of Sylla's teammates at Stoneridge Prep and he is now a Senior at Rutgers. Ndiaye's stats from his freshman year compare favorably to Sylla's. In fact Boubacar has a slight advantage in nearly every category except for blocks. Each seasons Ndiaye has improved and this year is averaging 9 points, 6 rebounds and nearly 5 blocks a game. If Sylla can follow this same pattern of development he could become quite a force for the Pokes in two years when he is a Senior.

Season Averages
SEASON	TEAM	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO		STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%
2006-2007	RUTG	13.3	2.7	2.9	.2	.9		.3	1.7	2.0	.500	.500
2007-2008	RUTG	22.7	5.2	5.9	.5	1.6		.4	3.0	3.0	.462	.543
2008-2009	RUTG	23.3	5.6	5.8	.4	1.5		.5	2.2	2.8	.587	.646
2009-2010	RUTG	24.1	9.0	6.1	.2	1.5		.3	4.8	2.6	.582	.639

Now there is no guarentee that Sylla follows the same path as Ndiaye but there is similar. Sylla is a couple inches taller and is heavier than Ndiaye. In fact some weight loss would actually be a great thing for Sylla to increase his agility and reduce pressure on his massive joints.

Afam Muojeke out. But for how long?

Afam Muojeke only played eight minutes last night before running into BYU's Taylor Haws and injuring his knee. This is the same knee Muojeke injured earlier in the season that caused to miss several games with a bruised patellar tendon.

After the injury Muojeke was able to limp off the floor under his own power but when he returned in the second half it was with crutches.

An MRI will be done today to determine the extent of the damage and how long Muojeke could be out.

Losing their leading scorer will be quite a loss for the Pokes. The good news is that Wyoming is off until the 27th when they host Utah. If Muojeke is out for a longer period of time Ryan Dermody and A.J. Davis stand to see much more playing time.

Two more recruits on campus this weekend

With three offers left to fill and less than fourteen days DC and his staff are working on finishing up the final touches on the 2010 recruiting class. The Pokes look at sign a QB, DL and DB with their three remaining scholarships. Players that cover two of those three spots will be in Laramie this weekend. GoWyoGo had the scoop on which players were coming to Laramie.

QB Emory Miller from Horn HS out of Mesquite TX. Currently ranked two stars by Rivals.

A dual threat QB listed at 5'10 190 and can run 4.6 for the 40. The Pokes have looked at dual threat and Pro Style QB's this year and I think the former is the way to go. ACS has proven to be tough for opposing defenses to catch and his backup should have the same skill set. In the unfortunate event that an injury occurred to ACS a backup QB with similar abilities would mean the offense could use all the same plays and not have to scale back which could be crucial in a big game.

Rushing			Passing
Year	Att	Yds	TD	PA	PC	Pct	Yds	TD	Int
2009 (Sr.)	166	706	11	333	213	64.0	2,678	22	11
2008 (Jr.)	150	553	12	366	250	68.3	2,740	19	15

Here is a highlight video of Miller with no sound. The first half is mainly QB runs while second half shows off his arm.


Last weekend the Pokes signed Kurt Taufa'asau out of JC New Mexico Mility Institute. While his teammate and fellow linemen Bernard "BJ" Sumter will make the same trip seven days later. Sumter is one big fellow clocking in at 6'2 310 pounds (ding). This would be the perfect recruit to bring in and take the spot of NG Fred Givens who had been a fixture in that spot for three years. Sumter is big and strong with a 405 max bench and 505 max squat.

Here is his highlight video with fat beats included:

Cowboys can't hang with Cougars

Tyler Haws career best 24 points led the BYU Cougars to a 81-66 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys Wednesday night. With the victory BYU improves to 19-1 (4-0) and is just one win away from matching the best start in program history. The game was close for the first 10 minutes before the Cougars opened up a 41-33 halftime gap and never looked back.

Despite an unspectacular night shooting from the floor the Cougars used a 40-33 rebounding advantage to win this one without too much stress. Jackson Emery had 15 points five rebounds and four steals. Jimmer Fredette has one of his lesser games this season but still put 11 points and six rebounds.

A rough season for the Cowboys (8-11, 1-4) could take a steep nosedive as leading scorer Afam Muojeke went out with a knee injury after colliding with Haws halfway through the first half. Muojeke will have an MRI on Thursday to find out the extent of the damage. Adam Waddell stepped for the Pokes with a team high 15 points as well as four rebounds and two blocks. Arthur Bouedo found his stroke again as he hit five shots for 13 points. Jaydee Luster added nine points and six assists.

The Cougars have now won 10 in a row against the Cowboys. The Pokes have not defeated the Cougars since February 12, 2005.

BYU faces a tough challenge this weekend as they travel to San Diego to face a Aztec team that is tough as nails at home. Wyoming has a week off to licks their wounds and prepare for the Runnin' Utes who visit on the 27th.

Box Score

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Adam Waddell continued his strong conference play with 15 points. He has scored in double digits four out of his last five games.

Cowboy Low: Amath M'Baye had 6 of the Cowboys 17 turnovers. No way to stick with a team like BYU when you cough up the rock.

Cowboy Foe: Tyler Haws brought his "A" game tonight - 24 points and 6 rebounds.

Christensen named #7 First-Year Head Coach in 2009

College Football News ranked the 22 coaches that were in their first year as head coach during 2009. Bill Snyder from K State was included even though he coached in Manhattan before.

Dave Christensen came in at #7 which seems like a pretty solid and accurate ranking.

#7 Dave Christensen, Wyoming
In the four seasons prior to Christensen’s arrival, the Cowboys didn’t play in a bowl game or finish above .500. In his debut, the program achieved both, including a season-ending upset of Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. With a limited offense and true freshmen Austyn Carta-Samuels and Alvester Alexander manning the backfield, Wyoming found a way to win those games that were within its grasp. Once Christensen is able to light a fire under the offense, his forte, the program will be in a much better position to compete with the Mountain West elite.

Interesting fact: Seven of the 22 coaches all have names that start with the letter "D". Dabo, Dave (x2), Danny, Dan, Doug and DeWayne. So if you want your kid to get into coaching you know what letter to use.

Props to New Mexico's Mike Locksley for coming in dead last. It will be a wait and see game to see if Locksley can turn that ship around and even make it to a third season.

Mountain West Conference Standings: 1/20/10

Mountain West Conference
TEAM	CONF. W-L	OVERALL W-L
Brigham Young	3-0	18-1
Colorado State	2-1	11-6
San Diego State	3-2	14-5
New Mexico	2-2	16-3
UNLV	2-2	14-4
TCU	2-2	9-9
Utah	2-2	9-9
Wyoming	1-3	8-10
Air Force	0-3	8-8

Updated standings after San Diego State knocked off Utah on the road 70-68. BYU is great and Air Force is bad. For the most part teams 2-8 are all dangerous. Only 4 or 4 games in to the conference schedule makes it a little hard to see how all the teams match up. Quite a few upsets so far this season. Too many losses could prevent the Mountain West from getting three or even four teams into the NCAA tournament.

Pokes in the Pros: Fantastic season for Floyd ends

With the San Diego Chargers17-14 loss to the New York Jets last Saturday came the end of a breakout season for former Poke wideout Malcom Floyd. The Chargers #2 WR had careers highs in receptions and yards in his fifth season in the league and showed a great chemistry with QB Phillip Rivers. For the season Floyd totaled 45 receptions for 776 yards and a touchdown. He was the third leading receiver on the team behind Vincent Jackson and TE Antonio Gates.

Floyd had a reception every game this season minus one. His biggest game was in Week 17 against the Redskins where he had 9 catches for 140 yards. In the playoff game versus the Jets Floyd hauled in 3 passes for 30 yards.

If you're a fantasy football junkie like me then you should keep your eyes on Floyd during your league draft. The Chargers have a potent offense and Rivers has really formed a sharp connection with Floyd over the last couple seasons.

Cowboys head to Cougar Town

Provo is nothing like the TV show

Wyoming Cowboys at #14 BYU Cougars 6:00pm MST
Marriot Center
TV: The Mtn

The Wyoming Cowboys are up next in line for chopping block of the BYU Cougars. Or are they? The #14 Cougars are 18-1 (3-0 MWC) and winners of thirteen in a row. After a 44 point rout of Colorado State Rams over the weekend the Cougars appear to be the class of the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming (8-10, 1-3 MWC) is winless on the road this year and the youthful roster is still trying to figure out how to play as a team.

With everything going so well for the Cougars this could be a classic scenario of BYU looking ahead in their schedule? With tough road tests ahead (1/23 @ SDSU and 1/27 @ New Mexico) BYU needs those head to head wins to stay ahead of the Aztecs and Lobos. The Cougar lone loss came against the Utah State Aggies (13-6), a talented but not elite level team.

This game should feature plenty of offense as the top two offenses and individual scorers in the Mountain West will be on display. BYU's Jimmer Fredette is averaging a hair shy of 20 points a game including a school record 49 versus Arizona earlier thise season. After coming down with mononucleosis a few weeks ago Fredette appears to be hitting his stride again despite not being at 100%. Afam Muojeke leads the Pokes with 17.9 points a game and has been playing some of his best ball over the last couple weeks.

This would be a tough game for Wyoming to upset BYU but you never know what can happen in the Mountain West. The Cougars swept the season series with the Cowboys last year.

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
WYO	8-10	78.1	74.6	8-6	0-4	L2
BYU	18-1	83.9	61.9	11-0	5-1	W13

Carlson named MWC Player of the Week

After her huge game in the victory over TCU Junior F Hilary Carlson was named the Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week. Her career high 29 points plus 11 rebounds were key to 73-67 upset of #22 TCU.

Check out the full release from the MWC.

Football Island on 60 minutes

Great piece that aired on 60 minutes last night. The Mountain West is loaded with players from Polynesia especially BYU and Utah. The Pokes just got a commit yesterday from DT Kurt Taufa'asau who is from Pago Pago, American Samoa.

It's incredible how a small island can produce so much talent that ends up in the NFL. The Pokes Outside Linebacker Coach Mike Fanoga is American Samoan and focuses his efforts on recruiting Polynesian players.

The passion and drive of these players is incredible. Hopefully Wyoming will have continued success in recruiting Polynesian players to the program.



Watch CBS News Videos Online

Cowboys add two commits over the weekend

Evan Williams and Kurt Taufa'asau are the newest Cowboy commits

According to Rivals.com Wyoming site GoWyoGo the Wyoming Cowboys added two more verbal commits to the 2010 class.

Evan Williams is speedy RB out of De La Salle HS in Minneapolis, MN. Williams also held offers from Minnesota and Northern Iowa. At 6'0 190 Williams has played a number of positions during his high school years. After rushing for 1,700 yards and 26 touchdown as a Junior his coach moved him to QB in order get him the ball even more often. His team runs a no huddle spread offense and Williams was the catalyst. On the other side of the ball Williams played some defensive back. Rivals has Williams listed at 4.43 seconds for the 40 and his combination of speed and agility is impressive. It will be interesting to see how Williams fits into the mix with Alvester Alexander and 2010 commit Nehemie Kankolongo. Could really play a number of positions for the Pokes: running back, qb or even wide receiver.

Kurt Taufa’asau from JUCO New Mexico Military Institute is originally from Pago Pago, American Samoa. A DT listed at 6'4 285 expect Taufa'asau to compete for a starting spot in 2010. He will enroll at Laramie in the Fall. Here is an article about Taufa'asau that appeared in the Samoa News just a week ago. Oregon State was also interested. With the loss of the entire starting defense line the Pokes needed an athlete like Taua'asau who is developed and ready to play right away. He is a long ways from home but it play football for a reason and wants use his education help others when he returns to Samoa.

Here is a lengthy highlight video of Evan Williams that is quite impressive.

KWGN interviews WR Coach Derek Sage

A nice interview by KWGN TV in Cheyenne. Phone interview with game video included. Sage says he wants to the Seniors to step up and become leaders for the younger receivers on the team.

The more I learn about Sage the more I like about this hire. Sage has worked at several successful programs and with some great coaches. Can't wait for next season to start.

Interview.

Happy Birthday Coach Christensen

On this day in 1961 Dave Christensen came into the world. He's grown a bit in the past 49 years and is now the head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys. Have a great one Coach!

Next year is the big 5-0. Watch out!

Lobos sneak past Pokes 70-68

A.J. Hardemen (pictured) had a career night to lead the New Mexico Lobos in a road victory 70-68 over the Wyoming Cowboys. The Lobos (16-3, 2-2) needed Hardemen to step up as they struggled with their long range shooting all game. Wyoming (8-10, 1-3) led by eight midway the first half but the lead was narrowed to 30-29 at halftime. A tight game the rest of the way with New Mexico coming out on top.

The Lobos have now won two in a row and are again setting their eyes on the Mountain West title. Hardemen went 7 of 10 for 18 points. Phillip Robinson added 15 points including a trio of triples on eight attempts. Robinson was the only Lobo to connect from long range as the rest of his teammates went 0 for 11. Darington Hobson scored 15 points with 11 coming in the second half.

Wyoming had it's opportunities to win this one but Afam Muojeke and Jaydee Luster both failed to convert on three point plays near the end. Muojeke was also called for an offensive foul while driving to hoop with under a minute remaining and trailing by three. The zone defense of the Lobos kept the Pokes from driving to the basket and forced Wyoming to settle for jumpers most of the game. Wyoming did hit 7 of 21 on three pointers but disappointed by sinking only 11 of their 19 free throws.

Muojeke led the Pokes with 15 points but took many bad shots and went 5 for 17 from the floor.
Desmar Jackson provided a nice spark off the bench for Wyoming. In twelve minutes he had 8 points and four steals. Even when he did turn the ball over Jackson kept alert on defense and grabbed a steal to score on a breakaway early in the second half.

Both teams will be action again on Wednesday, January 20th. The Lobos travel to Colorado Springs to tangle with the Air Force Cadets while the Cowboys hit for the road for Provo and the #18 BYU Cougars.

Box Score


AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Ryan Dermody hit three treys in the second half to keep the Pokes in the game. Also grabbed 8 rebounds.

Cowboy Low: Jaydee Luster went 0-5 from the FT throw including three in the final minutes to kill the chances of a Cowboy comeback. He did drive to basket which most of his teammates weren't able to do, as well as dish out nine assists.

Cowboy Foe: Hardemen stepped up and hit big shots all game long. Only a 54% free throw shooter for the season he went 4-5 in the game.

2-2 or 1-3?

If the Pokes lose today they will find themselves with a 1-3 record in Mountain West play. That is a tough hole try and dig themselves out of in the next couple months.

Hopefully the Pokes come out strong against the Lobos and can even their record up at 2-2. Tipoff is in 45 minutes!

Preview: New Mexico at Wyoming

New Mexico Lobos at Wyoming Cowboys
Arena-Auditorium
1:30pm MST
TV: The Mtn

Wyoming looks to pull off another Mountain West upset when the New Mexico Lobos make their way up to Laramie on Saturday. The Lobos come into the game at 15-3 (1-2 MWC) and trying to get their season back in the right direction. Nex Mexico started the season 12-0 but are just 3-3 in their last six including an 0-2 start in conference play. Wyoming sits at 8-9 (1-2 MWC) and pulled off an impressive upset over San Diego State last weekend. Saturday's game will be a "White Out" game where fans are encouraged to wear white shirts.

G-F Darington Hobson can and has done it all for the Lobos this year. Listed at 6'7 205lbs the Junior transfer leads the Lobos in points (16.7), rebounds (8.1) and assists (4.2). Ramon Martinez provides great Senior leadership and can be deadly from behind the arc. The Lobos have plenty of depth and are used to altitude so it will be tough for the full court press of the Pokes to do as much damage as it during the second half against the Aztecs.

Wyoming appears to be gelling as team over the last week and will need solid teamwork if they hope to hang with New Mexico. Afam Muojeke is averaging 27 points over his last two games and has been hitting a ton of shots. He's also done a much better job of ball handling with just 6 turnovers over his last four games. Jaydee Luster has become an outside shooting threat for the Pokes by hitting 8 treys over the last three games compared to four in the first 17 games.

New Mexico won both matchups last year including one point victory in the regular season finale. They will meet again in Albuquerque on February 17th.

W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
UNM	15-3	78.3	67.4	11-1	3-2	W1
WYO	8-9	78.6	74.9	8-5	0-4	L1

Sage hiring as WR Coach now official

It just took awhile to get the lengthy press release typed up but Dan Sage is now officially the newest member of Wyoming Football Coaching staff. Check out the full release from UW.

With his Nevada roots would Sage try and help recruit 3 star WR Evan Weinstock from Henderson, NV? He doesn't appear to be on Cowboys radar but at 6'4 185 he could bring some nice size to receiving corp.

Updated Rivals commit list

Rivals came out with their updated 2010 commit list for Wyoming and things are looking up for the Pokes! This class looks even better than the 2009 class that producted several starters last year.

Riley Lange and Mazi Ogbonna were both upgraded to three stars from two. DB Marqueston Huff was previously ungraded and came in at three stars.

New to the list are DT Travis Bogard, OL Justin Dire and LB Oliver Schober. Bogard played on both sides of the ball in HS and it is nice to see that he will be helping out on defense for the Cowboys. He also setup his own site to help his recruiting last Fall.

Wyoming has seven recruits with a 5.4 rating which is just .1 shy of earning three star status.

With 19 spots filled the Pokes have 20 days to fill out their recruiting class with the six spots remaining. Coaches have stated they plan on filling all 25 available scholarships this year.

SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT	Pos	Stars	Ht	Wt	40	RR
Mazi Ogbonna	WR	***	6'1	195	-	5.5
DeJay Lester	WR	**	6'2	200	-	5.4
Nick Puetz	OL	**	6'2	315	5.2	5.4
COMMITTED/UNSIGNED	Pos	Stars	Ht	Wt	40	RR
Nehemie Kankolongo	RB	***	5'11	200	-	5.6
Marqueston Huff	DB	***	6'1	180	4.53	5.5
Riley Lange	DE	***	6'4	230	4.65	5.5
Darrenn White	ATH	***	6'0	180	4.5	5.5
Greg Barksdale	LB	**	6'3	210	4.6	5.4
Travis Bogard	DT	**	6'4	265	-	5.4
Daniel Fleischman	OL	**	6'1	275	5.06	5.4
Drew Martinez	WR	**	6'1	165	-	5.4
Dylan McElveen	DB	**	6'1	185	-	5.4
Sonny Puletasi	DE	**	6'3	215	4.73	5.4
Sam Stratton	QB	**	6'0	185	4.56	5.4
Justin Dire	OL	**	6'0	280	-	5.3
Skyler Hinton	OL	**	6'4	307	-	5.3
Oliver Schober	LB	**	6'0	240	4.57	5.3
Tyler Strong	DT	**	6'3	268	-	5.3
C.J. Morgan	WR	**	5'10	170	4.45	5.2