It's that time again...

Colorado State Rams at Wyoming Cowboys
6:00pm MST
TV: The Mtn

Hoops Border War: The Laramie Edition.

What a great way to start off the New Year with the beginning of Mountain West play and the CSU Rams coming to town. The Border War starts on Wednesday with a 6pm MST tip off time at the AA. With most students still away from campus it should unfortunately be a smaller crowd than usual.

The Rams head into town with a surprising 9-5 record including wins over Denver, Montana and Colorado. The fact that they are 0-5 on the road so far this year is great news for the Cowboys. Dorian Green leads the Rams in points and assists so far this year: 13/2. Travis Franklin (11.9) and Ogide (11.4) are the other scorers in double digits. The trio of Franklin, Ogide and Pierce Hornug all average 5+ rebounds a game.

Coach Schroyer and the Pokes (7-7) are coming off the highest scoring game in program history after a 123-71 victory over Adams State over the weekend. This boost of confidence is exactly what the Cowboys needed entering conference play. Hitting the long range shot has been a struggle all season for the Pokes. If they can improve on their 22% 3 point shooting it could make a big difference in keeping games close. The Cowboys have gotten a large portion of their points this year from the free throw line. Wyoming is currently ranked #1 in the nation in free throws made and have a 35 shot margin over #2 Kansas State.

Sophomore Afam Muojeke leads the Cowboys with 17 points per contest is the #2 scorer in the Mountain West. These points have come at a cost as Muojeke often tries to do too much on his own and leads the league with 4.3 turnovers a game. Wyoming also needs to keep their big men out of foul trouble. Adam Waddell, Djibril Thiam, Boubacar Syalla and Amath M'Baye have all struggled to stay in games this season.

Colorado State Rams at Wyoming Cowboys

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
CSU	9-5	69.2	63.6	8-0	0-5	W1
WYO	7-7	80.0	74.6	7-4	0-3	W1

New Cowboy Altitude Store

Added a new feature to the site today. The Cowboy Altitude store is up and running and power by Amazon. I added a bunch of Wyoming shirts, hats and sweatshirts so check them out. For every item that you purchase a small % helps out Cowboy Altitude. The checkout is done secure and run by Amazon.com so you can be sure that it is safe.

Now you can update your wardrobe from the safety of your computer. The link is on the right side of the page. Just click on an item of interest and you will go directly to that screen. There is also a link to take you back to the blog.

Hope you like the items and if you see any other Wyoming gear you want me to add just let me know. Happy shopping!

MWC Hoops Prediction

The good news: The non conference schedule for the Cowboys is over after a disappointing 7-7 record. So they now get a fresh start with the Mountain West schedule to begin on Wednesday.

The bad news: The Mountain West has plenty of talent this year - especially BYU, San Diego State, New Mexico and UNLV. Even the usually poorer times like Air Force and CSU have found some success so far this year. The Cowboys will need to start hitting their shots and limit their turnovers if they hope to finish the season with a winning record.

Here are my predictions for the rest of the regular season:

	Date	Opponent	Time MST	Prediction
	Wed, Jan 6	Colorado St.	6:00 pm	Win
	Sat, Jan 9	San Diego St.	4:00 pm	Loss
	Tue, Jan 12	at TCU	5:30 pm	Win
	Sat, Jan 16	(19) New Mexico	1:30 pm	Loss
	Wed, Jan 20	at BYU	6:00 pm	Loss
	Wed, Jan 27	Utah	7:00 pm	Win
	Sat, Jan 30	at Air Force	1:30 pm	Win
	Wed, Feb 3	UNLV	8:00 pm	Win
	Sat, Feb 6	at Colorado St.	8:00 pm	Win
	Wed, Feb 10	at San Diego St.	8:30 pm	Loss
	Sat, Feb 13	TCU	1:30 pm	Win
	Wed, Feb 17	at (19) New Mexico	7:00 pm	Loss
	Sat, Feb 20	BYU	4:00 pm	Loss
	Sat, Feb 27	at Utah	4:00 pm	Win
	Tue, Mar 2	Air Force	7:30 pm	Win
	Sat, Mar 6	at UNLV	2:00 pm	Loss

This would give the Cowboys a 9-7 record in conference play and a 16-14 record overall. I'm probably being overly optimistic here but this team need some vibes right about now. Basically the Pokes needs to sweep the series with CSU, Air Force, TCU and Utah. That will be hard enough on it's own then they also need to try and steal one home game from the top four: BYU, New Mexico, San Diego State or UNLV.

Hopefully the team will be ready when things kick off on Wednesday with part one of the Border War when the Rammies come to town.

Fiesta Bowl!

TCU vs Boise State
Phoenix, AZ
5:30PM MST
TV: FOX

TCU looks to complete their perfect season and give the Mountain West a perfect 5-0 record this bowl season. Should be a much better game than the Sugar Bowl.


Good luck Horned Frogs!!

Easier Comments Now

I've made it easier for you to give feedback on articles now. You no longer have to register for any Google account and waste your time with that.

Just use the "Comment As:" pulldown menu and select Name/URL. You don't have to type in a URL just a username you want to use. You could also select anonymous but that isn't very fun.

I just ask that all comments not have any offensive language or hate speech. If you disagree with something I wrote that is fine, just keep it clean.

Hope this helps everyone interact more with Cowboy Altitude.

Cowboys trounce Adam State

The best cure for poor shooting and a losing record? Play a Division 2 team that is outmatched on your home court. Wyoming scored 70 points in second half en route to a 123-71 blowout of the Adam State Grizzlies and evened their record up at 7-7 on the year.

Short recap since this was a gimme game.

Five players scored in double digits for the Cowboys:

AJ Davis - 26
Afam Muojeke - 21
Ryan Dermody - 19
Djibril Thiam - 19
Desmar Jackson - 12

Wyoming Team Shooting:

FG% - 54% (40/83)
3P% - 36% (9/25)
FT% - 69% (34/49)

Box Score


AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: AJ Davis - A career high 26 points and a great night shooting. 8/11 from the field, 2/2 from 3pt and 8/10 FT.

Cowboy Low: Daylen Harrison played his 11 minutes missed both of his shots and only sunk one free throw for his lone point. At least he grabbed four rebounds. Harrison hasn't stepped up this year like some were hoping.

Cowboy Foe: Nick Fox had 25 points to lead the Grizzlies. None of his teammates scored in double digits. 13 of his 15 came on free throws.

Cowboys targeting Utah

This article appeared in the Salt Lake City times back in October prior to the BYU game. Even though it slipped through the cracks doesn't mean it isn't a topic worth talking about. For years Wyoming has stayed away from recruiting in the state of Utah and Latter Day Saints or LDS athletes.

This has been a huge mistake to ignore a state that borders Wyoming and has a population of over 2.7 million. The Cowboys previously said they couldn't compete against BYU, Utah, Utah State plus Weber State and Southen Utah for those athletes. The Cowboys get most of their recruits from Colorado where they compete against Colorado, CSU, Air Force and Northern Colorado. So why not do same in Utah?

By recruiting in Utah the Cowboys can guarantee those athletes that they will play in their home state at least once a year since BYU and the Utes are in the same conference and on a opposite home/away schedule. Wyoming offers a chance to get away from home but still have your friends and family watch you on TV every week thanks to the Mtn.

When recruiting in Utah one aspect that can be difficult for out of state programs is LDS athletes. BYU is always going to get the top LDS athletes followed by the Utes. Wyoming has done a great job in finding under the radar athletes. If those athletes happen to be LDS then so be it. Utah is to close and too big a market for the Pokes to ignore.

The tricky aspect of LDS athletes is always the two year service missions that church members take. Most missions usually start within a year or two of graduation from high school and send the student nearly anywhere in the world. During that time they aren't allowed to do any sport specific workouts or train with the team. However any athlete is still going to mature physically and mentally during that time. That only helps the athlete when they come back to school and have a better perspective on the world. They also don't use any eligibility during that time so if you add the redshirt year an athlete can stick around for up to seven years after signing. Having a roster of 23-25 year olds is a big difference over 19-20 year olds, just ask the Cougars.

Now I'm not saying that Wyoming should recruit 25 LDS athletes every year. That wouldn't make sense and it would never happen. Recruiting in Utah should be a priority and if they happen to be LDS - then great. Only one or two LDS recruits a year is realistic but is better than being completely shutout of that area.

Last year Wyoming recruited WR/DB Alo Moli out of Cottonwood HS in West Valley, Utah. Moli is currently serving his mission and is expected to join the Pokes in 2011.

Wyoming has also started recruiting Polynesian players heavily in Hawaii and the mainland. The Mormon Church has a large foothold in Hawaii and a number of Polynesians that move to the continent are LDS members. Moli falls into this group. A large number ended up moving to Utah from the islands because of the church ties.

Outside Linebackers Coach Mike Fanoga is American Samoan and his main job is recruiting Polynesian players for Wyoming.

In the Salt Lake Tribune article it mentions that Billy Vavau from Utah has commited to the Cowboys. Not sure why but he is no longer listed as a commit on either Rivals or Scout. Wyoming has signed two Junior College Wide Receivers from Snow College in Ephraim, UT this year. One of those players (Dejay Lester) played at Layton Christian Academy in Layton, UT.

Rivals current listing for 2010 football recruits from Utah:

Four Stars - 2

Three Stars - 19

Two Stars - 18

75 total athletes listed

From 2002 - 2008 the Cowboys had ZERO recruits commit from the State of Utah. With a population of that size and the close proximity you think that Glenn could have nabbed one recruit during that time. The two recruits from Snow College will probably the only ones from Utah this year but that now makes three total recruits in two years.

Recruiting in Utah is never going be easy but down the road it should pay big dividends for the Cowboys. It is very hard to break into a state that you have no prior history in recruiting but Coach Christensen and his staff have shown an ability to get recruits from Texas, California, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois. They should be able to find some success in Utah over the next few years.

Dream season for ACS

Great article from Bob Hammond at the Laramie Boomerang. Austyn Carta-Samuels is back home for the holidays and got to hang out with his family and high school teammates. His prep RB at Bellarmine Prep Usua Amanan is at Stanford now but they two made quite the duo in their Senior years.

The entire season was a dream for ACS as he went on to be named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and then earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the New Mexico Bowl.

Read the full article here.

New Year = New Format

Decided to start off the New Year with a quick face lift to the site. The border is much smaller now which provides for room for the content and sidebar. Also added a couple different pictures on the sidebar and sections for Wyoming and Mountain West links. The links are still a work in progress so expect them to grow over the next few weeks.

Would love to get a NEW logo for the blog header. Let me know if you have any graphic talents and would be willing to help out. Of course I would give you recognition on the site. The current logo is one I was able to create myself but I'm sure some of you are gifted than I am with photoshop.

Let me know what you think of the new look and feel free to post any suggestions.

Have a great 2010 everyone!

New Years Day has lost it's luster

What happened to New Years? Growing up January 1st meant a new year and football games on multiple channels all day long. Now we are down to just five games today with another five tommorow. With 34 bowls this season it would be nice to have a bigger selection on the typical day for college football. ESPN is only showing the Gator Bowl that starts at 8am PST and then there is nothing but college basketball and a 30 for 30 marathon. No team from a non BCS conference is playing on New Years - way to keep the little man down. The NHL has crept in with their Winter Classic thanks to the NCAA weakening their football lineup.

Here is my ratings of each bowl in order of interest:

# 1 - The Rose Bowl

Granddaddy of them all is a classic and full of tradition. Oregon and Ohio State is a great matchup and it is nice to not have USC playing on January 1st.

#2 - Outback Bowl

Northwestern is the only Cinderella team playing today. I grew up in Big 10 territory but not a fan of most Big 10 schools. The Wildcats are the one exception and hopefully they can knock off Auburn.

#3 - Capital One Bowl

Even more annoying credit card commercials? Oh Joy! This is OTHER Big 10-SEC matchup and I'd be happy if both teams lose. Penn State vs LSU - yawn.

#4 - Sugar Bowl

Cincinnati loses a coach every other week and most of the game will be spent in an Urban Meyer/Tim Tebow love fest. I've had enough of Florida and can't wait till Tebow is finally gone.

#5 - Gator Bowl

Bobby Bowden is being forced to retire? Good! We should had this game weeks ago. Incase you couldn't tell I pretty much hate the state of Florida and all their sports teams.