The Wyoming men?s basketball team has made more 3-pointers this year than any other team in program history ? 328 to be exact.
So when head coach Allen Edwards says the Cowboys? opponent today likes to shoot more 3s than his team does, that?s no small claim.
And yet that?s the case, as Wyoming (20-14, 8-11 Mountain West) hosts Utah Valley (17-16, 7-9 Western Athletic Conference) in a semifinal CBI matchup.
?They shoot a lot of 3s,? Edwards said. ?More than us. They love the 3 ball.?
The Wolverines have taken 915 3-point attempts this season, 10th in the country. Granted, Wyoming has taken 24 more this season, good for sixth nationwide, but the Cowboys have also taken 60 more shots overall, meaning Utah Valley shoots 3-pointers more frequently than does Wyoming. But just barely: 46.5 percent of the time compared to 46.3.
Either way, both teams will have to be on their toes guarding the perimeter today. And that includes the time after the shot, as well. Last game, Wyoming allowed 16 offensive rebounds to Missouri-Kansas City, the most by a Cowboys opponent all year.
?To be honest with you, with the amount of 3s that may go up (Wednesday) night, that will be huge,? Edwards said. ?One of the terms we use is ?80-20 ball.? We?ve got to come up with eight of them out of 10. Not to say that they?re a great offensive rebounding team, but you can just never take anything for granted.?
The game marks Wyoming?s second straight against a WAC team and its second in a row against a head coach that shares a Rick Pitino connection with Edwards. Monday, Wyoming won 72-61 in the quarterfinals of the CBI against UMKC, whose head coach Kareem Richardson was an assistant at Louisville under Pitino, whom Edwards played for at Kentucky. Utah Valley second-year coach Mark Pope played alongside Edwards on Pitino?s 1996 national championship team at Kentucky.
Perhaps it?s no coincidence that both teams like to play an uptempo brand of basketball.
?I think about defense a little bit more,? Edwards said with a laugh. ?It?s always interesting. It?s always funny, because when you sit down at the Final Fours or you sit down at coaching clinics, you, just as coaches, talk to each other sometimes. Just being around Mark as much as I?ve been around him, I understand his philosophy. It?s not mine, but I understand why he?s doing what he?s doing. Very similar, but not spot on.
?He enjoys that offensive end of the floor, and wants his guys to be solid on the defensive side of the floor, which they are. Even taking over the program this year, I want our focus to start on the defensive end of the floor, but with the way we wanted to play, I felt like this offense had to be amped up a little bit.?
The connections extend to the Wolverines? assistant coaching staff as well. Utah Valley director of basketball operations Bobby Horodyski spent his previous two years as a graduate assistant at Wyoming.
So when head coach Allen Edwards says the Cowboys? opponent today likes to shoot more 3s than his team does, that?s no small claim.
And yet that?s the case, as Wyoming (20-14, 8-11 Mountain West) hosts Utah Valley (17-16, 7-9 Western Athletic Conference) in a semifinal CBI matchup.
?They shoot a lot of 3s,? Edwards said. ?More than us. They love the 3 ball.?
The Wolverines have taken 915 3-point attempts this season, 10th in the country. Granted, Wyoming has taken 24 more this season, good for sixth nationwide, but the Cowboys have also taken 60 more shots overall, meaning Utah Valley shoots 3-pointers more frequently than does Wyoming. But just barely: 46.5 percent of the time compared to 46.3.
Either way, both teams will have to be on their toes guarding the perimeter today. And that includes the time after the shot, as well. Last game, Wyoming allowed 16 offensive rebounds to Missouri-Kansas City, the most by a Cowboys opponent all year.
?To be honest with you, with the amount of 3s that may go up (Wednesday) night, that will be huge,? Edwards said. ?One of the terms we use is ?80-20 ball.? We?ve got to come up with eight of them out of 10. Not to say that they?re a great offensive rebounding team, but you can just never take anything for granted.?
The game marks Wyoming?s second straight against a WAC team and its second in a row against a head coach that shares a Rick Pitino connection with Edwards. Monday, Wyoming won 72-61 in the quarterfinals of the CBI against UMKC, whose head coach Kareem Richardson was an assistant at Louisville under Pitino, whom Edwards played for at Kentucky. Utah Valley second-year coach Mark Pope played alongside Edwards on Pitino?s 1996 national championship team at Kentucky.
Perhaps it?s no coincidence that both teams like to play an uptempo brand of basketball.
?I think about defense a little bit more,? Edwards said with a laugh. ?It?s always interesting. It?s always funny, because when you sit down at the Final Fours or you sit down at coaching clinics, you, just as coaches, talk to each other sometimes. Just being around Mark as much as I?ve been around him, I understand his philosophy. It?s not mine, but I understand why he?s doing what he?s doing. Very similar, but not spot on.
?He enjoys that offensive end of the floor, and wants his guys to be solid on the defensive side of the floor, which they are. Even taking over the program this year, I want our focus to start on the defensive end of the floor, but with the way we wanted to play, I felt like this offense had to be amped up a little bit.?
The connections extend to the Wolverines? assistant coaching staff as well. Utah Valley director of basketball operations Bobby Horodyski spent his previous two years as a graduate assistant at Wyoming.
