Wyoming refuses to be fooled by the numbers and history surrounding San Jose State.
On Monday, the Cowboys said all the right things about a team that?s lost 26 straight Mountain West Conference games.
?I think it?s very deceiving,? UW sophomore forward Alan Herndon said of the losing streak. ?They could?ve very easily won a lot of the games that they lost. They?re a hard team. They don?t ever give up. So it easily could?ve been the other way for them, but the ball goes a certain way. They can definitely win a lot of games.?
Added coach Larry Shyatt: ?They?re not 0-16 or 1-15, if I?m looking correctly, they?re 5-11.?
But the reality is that since joining the Mountain West in 2013-14, San Jose State is 1-39 in league play, including a 0-4 mark this year. Of those 39 losses, only nine have come by single digits, so there are very few games that they ?could?ve very easily won.?
At home, the Spartans are 0-20 in conference games.
And although SJSU owns a 5-11 record, it?s padded by three wins against non-NCAA Division I teams. The Spartans are more like 2-11, just as Wyoming (9-8 overall, 2-2 Mountain West) is more like 7-8, excluding wins over Bristol (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) and New Mexico Highlands (NCAA Division II).
Last season, San Jose State went 0-28 against NCAA Division I foes ? one of two teams nationally to finish winless. In 2013-14, it went 5-24.
?If I looked at San Jose (State), I don?t think I would go backwards to a year ago or two years ago,? Shyatt said. ?I would look at the four games they just played in league play and the victory over Montana. I would say, ?What has this team done night in and night out?? They?ve been pretty tough, they?ve been pretty competitive and they?ve been pretty balanced.?
It?s true, SJSU did beat Montana, a team that opened the season with a win over Boise State (3-0 Mountain West). And the Spartans also beat San Diego, a team that knocked off San Diego State (3-0 Mountain West).
Since then, San Jose State has lost eight straight to NCAA Division I opponents.
The Spartans? recent losses, however, have grabbed Shyatt?s attention.
SJSU opened its Mountain West slate with an 80-71 home loss to Utah State. In its next outing, it fell behind by 21 at Air Force before rallying to pull within five points in the final minute. The Spartans trailed SDSU by two points at halftime and led by one early in the second half, but fell by 15. And in their most recent contest, they had Colorado State on the ropes, yet lost in 85-84 in overtime.
?The short answer is, if you just look at the four games they?ve played in league play, they knocked on the door every single game,? Shyatt said. ?... So, we?re walking into a very competitive situation and a very hungry one, at that.?
The situation inside SJSU?s Event Center could be a quiet and chilly one, like it was when UW visited last year.
On Jan. 3, 2015, the Cowboys erased an eight-point halftime deficit and eked out a tight finish for a 64-59 win. Why the trouble?
An announced crowd of 1,188 showed up to the 6,400-seat arena, but fewer fans were in attendance. And the facility was cold, as much of the campus hadn?t been heated with students away for winter break.
Only three current UW players ? Herndon, junior wing Jason McManamen and senior guard Josh Adams ? logged minutes in that game.
?It?ll be mentioned, but it?ll be mentioned briefly,? Adams said, when asked if he?ll warn his younger teammates of the environment. ?Then it?s just back to basics preparing for San Jose and focusing on what we can control.?
Added Shyatt: ?I think there?s comfort knowing that we?ve been in a lot of different facilities; a couple hundred in (Las) Vegas as opposed to (12,414) at San Diego State.?
The Cowboys, riding a two-game winning streak, recognize that this game has all the makings for a letdown before their trip to New Mexico?s The Pit on Saturday afternoon.
They?re determined not to take San Jose State lightly, perhaps like they did in an exhibition loss to NCAA Division II Fort Lewis College and a home defeat to Southern.
?Every game I?ve played against them or even in the years before, it?s been close," McManamen said. "I don?t expect anything to change. It?s going to be a close, hard-fought game.?
On Monday, the Cowboys said all the right things about a team that?s lost 26 straight Mountain West Conference games.
?I think it?s very deceiving,? UW sophomore forward Alan Herndon said of the losing streak. ?They could?ve very easily won a lot of the games that they lost. They?re a hard team. They don?t ever give up. So it easily could?ve been the other way for them, but the ball goes a certain way. They can definitely win a lot of games.?
Added coach Larry Shyatt: ?They?re not 0-16 or 1-15, if I?m looking correctly, they?re 5-11.?
But the reality is that since joining the Mountain West in 2013-14, San Jose State is 1-39 in league play, including a 0-4 mark this year. Of those 39 losses, only nine have come by single digits, so there are very few games that they ?could?ve very easily won.?
At home, the Spartans are 0-20 in conference games.
And although SJSU owns a 5-11 record, it?s padded by three wins against non-NCAA Division I teams. The Spartans are more like 2-11, just as Wyoming (9-8 overall, 2-2 Mountain West) is more like 7-8, excluding wins over Bristol (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) and New Mexico Highlands (NCAA Division II).
Last season, San Jose State went 0-28 against NCAA Division I foes ? one of two teams nationally to finish winless. In 2013-14, it went 5-24.
?If I looked at San Jose (State), I don?t think I would go backwards to a year ago or two years ago,? Shyatt said. ?I would look at the four games they just played in league play and the victory over Montana. I would say, ?What has this team done night in and night out?? They?ve been pretty tough, they?ve been pretty competitive and they?ve been pretty balanced.?
It?s true, SJSU did beat Montana, a team that opened the season with a win over Boise State (3-0 Mountain West). And the Spartans also beat San Diego, a team that knocked off San Diego State (3-0 Mountain West).
Since then, San Jose State has lost eight straight to NCAA Division I opponents.
The Spartans? recent losses, however, have grabbed Shyatt?s attention.
SJSU opened its Mountain West slate with an 80-71 home loss to Utah State. In its next outing, it fell behind by 21 at Air Force before rallying to pull within five points in the final minute. The Spartans trailed SDSU by two points at halftime and led by one early in the second half, but fell by 15. And in their most recent contest, they had Colorado State on the ropes, yet lost in 85-84 in overtime.
?The short answer is, if you just look at the four games they?ve played in league play, they knocked on the door every single game,? Shyatt said. ?... So, we?re walking into a very competitive situation and a very hungry one, at that.?
The situation inside SJSU?s Event Center could be a quiet and chilly one, like it was when UW visited last year.
On Jan. 3, 2015, the Cowboys erased an eight-point halftime deficit and eked out a tight finish for a 64-59 win. Why the trouble?
An announced crowd of 1,188 showed up to the 6,400-seat arena, but fewer fans were in attendance. And the facility was cold, as much of the campus hadn?t been heated with students away for winter break.
Only three current UW players ? Herndon, junior wing Jason McManamen and senior guard Josh Adams ? logged minutes in that game.
?It?ll be mentioned, but it?ll be mentioned briefly,? Adams said, when asked if he?ll warn his younger teammates of the environment. ?Then it?s just back to basics preparing for San Jose and focusing on what we can control.?
Added Shyatt: ?I think there?s comfort knowing that we?ve been in a lot of different facilities; a couple hundred in (Las) Vegas as opposed to (12,414) at San Diego State.?
The Cowboys, riding a two-game winning streak, recognize that this game has all the makings for a letdown before their trip to New Mexico?s The Pit on Saturday afternoon.
They?re determined not to take San Jose State lightly, perhaps like they did in an exhibition loss to NCAA Division II Fort Lewis College and a home defeat to Southern.
?Every game I?ve played against them or even in the years before, it?s been close," McManamen said. "I don?t expect anything to change. It?s going to be a close, hard-fought game.?
