Wyoming's regular season has been over for five days.
The Cowboys have been preparing for UNLV for a week.
The Pokes will get their second consecutive crack at the Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center tonight as the team's open the Mountain West Championships with a rematch of their regular-season finale, an 11-point victory by UNLV.
"It'll be different," UW guard Luke Martinez said when asked about the preparation for the quick turnaround rematch. "I think it's going to be good for us. We get to go at them again and get another shot at playing them on their own floor.
"We're just going to be ready to play and do whatever we can to get a win."
The Cowboys returned to Las Vegas knowing that they were within two possessions of UNLV multiple times in the second half despite falling behind by double digits early in the game.
They cut their deficit to three points and five points during different stretches but the Rebels came up with an answer both times.
"We played really good, we just had one little mishap in the second half," Martinez said. "They went on a little run.
"Good teams will bounce back from that and close the gap a little bit. If we do that, then I think we'll be pretty good."
At the same time, UW knows it needs to cut down on careless mistakes.
It got into heavy foul trouble with five players being whistled at least four times, but they also turned the ball over 18 times. One game earlier, a home victory over TCU, the Pokes turned the ball over just once while piling up 18 assists.
"I don't think anybody can throw the ball away as much as we did," UW coach Larry Shyatt said. "We were coming off two excellent possession games.
"We had two or three charge calls and three or four illegal screens. I get that; those were dead-ball turnovers. But we had too many live-ball turnovers. We have to somehow try to correct that."
Still, the Cowboys -- while not particularly pleased about a road rematch in a conference tournament -- haven't seen their confidence sapped by the situation.
"We played good in stretches, but we've got to adjust to officials and stuff like that," UW senior guard JayDee Luster said. "I think we've just got to tighten things up and come out and be disciplined."
The Pokes hope to turn their MW fortunes around. They have won just won game here since the 2007 tournament, a victory over New Mexico in the quarterfinals in 2009 when UW was the sixth seed -- as it is this season.
That season, the Pokes solidified a spot in the postseason, earning a bid in the College Basketball Invitational.
With 20 victories this season, a victory could vault them to the National Invitation Tournament.
"Anything can happen," Martinez said. "Mental focus is going to be key.
"We're just going to come and play ball."
They should know UNLV better than anyone at this point.
The Cowboys have been preparing for UNLV for a week.
The Pokes will get their second consecutive crack at the Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center tonight as the team's open the Mountain West Championships with a rematch of their regular-season finale, an 11-point victory by UNLV.
"It'll be different," UW guard Luke Martinez said when asked about the preparation for the quick turnaround rematch. "I think it's going to be good for us. We get to go at them again and get another shot at playing them on their own floor.
"We're just going to be ready to play and do whatever we can to get a win."
The Cowboys returned to Las Vegas knowing that they were within two possessions of UNLV multiple times in the second half despite falling behind by double digits early in the game.
They cut their deficit to three points and five points during different stretches but the Rebels came up with an answer both times.
"We played really good, we just had one little mishap in the second half," Martinez said. "They went on a little run.
"Good teams will bounce back from that and close the gap a little bit. If we do that, then I think we'll be pretty good."
At the same time, UW knows it needs to cut down on careless mistakes.
It got into heavy foul trouble with five players being whistled at least four times, but they also turned the ball over 18 times. One game earlier, a home victory over TCU, the Pokes turned the ball over just once while piling up 18 assists.
"I don't think anybody can throw the ball away as much as we did," UW coach Larry Shyatt said. "We were coming off two excellent possession games.
"We had two or three charge calls and three or four illegal screens. I get that; those were dead-ball turnovers. But we had too many live-ball turnovers. We have to somehow try to correct that."
Still, the Cowboys -- while not particularly pleased about a road rematch in a conference tournament -- haven't seen their confidence sapped by the situation.
"We played good in stretches, but we've got to adjust to officials and stuff like that," UW senior guard JayDee Luster said. "I think we've just got to tighten things up and come out and be disciplined."
The Pokes hope to turn their MW fortunes around. They have won just won game here since the 2007 tournament, a victory over New Mexico in the quarterfinals in 2009 when UW was the sixth seed -- as it is this season.
That season, the Pokes solidified a spot in the postseason, earning a bid in the College Basketball Invitational.
With 20 victories this season, a victory could vault them to the National Invitation Tournament.
"Anything can happen," Martinez said. "Mental focus is going to be key.
"We're just going to come and play ball."
They should know UNLV better than anyone at this point.
