The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team announced its 2016-17 conference schedule Tuesday in connection with the Mountain West Conference. The conference slate features nine home contests with nine road tilts. Highlighting the conference home schedule will the annual Border war with Colorado State on Feb. 15 and the return of longtime rival New Mexico on February 25.
The Pokes will play home and home games with every team in the Mountain West with the exception of Nevada and San Diego State, which they will play once each. First year head coach Allen Edwards the Cowboys will face off against the Wolf Pack once in Laramie and against the Aztecs once in San Diego, Calif.
“The best part of our conference is how competitive it is,” Edwards said. “Every night a challenge is presented in this league and it will always be a competitive battle.”
The Pokes open the conference slate at home against Front Range foe Air Force on Wednesday, Dec. 28. It will be Edwards’ first MW game as head coach. He filled in as acting head coach for former head coach Larry Shyatt in the Cowboys win at Air Force in 2014-15.
The Cowboys play four home contests in the month of January. To open the month, UW will entertain Utah State on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The following Saturday, Jan. 14, the Pokes play host to Nevada, the defending College Basketball Invitational champions. UW will also host UNLV on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and Boise State on Saturday, Jan. 28.
“I have always said when the Arena-Auditorium is packed it is a very tough place to play,” Edwards said. “Our fans make for an exciting atmosphere and give us that competitive edge.”
Other home contests include defending MW Tournament champions Fresno State on Wednesday, Feb. 8. This season’s Border War against Colorado State in the Arena-Auditorium will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The Pokes welcome New Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 25 and close out the regular season by hosting San Jose State on Saturday, March 4.
The Cowboys open the road portion of the MW slate at UNLV with a New Year’s Eve matchup at the Runnin’ Rebels. The following Wednesday, Jan. 4, the Cowboys head to Fresno State.
The Pokes play four road contests in the month of February including UW’s only matchup with San Diego State on Wednesday, Feb. 1. The Cowboys will head to Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 4 and Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 11. UW wraps up the month with a trip to Boise State on Saturday, Feb. 18. Wyoming closes out its road schedule with the Border War in Fort Collins, Colo., on Wednesday, March 1.
Wyoming will make a run at a MW tournament title on March 8-11 at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The first round will be contested on Wednesday, March 8, followed by the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, the semifinals on Friday, March 10 and the title game on Saturday, March 11.
Season-ticket renewals for Cowboy basketball run through July 22. Contact the UW Ticket Office now at GoWyo.com/tickets, by emailing [email protected] or by calling the Wyoming Athletics Ticket Office at (307) 766-7220.
Today’s release represents the first phase in the 2016-17 men’s basketball schedule process. Mountain West national television partners CBS Sports Network and ESPN will initiate a selection procedure which will include the shifting of Wednesday games to Tuesday and Saturday games to Sunday. The national television selections should be completed by the middle of August. Regional partner ROOT SPORTS and the Mountain West Network on Campus Insiders will begin their picks after the national television lineup has been announced.
The Pokes non-conference schedule will be released at a later date when contracts are finalized.