2019–20 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

The 2019–20 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by Allen Edwards in his fourth and final year as head coach at Wyoming. The Cowboys played their home games at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming as members of the Mountain West Conference.[1] They finished the season 9–24, 2–16 in Mountain West play to finish in last place. As the 11 seed, they upset Colorado State and Nevada to reach the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Utah State. They became the first ever 11 seed to win a game at the Mountain West tournament.

2019–20 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record9–24 (2–16 MW)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaArena-Auditorium
Seasons
2019–20 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 San Diego State 17 1   .944 30 2   .938
Utah State 12 6   .667 26 8   .765
Nevada 12 6   .667 19 12   .613
UNLV 12 6   .667 17 15   .531
Boise State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
Colorado State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
New Mexico 7 11   .389 19 14   .576
Fresno State 7 11   .389 11 19   .367
Air Force 5 13   .278 12 20   .375
San Jose State 3 15   .167 7 24   .226
Wyoming 2 16   .111 9 24   .273
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

On March 9, 2020, head coach Allen Edwards was fired.[2] He finished at Wyoming with a four-year record of 60–76.

Previous season

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The Cowboys finished the 2018–19 season 8–24, 4–14 in Mountain West play to finish in tenth place. They lost to New Mexico in the first round of the Mountain West tournament. They did not compete in a post-season tournament.[3]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Justin James 1 G 6'7" 180 Senior Port Saint Lucie, FL Graduated/2019 NBA draft[4]
Tariq Johnson 5 G 6'5" 200 Freshman College Park, MD Medical Disqualification[5]
Trace Young 11 G/F 6'9" 210 Freshman Owensboro, KY Transferred to John A. Logan College[6]
Bradley Belt 12 G 6'4" 205 Freshman Huntsville, AL Dismissed (Violation of Team Rules)[7]
Jordan Naughton 33 F 6'10" 225 Senior Rancho Cucamonga, CA Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Greg Milton III 12 G 6'3" 185 Sophomore Elk Grove, CA Junior college transfer from Sacramento City College[8]
Tyler Morman 15 F 6'9" 220 Junior Mableton, GA Junior college transfer from Florida SouthWestern State College[9]

2019 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kenny Foster
SG
Aurora, CO Smoky Hill HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 21, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPNN/A
Kwane Marble Jr.
SG
Denver, CO Denver East HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jan 6, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Javier Turner
PF
Omaha, NE Omaha Northwest HS 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Apr 24, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout:   Rivals:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "ESPN – Wyoming Cowboys Basketball Recruiting 2019". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.

Media Day

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The Mountain West Men's Basketball Media Day was held at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, Nevada on October 15, 2019. Wyoming was picked to finish 10th in the conference, ahead of only San Jose State.[10] No Wyoming players were selected to the preseason All-Conference team.[11]

Roster

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2019–20 Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jake Hendricks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Sr Sky View HS
College of Southern Idaho
Smithfield, UT
G 2 A. J. Banks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Sr Cheyenne High School
Pratt CC
Las Vegas, NV
G 3 Kwane Marble II 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Denver East HS Denver, CO
G 5 Haize Fornstrom (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Pine Bluffs HS Pine Bluffs, WY
F 10 Hunter Thompson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS So Pine Bluffs HS Pine Bluffs, WY
G/F 11 T. J. Taylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 197 lb (89 kg) So Hillcrest Prep Chesapeake, VA
G 12 Greg Milton III 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Cosumnes Oaks HS
Sacramento City College
Elk Grove, CA
F 13 Brandon Porter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 193 lb (88 kg) So Washington Academy Virginia Beach, VA
F 14 Austin Mueller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So ThunderRidge HS Highlands Ranch, Colorado
F 15 Tyler Morman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Pebblebrook HS
Florida SouthWestern State College
Mableton, GA
G 22 Kenny Foster 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Smoky Hill HS Aurora, CO
G 24 Hunter Maldonado 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Vista Ridge HS Colorado Springs, CO
F 31 Javier Turner 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Omaha Northwest HS Omaha, NE
G 55 Danny Gosar (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Pinedale HS Pinedale, WY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 11, 2019

Statistics

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
A.J. Banks 33 30 23.6 .491 .394 .706 2.7 1.7 0.7 0.3 4.8
Haize Fornstrom 18 0 2.1 .750 1.000 .500 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.5
Kenny Foster 32 6 20.5 .342 .244 .710 2.5 1.1 0.4 0.1 4.8
Jake Hendricks 33 33 34.2 .334 .327 .818 3.9 1.2 1.1 0.0 10.4
Hunter Maldonado 33 33 35.3 .422 .295 .708 5.8 4.0 1.2 0.5 15.8
Kwane Marble II 27 11 19.5 .484 .365 .761 2.8 1.0 1.1 0.2 8.2
Greg Milton III 33 3 14.6 .383 .322 .679 1.7 0.8 0.2 0.0 3.8
Tyler Morman 2 1 14.0 1.000 .000 .000 2.5 0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0
Austin Mueller 12 3 15.5 .333 .000 .333 1.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 1.3
Brandon Porter 24 3 6.8 .433 .333 .714 0.8 0.1 0.3 0.2 3.1
T.J. Taylor 33 19 24.9 .485 .375 .767 3.4 0.6 0.4 0.2 7.0
Hunter Thompson 26 23 26.4 .400 .330 .717 4.1 0.9 0.2 0.5 8.2
Javier Turner 4 0 2.5 .000 .000 .000 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 30, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Northwest Nazarene W 62–56  0–0
Arena-Auditorium (3,006)
Laramie, WY
Regular season
Nov 5, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Idaho State W 54–40  1–0
Arena-Auditorium (3,010)
Laramie, WY
Nov 10, 2019*
10:00 a.m.
at South Carolina L 32–66  1–1
Colonial Life Arena (10,255)
Columbia, SC
Nov 13, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Cal State Fullerton L 53–60  1–2
Arena-Auditorium (3,003)
Laramie, WY
Nov 16, 2019*
7:00 p.m., Stadium
Oregon State L 63–83  1–3
Arena-Auditorium (4.339)
Laramie, WY
Nov 19, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Detroit Mercy
MGM Resorts Main Event Campus Site Game
W 76–49  2–3
Arena-Auditorium (2,967)
Laramie, WY
Nov 21, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Louisiana
MGM Resorts Main Event Campus Site Game
W 69–61 OT 3–3
Arena-Auditorium (2,860)
Laramie, WY
Nov 24, 2019*
6:00 p.m., ESPN3
vs. No. 23 Colorado
MGM Resorts Main Event Semifinal
L 41–56  3–4
T-Mobile Arena 
Paradise, NV
Nov 26, 2019*
7:00 p.m., FloSports
vs. TCU
MGM Resorts Main Event 3rd Place
L 47–64  3–5
T-Mobile Arena 
Paradise, NV
Dec 4, 2019
7:00 p.m., MWN
Air Force L 77–86  3–6
(0–1)
Arena-Auditorium (3,013)
Laramie, WY
Dec 7, 2019
2:00 p.m., MWN
New Mexico L 65–79  3–7
(0–2)
Arena Auditorium (3,659)
Laramie, WY
Dec 14, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Northern Colorado L 53–74  3–8
Arena-Auditorium (3,083)
Laramie, WY
Dec 18, 2019*
7:00 p.m., MWN
Utah Valley L 67–69  3–9
Arena-Auditorium (2,716)
Laramie, WY
Dec 21, 2019*
1:00 p.m.
at Denver W 72–66 OT 4–9
Magness Arena (1,543)
Denver, CO
Dec 28, 2019*
4:00 p.m., MWN
Nebraska Wesleyan W 82–68  5–9
Arena-Auditorium (2,826)
Laramie, WY
Jan 1, 2020
6:00 p.m., MWN
at Boise State L 54–65  5–10
(0–3)
ExtraMile Arena (4,708)
Boise, ID
Jan 4, 2020
11:00 a.m., ATTSNRM
at Colorado State
Border War
L 61–72  5–11
(0–4)
Moby Arena (3,534)
Fort Collins, CO
Jan 8, 2020
7:00 p.m., MWN
No. 7 San Diego State L 52–72  5–12
(0–5)
Arena-Auditorium (2,941)
Laramie, WY
Jan 11, 2020
5:00 p.m., ATTSNRM
UNLV L 69–78 OT 5–13
(0–6)
Arena-Auditorium (3,000)
Laramie, WY
Jan 14, 2020
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Nevada L 67–68  5–14
(0–7)
Lawlor Events Center (8,047)
Reno, NV
Jan 18, 2020
4:00 p.m., MWN
Fresno State L 50–65  5–15
(0–8)
Arena-Auditorium (3,226)
Laramie, WY
Jan 21, 2020
9:00 p.m., CBSSN
at No. 4 San Diego State L 55–72  5–16
(0–9)
Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, CA
Jan 28, 2020
9:00 p.m., ESPNU
Utah State L 45–68  5–17
(0–10)
Arena-Auditorium (3,115)
Laramie, WY
Feb 1, 2020
3:00 p.m., MWN
at San Jose State W 71–66  6–17
(1–10)
Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,427)
San Jose, CA
Feb 4, 2020
8:00 p.m., MWN
Boise State L 62–67  6–18
(1–11)
Arena-Auditorium (2,892)
Laramie, WY
Feb 8, 2020
4:00 p.m., Stadium
at New Mexico L 68–97  6–19
(1–12)
Dreamstyle Arena (10,732)
Albuquerque, NM
Feb 15, 2020
2:00 p.m., ATTSNRM
Colorado State
Border War
L 70–77  6–20
(1–13)
Arena-Auditorium (4,135)
Laramie, WY
Feb 19, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Utah State L 58–78  6–21
(1–14)
Smith Spectrum (9,452)
Logan, UT
Feb 22, 2020
2:00 p.m., ATTSNRM
at Air Force W 78–72  7–21
(2–14)
Clune Arena (1,529)
Colorado Springs, CO
Feb 25, 2020
7:00 p.m., ATTSNRM
Nevada L 68–73  7–22
(2–15)
Arena-Auditorium (3,007)
Laramie, WY
Feb 29, 2020
5:00 p.m., MWN
at Fresno State L 55–63  7–23
(2–16)
Save Mart Center (7,156)
Fresno, CA
Mountain West tournament
Mar 4, 2020
6:00 p.m., MWN
(11) vs. (6) Colorado State
First round
W 80–74  8–23
Thomas & Mack Center (5,198)
Paradise, NV
Mar 5, 2020
9:30 p.m., CBSSN
(11) vs. (3) Nevada
Quarterfinals
W 74–71  9–23
Thomas & Mack Center (7,723)
Paradise, NV
Mar 6, 2020
9:30 p.m., CBSSN
(11) vs. (2) Utah State
Semifinals
L 82–89  9–24
Thomas & Mack Center (9,630)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source[12]

References

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  1. ^ Grammer, Geoff. "2019-20 MWC hoops: Wyoming optimistic new stars will emerge". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Potter, Davis (March 9, 2020). "Wyoming fires men's basketball coach Allen Edwards". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  3. ^ davis.potter@trib.com, Davis Potter. "New Mexico's rally ends Wyoming's season in MW men's basketball tournament". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Harris, Noel (July 10, 2019). "Kings sign top draft pick Justin James, who has shown improvement in summer league". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  5. ^ Potter, Davis (April 2, 2019). "Medical disqualification ends Tariq Johnson's playing days at Wyoming". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  6. ^ Potter, Davis (April 1, 2019). "Wyoming hoops freshman Trace Young set to transfer". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Potter, Davis (September 9, 2019). "Freshman guard dismissed from Wyoming's men's basketball team". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  8. ^ Potter, Davis. "2019 Wyoming commit: Greg Milton III". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Potter, Davis (April 25, 2019). "Bigs Tyler Morman, Javier Turner round out Wyoming hoops' signing class". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  10. ^ "Utah State Picked to Win 2019-20 Mountain West Men's Basketball Regular-Season". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. October 15, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  11. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2019-20 Preseason Men's Basketball All-Conference Team". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. October 15, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  12. ^ "University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". gowyo.com.