UNLV will attempt to cool improved Cowboys

Steve Carp

Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998 | 2:58 a.m.

When they beat Utah State in early December, few paid it any mind. When they beat New Mexico in early January, people were calling it a fluke, citing home-court advantage.

Then came a stunning upset of Utah, the No. 5 team in the country. Suddenly, it wasn't a fluke. And when they beat Colorado State in overtime at Fort Collins last week, the basketball gurus remembered the Wyoming Cowboys still played the game.

Now, the Cowboys are the talk of the hoop world. Television commentators are making a case for Larry Shyatt's team to be included in the field of 64 next week when the NCAA Tournament committee meets in Kansas City.

Shyatt, a former assistant to Rick Barnes at Providence and Clemson, is being touted as WAC Coach of the Year. NBA scouts have their eye on 6-foot-3 senior Jeron Roberts, who averages nearly 20 points a game and is a dead-eye shot from the foul line, hitting 83 percent.

Can this be the same Wyoming that struggled to a 12-16 mark, got bounced in the first round of the WAC tournament and saw its coach, Joby Wright, fired after the loss to Texas Christian here last March?

Most of the same characters who contributed to that 12-16 mark are still in place.

But it's not the same Wyoming. Not when you're playing fanatical team defense. Not when you're holding your opponents under 40 percent from the field. Not when you're 18-6 going into the final weekend of the conference season knowing you're probably still going be playing in two weeks.

It's one of the great stories of this college basketball season. Another chapter gets written tonight at 7:35 at the Thomas & Mack Center when the Cowboys meet 14-12 UNLV.

The Rebels need to win probably as much as Shyatt's crew, if they are to keep flickering NIT hopes alive.

"It's hard to talk about it and it's hard to ignore," Shyatt said of the possibility of his team going to the NCAAs. "What I think we've done is put ourselves in a position to be in position to have a chance.

"But we've still got a lot of unfinished business. That's why these next few games are so important. It can turn on you just as quickly."

Shyatt, who has instilled a disciplinary style and a hard-nosed, tough presence on the floor for his players, said they aren't playing the look-ahead game. At least not yet.

"The only people who can help us is us," he said. "And the only people who can hurt us is us. We know what we have to continue to do and as long as we do, we're going to be in good shape."

The Cowboys have won four straight and six of their last seven. They have won smart. They have won ugly. And some claim they have won dirty.

The first meeting with the Rebels Jan. 31 in Laramie had all three elements. But the Cowboys were an unbelievable 89 percent from the foul line that night (32 of 36), including a perfect 14-for-14 performance from Roberts, and that was enough to hold off UNLV, 73-62.

UNLV coach Bill Bayno said he's more concerned about facing a hot team than reliving a hot-tempered contest.

"Larry's got them playing hard and there's a lot of continuity," Bayno said. "Eight of their top 10 guys are back and they've obviously bought into what Larry was trying to teach them."

Hoop du jour

* LONG, STRANGE TRIP: It's not easy to get to anywhere from Laramie. But when the weather's bad as it was Wednesday, it makes travel especially difficult. Wyoming's basketball team left town early to try to beat an ice storm that had reached town and made it to Fort Collins, Colo, where the Cowboys tried to get in a practice. They were denied use of Moby Arena by Colorado State. But fortunately, the team had an in with Poudre High, which happens to be the alma mater of sophomore forward Justin French. The team practiced, then went on to Denver where it managed to make its early evening flight to Las Vegas. The Cowboys went through a light workout at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday night following dinner. "It's been a long day for sure," said coach Larry Shyatt.

* ADVENTURES IN TRAVEL, PART 2: It's a tough week for traveling for the Cowboys. Following tonight's game, Wyoming flies to Colorado Springs for a Saturday night game against Air Force. The team is supposed to be back in Las Vegas Monday for its first-round WAC tournament game Tuesday. But instead of flying immediately back to Las Vegas, the team will bus home to Laramie from the Academy, spend Sunday in Wyoming, then drive back down to Denver Monday for another flight here.