Cowboys Look to Capitalize on CBI Success
LARAMIE, Wyo. (April 7, 2017) – The Wyoming’s men’s basketball team won their first postseason championship since the 1943 National Championship when the Cowboys hoisted the CBI Championship trophy last Friday after defeating Coastal Carolina in the third game of the best of three series inside the Arena-Auditorium. The crowd of 6,321 inside “The Dome of Doom” outdrew the NIT Championship game inside Madison Square Garden.
The Cowboys went 5-1 for the tournament and finished the season with a 23-15 record. It marked the 22nd 20-win season in school history. Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards’ 23 victories made him the second coach in school history to get to 20 wins in his first season joining Benny Dees, who went 26-6 in his first season in 1987-88. Edwards also became the seventh coach in NCAA Men’s Division I to win a postseason championship in his first season in his first tenure as a head coach.
Wyoming will return all but seniors Jason McManamen and Morris Marshall from a team that scored a school record 2,961 points. Wyoming also set a school record and MW record for three pointers in a season with 369.
Here is a look at some teams that had success the following season after playing in the CBI:
· NEVADA won a school record 14 Mountain West Conference games en route to the 2017 regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA Tournament after winning the 2016 CBI in head coach Eric Musselman’s first season
· PITTSBURGH won the 2012 CBI and earned a No. 8 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament
· VCU won the 2010 CBI and advanced to the Final Four the next season
· OREGON won the 2011 CBI and went 24-10 the following season, surpassing the previous season’s win total, which included five CBI wins
· VERMONT reached the semifinals of the 2016 CBI and then posted a 16-0 record in America East Conference play in winning the 2017 America East regular season and tournament titles
· UNCG, in 2016, made its first postseason appearance since 2001 and followed that by winning the 2017 Southern Conference regular season championship
· TEXAS A&M returned seven players from the 2014 CBI, advanced to the 2015 NIT and were ranked as high as fifth during the 2015-16 season
· STONY BROOK played in the 2014 and 2015 CBI and then earned its first NCAA bid in 2016
· COLORADO played in the 2015 CBI and received a 2016 NCAA bid
· WYOMING participated in the 2014 CBI and then went 25-9 and won the 2015 Mountain West championship to earn its first NCAA bid since 2002
· TEXAS parlayed its 2013 CBI experience into a No. 7 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns were ranked as high as No. 15 in 2014
· BUTLER advanced to the 2012 CBI semifinals and followed that with a No. 6 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament
· CREIGHTON, DAVIDSON, MONTANA, and ST. BONAVENTURE all played in the 2011 CBI and then won their respective league tournaments in 2012
· CREIGHTON advanced to the Championship Series of the 2011 CBI and in 2012 was ranked as high as 13
· MOREHEAD STATE played in the 2010 CBI and the next year had the greatest season in school history, including advancing to the Round of 32 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament
· RICHMOND advanced to the 2009 CBI semifinals and went on to earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids for the first time in 19 years
· UTEP reached the Championship Series of the 2009 CBI and went on to advance to the 2010 NCAA Tournament and win 51 games the next two seasons
· UTAH played in the 2008 CBI and went on to win 24 games the next season and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years
LARAMIE, Wyo. (April 7, 2017) – The Wyoming’s men’s basketball team won their first postseason championship since the 1943 National Championship when the Cowboys hoisted the CBI Championship trophy last Friday after defeating Coastal Carolina in the third game of the best of three series inside the Arena-Auditorium. The crowd of 6,321 inside “The Dome of Doom” outdrew the NIT Championship game inside Madison Square Garden.
The Cowboys went 5-1 for the tournament and finished the season with a 23-15 record. It marked the 22nd 20-win season in school history. Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards’ 23 victories made him the second coach in school history to get to 20 wins in his first season joining Benny Dees, who went 26-6 in his first season in 1987-88. Edwards also became the seventh coach in NCAA Men’s Division I to win a postseason championship in his first season in his first tenure as a head coach.
Wyoming will return all but seniors Jason McManamen and Morris Marshall from a team that scored a school record 2,961 points. Wyoming also set a school record and MW record for three pointers in a season with 369.
Here is a look at some teams that had success the following season after playing in the CBI:
· NEVADA won a school record 14 Mountain West Conference games en route to the 2017 regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA Tournament after winning the 2016 CBI in head coach Eric Musselman’s first season
· PITTSBURGH won the 2012 CBI and earned a No. 8 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament
· VCU won the 2010 CBI and advanced to the Final Four the next season
· OREGON won the 2011 CBI and went 24-10 the following season, surpassing the previous season’s win total, which included five CBI wins
· VERMONT reached the semifinals of the 2016 CBI and then posted a 16-0 record in America East Conference play in winning the 2017 America East regular season and tournament titles
· UNCG, in 2016, made its first postseason appearance since 2001 and followed that by winning the 2017 Southern Conference regular season championship
· TEXAS A&M returned seven players from the 2014 CBI, advanced to the 2015 NIT and were ranked as high as fifth during the 2015-16 season
· STONY BROOK played in the 2014 and 2015 CBI and then earned its first NCAA bid in 2016
· COLORADO played in the 2015 CBI and received a 2016 NCAA bid
· WYOMING participated in the 2014 CBI and then went 25-9 and won the 2015 Mountain West championship to earn its first NCAA bid since 2002
· TEXAS parlayed its 2013 CBI experience into a No. 7 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns were ranked as high as No. 15 in 2014
· BUTLER advanced to the 2012 CBI semifinals and followed that with a No. 6 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament
· CREIGHTON, DAVIDSON, MONTANA, and ST. BONAVENTURE all played in the 2011 CBI and then won their respective league tournaments in 2012
· CREIGHTON advanced to the Championship Series of the 2011 CBI and in 2012 was ranked as high as 13
· MOREHEAD STATE played in the 2010 CBI and the next year had the greatest season in school history, including advancing to the Round of 32 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament
· RICHMOND advanced to the 2009 CBI semifinals and went on to earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids for the first time in 19 years
· UTEP reached the Championship Series of the 2009 CBI and went on to advance to the 2010 NCAA Tournament and win 51 games the next two seasons
· UTAH played in the 2008 CBI and went on to win 24 games the next season and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years
