I think this loss could be seen coming from a mile away. Just a difficult matchup for Wyoming in a difficult place to play. Nearly everyone will have some head scratching conference road losses. Nature of the beast.
So, why do I feel devastated right now?
The issue is that we (I) have so many hopes riding on the back of this team and it's not really fair. UW has made the tournament once in the last 27 years. The Pokes haven't finished with a winning conference record in 12 years, and the entire athletic department has not won a MWC title in 13 years. Due to the presence of Nance and the veteran nature of this club, we were hoping that this team could end all those streaks, and we know they need to since next year is a rebuilding year and none of the other programs in the athletic department appear poised to break the overall streak.
So, are the hopes really derailed? Technically no, but one big hope (NCAA Tourney) is almost certainly toast at this point and that is directly a result of a poor OOC scheduling strategy. There have been threads on this before, and I have heard Shyatt's response regarding nobody wanting to come to Laramie, but I have never heard an explanation for why we cannot play in a neutral court tourney like other teams in the MWC (CSU, for example). I would like Vorel to ask him that at some point.
Having said all of that, objectively speaking they are having a great year (6-2, 17-4) and have already provided a lot of great moments (CU game, a highlight reel worth of dunks and Top 10 plays, a win in Moby, a 3OT road win, the classic vs. UNM, the largest crowd in a decade, etc.).
Conclusion: I still really like this team and appreciate everything they do and I resolve to try to just enjoy the ride and not burden them in my mind with the shortcomings of past teams, scheduling, or athletic department futility.
So, why do I feel devastated right now?
The issue is that we (I) have so many hopes riding on the back of this team and it's not really fair. UW has made the tournament once in the last 27 years. The Pokes haven't finished with a winning conference record in 12 years, and the entire athletic department has not won a MWC title in 13 years. Due to the presence of Nance and the veteran nature of this club, we were hoping that this team could end all those streaks, and we know they need to since next year is a rebuilding year and none of the other programs in the athletic department appear poised to break the overall streak.
So, are the hopes really derailed? Technically no, but one big hope (NCAA Tourney) is almost certainly toast at this point and that is directly a result of a poor OOC scheduling strategy. There have been threads on this before, and I have heard Shyatt's response regarding nobody wanting to come to Laramie, but I have never heard an explanation for why we cannot play in a neutral court tourney like other teams in the MWC (CSU, for example). I would like Vorel to ask him that at some point.
Having said all of that, objectively speaking they are having a great year (6-2, 17-4) and have already provided a lot of great moments (CU game, a highlight reel worth of dunks and Top 10 plays, a win in Moby, a 3OT road win, the classic vs. UNM, the largest crowd in a decade, etc.).
Conclusion: I still really like this team and appreciate everything they do and I resolve to try to just enjoy the ride and not burden them in my mind with the shortcomings of past teams, scheduling, or athletic department futility.
