PODCAST: Good, Bad, Ugly From Wyoming Hoops

CHEYENNE -- Turns out "snake bit" might not be a strong enough descriptor when it comes to the current state of the Wyoming basketball program.

Hunter Maldonado twice Tuesday night was planted on the hardwood inside Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center. The first time the super senior grabbed his right knee. The second, clutching his back. He already missed the Air Force game last week with a rib injury.

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Graham Ike's status hasn't changed -- TBD. Kenny Foster is fresh of back surgery and Brendan Wenzel's ailing knee has left him planted squarely on the Cowboys' bench for the last two weeks. Hunter Thompson is still trying to work his way back into shape after a bout with mononucleosis, too.

Xavier DuSell is the only player on this roster to appear in all 20 games this season.

Wyoming is coming off an 86-72 setback against the Rebels. DuSell drained six of the team's 14 triples in the loss. Noah Reynolds again was the leading scorer, finishing with 23 points. Thompson even netted nine, something he's been known to do against that squad in their building.

Still, it wasn't enough. Not even close, in fact.

MORE UW BASKETBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* UNLV puts on shooting clinic in 86-72 win over Wyoming

* Tuck's Takes: Wyoming's defense a no-show in Sin City

* Noah Reynolds becoming Wyoming's 'killer'

Why?

Wyoming allowed UNLV to hit 11-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Rebels shot nearly 54% from the field, building a 16-point lead late in the second half. The Pokes, to their credit, never gave up, chipping away with the help of four consecutive threes from DuSell, Maldonado and Reynolds (x2). This turned into a five-point ball game twice, but it was too little too late.

Jeff Linder was hit with a technical foul late in regulation after EJ Harkless jumped into DuSell beyond the perimeter and was awarded a trio of freebies. That turned into a 5-for-5 trip to the free-throw line. Wyoming's third-year head coach had to be restrained by a nearby official after that flop.

In reality, Linder's warranted flip out was due to a culmination of things. Just re-read all of that above.

Not much has gone right for this Ike-less Cowboys' team in what was supposed to be a magical run to a Mountain West championship and a second straight berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Cody Tucker and Jared Newland discuss all of that, along with the fact Wyoming could have nearly its entire roster intact next season, minus Maldonado and Thompson, who will exhaust their eligibility after more than half a decade in Laramie.

As you know, the NCAA Transfer Portal, unfortunately, doesn't allow that to be a slam-dunk reality these days.

We also breakdown the Cowboys impressive victory over Border War victory over Colorado State and the road that lies ahead for Linder's bunch.

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