2017 CBI: Wyoming v. University of Missouri-Kansas City

91-81.

That’s what happens when two good offenses meet in the postseason.

Eastern Washington tried their best to keep up with Wyoming, but couldn’t match the Cowboys’ scoring depth.

Five Cowboys (three off the bench) scored double digits compared to three from the Eagles.

The Cowboys dominated the glass as well, pulling down 34 rebounds to Eastern Washington’s 24.

Shooting 11-18 from three helped, too.

Now the Cowboys face the...Kangaroos? Huh. How about that.

Anyway, the Cowboys play the Kangaroos at 7 in Laramie. Let’s take a look at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

UMKC scores as often as Wyoming does, 77.4 ppg to 77.9. The difference here is the defense. UMKC allows nearly 80 ppg compared to Wyoming’s 75.7.

Now, could that be attributed to playing in the WAC? Maybe. Maybe not.

RPI ranks both UW and UMKC with similar defensive ratings, -4.7 and -4.6 respectively. The big difference in the analytics, surprisingly, is in the offense.

Wyoming’s offense is rated nearly five points higher than UMKC. That probably doesn’t sound like a sizable difference, but it is. That’s the same as the difference between Wyoming and Duke.

The Kangaroo’s haven’t played a team like Wyoming either, at least not regularly. No one in the WAC has an offense as efficient as Wyoming’s is (or even can be).

UMKC doesn’t rebound much, either. They currently sit 241st in the nation in rebounds per game. Wyoming? 50th. Alan Herndon and Hayden Dalton should be prepared to eat these guys alive.

The Kangaroos’ offense looks like it runs primarily through one guy: guard LaVell Boyd. He leads the team in points per game, assists per game, steals per game, and minutes. He’s their star, and the Cowboys need to do what they can to shut him down.

One player that could throw a wrench in things is Darnell Tillman. He’s the Kangaroo’s 6’8, 250 lb center. He also leads the team in shooting percentage and rebounds per game (5.5). He doesn’t score much, but he’s a force under the rim.

The Cowboys should win this game. They have an offense more lethal than what UMKC is equipped to handle and have way more depth on the team.

Pokes by 12.

See you next time.

Before you go, maybe stick around and stream the game here.