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The Wyoming Cowboys are 13-0, and finally are ranked at No. 25 in the coaches poll, and will be looking to improve to 14-0 when they host the Boise St. Broncos Thursday night. There are just four undefeated teams in all of college basketball -- the other three are Duke, Michigan and Arizona who hold the top three spots -- and Wyoming looks to at least keep pace with a zero to the right side of their scoreboard.
If Wyoming is going to get a win over a much improved Boise State team they will do so without the use of guard Luke Martinez, who is out with a broken finger. The result of the injury was due to a bar fight, but the extent to his involvement is not known. Martinez is also the Cowboys second leading score at 14.5 points per game. Wyoming will need the likes of Derrious Gilmore and Larry Nance Jr. to step up their game.
Wyoming's schedule has not been all that daunting, however they do have a win over Colorado, who was a good opponent at the time.
As for Boise State they are also a surprise team at 12-2, and have wins over Creighton, and took Michigan State down to the wire in a loss. Their only other defeat came at the hands of Utah, and that was the night they were honoring former coach Rick Majerus who had just passed away.
The Broncos are led by guard Derrick Marks and wing Anthony Drmic; those two are the players that Wyoming must try to slow down. Marks averages 16.3 points and four assists per game, while Drmic puts up 15.4 points per game to go along with 4.8 rebounds. Then there is Boise State's three-point specialist in Jeff Elorriaga who shoots an amazing 48.4 percent from beyond the arc, and big man Ryan Watkins who scores nine points and grabs 7.2 rebounds per game.
This is not a Boise State team that relies on just one or two players, so Wyoming will need to have a good defensive effort on Wednesday night.
Last year the Mountain West has a league where home teams ruled all, which means an edge has to be given to Wyoming to come out victorious. However, Boise State was able to snag a great road win earlier in the year against then-No. 11 ranked Creighton.
Thursday's night game is on ROOT SPORTS and tips at 10 p.m. ET, and despite Wyoming being without Martinez they are a 3.5-point favorite.