The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 72 is Wyoming basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Wyoming basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 1
- Finals appearances: 1
- Final Fours: 1
- Elite Eights: 5
- Sweet 16s: 4
- NCAA wins: 9
- Bids: 16
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.6
- Bids per season: 0.13
- AP Polls: 40
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 4
- NBA players drafted & played: 13
- Conference Players of the Year: 4
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 21
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 2
Overall scoop on Wyoming basketball
At No. 72, we have one of the first programs to win the NCAA Tournament – Wyoming basketball!
The Cowboys won it all in 1943, two years after appearing in just the third ever NCAA Tournament. But the second time around, everything clicked. Head coach Everett Shelton led them to a 31-2 record with Milo Komenich and Kenny Sailors as the stars of the team. Sailors was a Consensus All-American that season, as well as in 1946. Notably, he was a junior in ’43 and a senior in ’45, serving for the United States during World War II in the two seasons in between.
As for Wyoming, the Cowboys continued to have some great seasons under Shelton, going to the big dance in 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, and 1958. They never made it back to the Final Four, but thanks to small tournament sizes, claim a few more Elite 8s and Sweet 16s. Shelton ended up winning over 300 games total while with Wyoming.
The program would take a turn South under Bill Strannigan, although they did make the Sweet 16 in 1967. But their next solid era was in the 80s, going to four NCAA Tournaments in the decade with a Sweet 16 as a 12-seed in 1987.
Since then, things have been very spread out, with their last three tourneys coming in 2002, 2015, and 2022. However, they now play in the Mountain West, and while they haven’t necessarily always been in the top tier, they are usually able to keep things competitive. In the 2010s, Larry Nance Jr. starred for the Cowboys and was part of a trio of 20-win teams when he was there.
The other notable NBA player to come from Wyoming was Theo Ratliff, as they’ve had a handful of guys make the jump to the league. They’ll really find talent from anywhere!
I should also mention some other tournaments of note. A few years before the NCAA Tournament started, Wyoming was named Pre-tournament Helms national champions in 1934. They also lost in the NIT title game in 1986 and won the CBI in 2017.
Obviously, Wyoming is mostly a historic program, but they’ve had bits and pieces of greatness sprinkled throughout the past few decades, always keeping the fanbase excited about what’s next!