Jan. 2, 2015
SPARTANS HOST WYOMING SATURDAY
The San José State men's basketball team returns home Saturday night to host Wyoming in a Mountain West matchup starting at 7:00 p.m. The Spartans are coming off of a 61-33 loss at Utah State on December 31 while the Cowboys defeated UNLV 76-71 at home on that same night.
SAN JOSÉ STATE (2-11, 0-1 MW) at WYOMING (12-2, 1-0 MW)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 7:00 p.m. PT
THE EVENT CENTER (5,000)
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
TICKETS
COVERAGE
WATCH: SPARTAN DIGITAL NETWORK
LISTEN: STRETCH INTERNET RADIO
FOLLOW: @SJSUMBB - @SJSUAthletics
LAST TIME OUT
San José State fell 61-33 in its Mountain West opener at Utah State on December 31. The Spartans allowed a 32-4 run in the first half that out the game out of reach. Darryl Gaynor II and Ryan Singer each scored eight points for SJSU. Ivo Basor played all 40 minutes and hauled in 11 rebounds.
SHOOTING DISPARITY STANDS OUT IN MATCHUP WITH COWBOYS
The Wyoming cowboys enter Saturday night's game ranked first in the Mountain West and ninth in the country with their 51 percent field-goal shooting mark. The Spartans shoot 37.3 percent from the floor as a team and are coming off of a 20 percent (12-of-60) shooting night at Utah State on December 31.
SPARTANS FORCED TO PLAY BIG MINUTES
Ivo Basor, Darryl Gaynor II and Isaac Thornton all averaged 36+ minutes per game over the last two contests at Washington State (12/21) and at Utah State (12/31). Basor played all 40 minutes in the Utah State game; something the 6-foot-8, 240-pound center hadn't done at any point in his basketball career.
MITCHELL SOLID AT WASHINGTON STATE
Sophomore Brandon Mitchell notched a career-best 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting against Washington State on December 21. He also matched a career-high with his seven rebounds.
THE MW AT A GLANCE
Four Mountain West teams enter this weekend's action with double-digit win totals and two teams are ranked inside the top-25. #24-ranked Colorado State is still unbeaten at 14-0 and in first place after defeating Boise State on Wednesday in the conference opener for both teams. Wyoming follows closely in second place with a 12-2, 1-0 record. #25-ranked San Diego State is 11-3 overall and just held on for a 53-49 win over Air Force Wednesday afternoon. New Mexico and UNLV are both sitting on nine wins overall. Fresno State has a 5-9, 0-1 mark while Nevada is 4-8 and has not played a MW contest yet. SJSU sits at the bottom of the conference at 2-11 overall and 0-1 in MW play.
ABOUT WYOMING
The Cowboys are currently in second place in the Mountain West at 12-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. They defeated the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, 76-71, in their conference opener at home. Wyoming comes into the game ranked first in the Mountain West and ninth in the country at 51 percent shooting from the floor. Senior forward Larry Nance, Jr. leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Defensively, they allow just 51.4 points per game, good for third in the country in scoring defense. The Cowboys are coached by Larry Shyatt in his fifth season.
LAST GAME & SERIES HISTORY WITH WYOMING
San José State fell 46-38 in the two teams' last meeting on February 15 in The Event Center. SJSU managed only nine points in the second half, but held Wyoming's leading scorer, Larry Nance, Jr., to only six points. Isaac Thornton led the Spartans with 14 points. Wyoming controls the all-time series 6-1, and is 2-1 in games played in San Jose.
SHORTHANDED SPARTANS ADD HELP
The Spartans made two additions to the lineup before the December 13 contest versus Seattle U. Andrew Vollert and Tyler Winston, two letterwinners on the SJSU football team, suited up and played 30 and 21 minutes respectively. Vollert will remain with the team on a game-by-game basis. Winston will not play again. The additions were made to help counter season-ending injuries to Jalen James and Leon Bahner as well as the indefinite suspension of: Rashad Muhammad, Jordan Baker, Frank Rogers, Jaleel Williams and Matt Pollard, for violating a team rule.
SINGLE-GAME & SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
For tickets to all San José State men's basketball games, call the Spartan Ticket Office at 408-924-7589 or visit the tickets section on SJSUSpartans.com. The Spartan Ticket Office is your one-stop shop for all single-game tickets and season ticket plans. Also see the Season Ticket Membership Brochure for information on this year's variable ticket pricing.
CONNECT WITH THE SPARTANS
Connect with the SJSU men's basketball team on Twitter @SJSUMBB and with all Spartans athletics teams @SJSUAthletics. Fans can keep track of in-game and news updates using #SJSU, #spartanup and #spartanstrong. If you are on Facebook, so are we! Check us out atfacebook.com/SJSUSpartans.
CATCH EVERY GAME ON STRETCH
Every SJSU men's basketball game can be heard live on Stratch Internet Radio. Head to the schedule page at www.SJSUSpartans.com and click the link to hear all the action called by play-by-play announcer Justin Allegri with commentary from Joe Boylan.