# 2023–24 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

The 2023–24 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys were led by Jeff Linder in his fourth and final season and played their home games for the 42nd season at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming. They participated as members of the Mountain West Conference for the 25th season.

## Previous season

The Cowboys finished the 2022–23 season 9–22, 4–14 in Mountain West play, to finish in last place. They lost to New Mexico in the first round of the Mountain West tournament.

## Offseason

Three players left the team during the season, and had six more players transfer after the season. The Cowboys also hired two new assistant coaches, Bryston Williams and Nick Whitmore, to replace Marc Rodgers and Sundance Wicks.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ethan Anderson | 20 | G | 6' 1" | 208 | Jr. | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to Pepperdine |
| Max Agbonkpolo | 23 | G/F | 6' 9" | 196 | Jr. | Laguna Niguel, CA | Transferred to Utah State |
| Nate Barnhart | 15 | F | 7' 0" | 190 | RS Fr. | Lenexa, KS | Transferred to South Dakota State |
| Xavier DuSell | 53 | G | 6' 4" | 199 | Jr. | Scottsdale, AZ | Transferred to Fresno State |
| Graham Ike | 33 | F | 6' 9" | 255 | Jr. | Aurora, CO | Transferred to Gonzaga |
| Jake Kyman | 13 | G/F | 6' 7" | 213 | Jr. | Aliso Viejo, CA | Transferred to Eastern Washington |
| Hunter Maldonado | 24 | G | 6' 7" | 202 | RS Sr. | Colorado Springs, CO | Graduated; Signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder Summer League team |
| Jeremiah Oden | 25 | F | 6' 8" | 201 | Jr. | Chicago, IL | Transferred to DePaul |
| Noah Reynolds | 21 | G | 6' 3" | 195 | So. | Peoria, IL | Transferred to Wisconsin Green Bay |
| Nathaniel Talich | 0 | G | 6' 4" | 191 | Fr. | Cheyenne, WY | Transferred to Casper College |
| Hunter Thompson | 10 | F | 6' 10" | 230 | RS Sr. | Pine Bluffs, WY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Sam Griffin | 3 | G | 6' 3" | 188 | Sr. | Miami, FL | Tulsa |
| Oleg Kojenets | 15 | F | 7' 0" | 228 | So. | Kaunas, Lithuania | Nebraska |
| Akuel Kot | 13 | G | 6' 2" | 167 | Sr. | Amarillo, TX | Fort Lewis |
| Kobe Newton | 2 | G | 6' 2" | 178 | Jr. | Portland, OR | Fullerton College |
| Mason Walters | 33 | F | 6' 9" | 221 | Gr. | Jamestown, ND | Jamestown |

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kael Combs G | Nixa, MO | Nixa HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Apr 15, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Nigle Cook G | DeLand, FL | DME Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 14, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Cameron Manyawu F | Kansas City, MO | Staley HS | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 25, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Jonas Sirtautas F | Kaunas, Lithuania | Žalgiris | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 7, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Jacob Theodosiou G | Waterloo, ON | Western Reserve Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 1, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "203 Wyoming Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2023* 6:30 p.m. | | MSU Denver | W 79–67 | — | 24 – Griffin | 9 – tied | 7 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (1,027) Laramie, WY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2023* 6:30 p.m., MW Network | | Northern New Mexico | W 104–56 | 1–0 | 23 – Griffin | 10 – Manyawu | 10 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,362) Laramie, WY |
| November 11, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Cal Poly | W 80–66 | 2–0 | 19 – Manyawu | 10 – Manyawu | 5 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,826) Laramie, WY |
| November 16, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Saint Louis Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals | L 69–79 | 2–1 | 17 – Powell | 12 – Manyawu | 4 – Griffin | HTC Center (1,201) Conway, SC |
| November 17, 2023* 12:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Charleston Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation 2nd round | W 67–60 | 3–1 | 24 – Griffin | 8 – Wenzel | 6 – Wenzel | HTC Center (1,152) Conway, SC |
| November 19, 2023* 8:30 a.m., ESPNU | | vs. Furman Myrtle Beach Invitational 5th-place game | W 78–71 | 4–1 | 26 – Griffin | 13 – Powell | 4 – tied | HTC Center (1,136) Conway, SC |
| November 26, 2023* 1:00 p.m., LHN | | at No. 15 Texas | L 63–86 | 4–2 | 12 – tied | 10 – Manyawu | 3 – Griffin | Moody Center (9,926) Austin, TX |
| December 1, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Portland | L 70–81 | 4–3 | 17 – Griffin | 6 – Wenzel | 5 – Griffin | Chiles Center (1,076) Portland, OR |
| December 5, 2023* 6:30 p.m., MW Network | | South Dakota Mines | W 80–59 | 5–3 | 20 – Manyawu | 11 – Manyawu | 7 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,272) Laramie, WY |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | Stephen F. Austin | W 78–70 | 6–3 | 23 – Griffin | 10 – Powell | 5 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,584) Laramie, WY |
| December 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Weber State | L 71–84 | 6–4 | 24 – Kot | 7 – Manyawu | 3 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,447) Laramie, WY |
| December 21, 2023* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. South Dakota State Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals | W 78–65 | 7–4 | 22 – Kot | 9 – Griffin | 3 – Griffin | Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX |
| December 22, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | at UTEP Sun Bowl Invitational championship | L 67–78 | 7–5 | 16 – Walters | 11 – Powell | 3 – Kot | Don Haskins Center (4,310) El Paso, TX |
| December 30, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 14 BYU | L 68–94 | 7–6 | 25 – Griffin | 5 – tied | 5 – Griffin | Marriott Center (18,987) Provo, UT |
| Mountain West regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 6:30 p.m., MW Network | | San Jose State | W 75–73 | 8–6 (1–0) | 23 – Griffin | 6 – Griffin | 3 – Walters | Arena-Auditorium (3,368) Laramie, WY |
| January 6, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at New Mexico | L 60–77 | 8–7 (1–1) | 18 – Griffin | 9 – Manyawu | 3 – tied | The Pit (12,611) Albuquerque, NM |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at No. 20 Utah State | L 59–83 | 8–8 (1–2) | 17 – Walters | 7 – Wenzel | 3 – Kot | Smith Spectrum (8,214) Logan, UT |
| January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | Fresno State | W 68–67 | 9–8 (2–2) | 17 – Wenzel | 8 – Wenzel | 4 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,763) Laramie, WY |
| January 20, 2024 5:30 p.m., MW Network | | Nevada | W 98–93 | 10–8 (3–2) | 26 – Griffin | 8 – Walters | 7 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (4,136) Laramie, WY |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at San Diego State | L 65–81 | 10–9 (3–3) | 22 – Griffin | 8 – Wenzel | 3 – Griffin | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | No. 24 Colorado State Border War | W 79–76 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (4–3) | 24 – Griffin | 9 – Wenzel | 4 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (7,113) Laramie, WY |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Air Force | W 83–72 | 12–9 (5–3) | 25 – Wenzel | 7 – tied | 5 – Kot | Clune Arena Colorado Springs, CO |
| February 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UNLV | L 48–62 | 12–10 (5–4) | 13 – Manyawu | 13 – Walters | 3 – Walters | Thomas & Mack Center (5,963) Paradise, NV |
| February 6, 2024 6:30 p.m., MW Network | | No. 25 New Mexico | L 73–91 | 12–11 (5–5) | 20 – Wenzel | 7 – Manyawu | 4 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,685) Laramie, WY |
| February 14, 2024 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Utah State | L 76–84 | 12–12 (5–6) | 24 – Wenzel | 11 – Manyawu | 4 – Griffin | Arena-Auditorium (3,401) Laramie, WY |
| February 17, 2024 8:00 p.m., MW Network | | at San Jose State | W 80–75 | 13–12 (6–6) | 21 – Griffin | 7 – tied | 3 – Griffin | Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,891) San Jose, CA |
| February 20, 2024 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Nevada | L 58–76 | 13–13 (6–7) | 17 – Wenzel | 12 – Manyawu | 3 – Griffin | Lawlor Events Center (8,604) Reno, NV |
| February 24, 2024 5:30 p.m., MW Network | | Boise State | L 72–92 | 13–14 (6–8) | 16 – Griffin | 9 – Manyawu | 5 – Combs | Arena-Auditorium (5,180) Laramie, WY |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | UNLV | L 69–75 $^{OT}$ | 13–15 (6–9) | 20 – Wenzel | 10 – Manyawu | 4 – Manyawu | Arena-Auditorium (3,283) Laramie, WY |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Colorado State Border War | L 62–70 | 13–16 (6–10) | 15 – Manyawu | 10 – Manyawu | 3 – tied | Moby Arena (8,083) Fort Collins, CO |
| March 5, 2024 6:30 p.m., MW Network | | Air Force | W 74–63 | 14–16 (7–10) | 20 – Wenzel | 14 – Manyawu | 2 – tied | Arena-Auditorium (3,681) Laramie, WY |
| March 9, 2024 5:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Fresno State | W 86–47 | 15–16 (8–10) | 17 – Kot | 9 – Walters | 5 – tied | Save Mart Center (4,395) Fresno, CA |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2024 12:00 p.m., MW Network | (8) | vs. (9) Fresno State First round | L 73–77 | 15–17 | 23 – Kot | 9 – Walters | 6 – Griffin | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. |||||||||
Source: