Five things to know about Wichita State’s NIT opponent: Wyoming Cowboys
Wichita State is back in a familiar postseason event, but this time in a much different setting.
For the first time since 2011, the Shockers will host an NIT game at Koch Arena when they welcome Wyoming for a 6 p.m. tip Tuesday on ESPNU. Tickets can be purchased through GoShockers.com or the WSU ticket office.
It marks Wichita State’s second straight trip to the NIT, but unlike last season’s unexpected bid that sent the program into a late scramble, this year’s postseason feels different. The Shockers believe they have a team capable of doing more than just extending the season by one night.
To make that happen, Wichita State will have to take care of business Tuesday and survive to keep playing deeper into March. Here’s a scouting report on Wyoming and five things Shocker fans should know about the Cowboys.
1. Coach Sundance Wicks has a long-term plan at Wyoming
In Year 2 under head coach Sundance Wicks, Wyoming showed real signs of progress in its rebuild. The Cowboys improved from 12 wins to 18 this season and nearly doubled their Mountain West win total from five to nine, highlighted by signature victories at Grand Canyon and over Nevada during a late surge in which Wyoming won five of its final six regular-season games.
That progress has come while Wicks sticks to a long-term vision centered on youth and development — eight of the team’s 10 rotation players could return next season. Freshmen Nasir Meyer and Gavin Gores emerged as promising building blocks, part of a roster strategy designed to bring in younger players and keep them in the program. Wicks knows that won’t be easy at Wyoming, but he believes that’s the only sustainable path forward.
“We’re going to be a program that always recruits youth,” Wicks told WyomingNews.com. “We don’t have an exorbitant amount of money to go buy a high-level transfer portal kid. We can’t do that, so we’re going to have to develop.”
For Wicks, that means developing both players and relationships.
“There is no short-term play at Wyoming,” Wicks told WyomingNews.com. “There’s no short-term fix at Wyoming. We’re going to have to find people who believe in the mission and the vision and ride for the brand as hard as I do up here and that want to say, ‘You know what, we’re going to run this back, and everybody needs to be a Cowboy again.’”
2. The Shockers will have a challenge on the boards
One area that should immediately command Wichita State’s attention is Wyoming’s work on the glass. The Cowboys are one of the better rebounding teams in the country, ranking No. 56 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage and No. 51 in defensive rebounding percentage, while leading the Mountain West with 9.7 offensive rebounds per game.
What makes Wyoming tricky is that its rebounding success is less about one dominant presence and more about a full-team effort. No Cowboy averages more than five rebounds a game, yet Wyoming still consistently manufactures extra possessions and turns them into 11.9 second-chance points per contest. That means this is not just a job for Wichita State’s bigs. The Shockers’ guards will need to be sharp with their block-outs and aggressive in tracking down long rebounds.
Wyoming’s top offensive rebounder is 6-foot-7 sophomore Abou Magassa, although he plays only 10.2 minutes per game. Six-foot-4 guard Khaden Bennett is also a strong rebounder for his size, while 6-foot-10 freshman Gavin Gores gives the Cowboys another active body on the offensive glass. At its best, Wyoming uses that collective rebounding punch to create extra possessions and keep steady pressure on the rim.
3. Wichita State will be plenty familiar with Wyoming’s star
Wyoming features a balanced attack with four players averaging in double figures, all of them guards or wings, but senior point guard Leland Walker is the clear engine. The 6-foot-1 guard leads the Cowboys with 13.7 points and 3.7 assists per game and Wichita State’s staff knows him well after he started at Florida Atlantic last season and averaged 9.2 points and 4.5 assists for the Owls.
Walker is especially dangerous because of how well he gets downhill and draws contact. He shoots 86% at the foul line, so keeping him off the stripe will be a major priority for Wichita State. He is less dangerous from deep, making 30% of his 3s this season, which could encourage WSU to go under ball screens and focus on cutting off driving lanes.
That will be especially important because Walker does much of his damage out of the high ball screen. Per Synergy, he ranks in the 96th percentile nationally in possessions finished as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. That makes him a likely assignment for Wichita State perimeter stopper Karon Boyd with the defensive plan likely centered on going under screens, keeping Walker out of the paint and avoiding the fouls that let him pile up points at the line.
4. Get ready to shoot free throws, Shockers
Even with its strength on the defensive glass, Wyoming has shown a clear weakness on defense: fouling. The Cowboys rank No. 361 nationally in free throw rate allowed with opponents averaging more than 25 free throw attempts per game. Wyoming is also allowing 24.6% of its total points at the foul line, the 14th-highest share in the country.
That could be a key factor against a Wichita State team that wants to pressure the rim. The Shockers have been inconsistent at the foul line for much of the season, shooting 68.8% against Division I competition to rank No. 305 nationally. But WSU has looked much sharper lately, knocking down 86 of 109 free throws over its last five games for a 78.9% clip.
That sets up an interesting subplot for Tuesday. If Wichita State can consistently attack the paint and keep drawing contact, free throw shooting could go a long way in determining how efficient the Shockers are on offense.
5. This is the first NIT bid for the Cowboys in more than two decades
Wyoming is back in the postseason for the first time since 2022, earning its first NIT berth since 2003 and the ninth NIT appearance in program history. The Cowboys’ deepest run in that event came in 1986 when they finished as the runner-up.
Since that 2003 NIT appearance, Wyoming has reached the NCAA Tournament twice, falling to Northern Iowa in the Round of 64 in 2015 and to Indiana in the First Four in 2022. The Cowboys also found success in the College Basketball Invitational, winning the 2017 CBI title and making four other appearances in that event.
After a 25-win season and NCAA Tournament trip in 2022, Wyoming endured a difficult stretch, going a combined 36-59 over the next three seasons. But the Cowboys have pushed through for an 18-14 record this winter, giving the program its most wins since 2022 and its first postseason berth since that March Madness appearance.
Wyoming and Wichita State have met 13 times since the series began in 1948 with the Shockers holding a 10-3 edge all-time. Tuesday will mark the first postseason meeting between the two programs.
The most recent meetings came in a home-and-home series in 2006 and 2007. Wichita State won both of those matchups, posting an 83-69 victory in Casper in 2006 before following with a 75-63 win in Wichita in 2007.
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 9:52 AM.
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