The Cowboys will enter a tough Mountain West season starting with the opener Wednesday at home against Boise State and have the perfect 13-0 record to boast in the best start in school history.

The UW team isn't talking NCAA tournament bid right now or a possible top 25 ranking, while it's obviously on many of the hungry minds of Poke' fans.

Head coach Larry Shyatt's team is smart to keep focused on the here and now, especially considering how challenging the conference slate will be in January, February, and March.

The MW could be strongest top to bottom it's ever been in the 13 season history and there will be no easy outs.

"Our guys have taken a real mature approach to distractions in general," said Shyatt. "They've been laser focused on what's important now. They adopted the saying that 'happy is for March'."

The advantage of playing in a strong conference is better margin for error with wins and losses, and also opportunities, in terms of postseason.

Last time the Cowboys made the NCAA tournament in 2002, they had to finish 13-3 and win the regular season title outright. CSU made the big dance last year with the 8-6 record and this bolds well for Wyoming's chances if they can finish above 500 in league play.

One formula at a minimum, is to win most of your home games and pick a few up on the road, and hypothetically UW is sitting at around 23 wins entering the conference tournament with the likely high RPI and improving schedule strength.

"I like the fact we've been in some atmospheres with some adversity," said Shyatt. "Fortunately, the NCAA committee made the decision anything done in November is equal to what is done in February. With that said, it's nice to see the people that aren't biased in computers then have us in a position where we can trust these guys."

Wyoming will have the opportunity to pickup more quality wins in league play against the likes of UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State, and CSU, and perhaps a few others, coupled with good non-conference win versus Colorado and a good road victory at Illinois State.

They also have four true road wins to their credit.

While it's fun to discuss the possibilities ahead, Shyatt's teams has a lot more basketball to be played, work ahead and a challenging road to hold the next few months.

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