University of Wyoming men’s basketball coach Larry Shyatt has announced the non-conference portion of the 2013-14 Cowboy schedule.

UW will play just 10 home games during the 2013-14 non-conference season due to the Mountain West expanding to 11 teams. SMU and head coach Larry Brown are the marquee non-conference home match-up, while regional foes Northern Colorado and South Dakota will also visit the Arena-Auditorium. Three of Wyoming’s four non-conference road opponents were in the postseason last year, including Ohio State, an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight team.

“As our basketball program continues to grow, we’d like our schedule to grow as well,” Shyatt said. “This season’s non-conference opponents present that challenge with contests against a top-five Ohio State team and games with potential top-25 programs in SMU and Colorado. The game in Columbus also gives Larry Nance Jr. and Jack Bentz a chance to compete in their home state, which is something we hoped we could make happen for them and their families.”

Wyoming will make its final preparations for the season by hosting an exhibition game against CU-Colorado Springs on Thursday, Oct. 31, before opening versus Tennessee-Martin on Friday, Nov. 8, in Laramie. The game is part of the five-team Global Sports Main Event, which will also see the Pokes travel to Colorado, an NCAA tournament team last season, on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Arkansas State and Jackson State visit Laramie as part of the event on Saturday, Nov. 16 and Monday, Nov. 18, respectively. The Cowboys host Western State on Sunday, Nov. 10 in the midst of the Global Sports tournament.

UW’s marquee road game at Ohio State on Monday, Nov. 25, is between regional home contests with South Dakota on Friday, Nov. 22 and Montana State on Saturday, Nov. 30.

December opens with Black Hills State in the Arena-Auditorium on Monday, Dec. 2, before the Pokes hit the road for games against South Dakota in Rapid City on Saturday, Dec. 7 and at Denver on Sunday, Dec. 15. The Pioneers played into the NIT Second Round last season. Wyoming concludes non-conference play by hosting SMU on Friday, Dec. 20 and Northern Colorado on Sunday, Dec. 22.

The rest of the schedule will be unveiled when the Mountain West releases its conference match-ups.

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