Five things to watch for the Wyoming men’s and women’s basketball teams Saturday in the Wyoming Shootout in Casper. Cowgirls play NAIA Dakota State at 1 p.m., followed by the men at 3:30 against Northern Colorado.

1. Focus: Both teams haven’t played in a week and are coming off finals. They have practiced, but not as hard as normal so time could be spent studying. How they come out in both of their games in terms of focus will be key, especially early and especially for the Cowboys since they’re playing a more formidable opponent. Once the games are going the focus should come back if it lacks early. But if that focus is lacking early, it could result in early deficits.

2. Carlson the key: For the Cowgirls, they would like to get junior post and Cheyenne Central graduate Hillary Carlson going early. UW should have a size advantage on Dakota State, and that might get Carlson going. When she plays well the entire teams feeds off that. She was in foul trouble in both of the Cowgirls’ last two games, both on the road.

3. More Muojeke: Sophomore forward Afam Muojeke should return to the Cowboys’ lineup after missing three of the last four games with a knee injury. Muojeke is UW’s leading scorer (17 ppg) and like Carlson with the Cowgirls, the men seem to play well when  Muojeke plays well. If he can shake the rust early, that will be a good sign. No matter what, the Cowboys need Muojeke to play and play well. Especially now since sophomore wing Thomas Manzano (7 ppg) left the program for personal reasons.

4. Rebounding: This is more for the men as they were outrebounded 53-30 overall and 27-13 on the offensive glass in their last game against Loyola Marymount. That can’t happen again. Everyone needs to rebound better, but especially the guards.

5. Not your father’s UNC: When you hear “UNC” in college basketball you think of North Carolina. No, UW isn’t playing the Tar Heels, but the other UNC — Northern Colorado — is 8-1 and ranked in the top 25 among mid-major programs. This is a good team that should give the Cowboys a good game, and could win. Nonetheless, for many fans who want to see UW play good teams, this is one of them.

See Saturday’s paper for previews of both games. I plan to live blog at both from the Casper Events Center starting at about 12:30 p.m. Join me at http://wyomingcowboysblog.com/2009/12/09/blue-cross-blue-shield-shootout-live-blog-doubleheader/