Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Preview - Stetson
12/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Matchup...The Colorado State men?s basketball team will search for its eighth-straight win at home dating back to last season on Tuesday night when they entertain Stetson University in a 7 p.m. tipoff in Moby Arena. The Rams collected an 83-65 win over Texas State on Dec. 21 thanks in large part to an 18-point nine-rebound performance by Matt Nelson. Nelson ranks second on the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) behind fellow senior Matt Williams (14.5 ppg).
About Stetson: Stetson will bring a 2-4 record into a Thursday night matchup at Florida State before coming to Fort Collins the following week. The Hatters are in the midst of a challenging six-game road swing that features teams such as Florida, Miami (Fla.), Florida State and Georgia. Center Borislav Djordjic leads the team with 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while Karl Hollingsworth (12.2), Anthony Register (12.0) and E.J. Gordon (11.2) each average in double figures for the Hatters. Stetson is 0-3 on the road this season shooting under 36 percent from the floor away from home.
CSU Basketball Ticket Information: Tickets to all home games are available by calling 1-800-491-RAMS or online at CSURAMS.com, or at any King Soopers or City Market grocery store location throughout the state of Colorado.
Rams In December: Colorado State is 20-13 during coach Dale Layer?s tenure in games played in December.
On Tuesdays: Colorado State holds a 9-2 record under Dale Layer when playing on a Tuesday.
400 in Moby: A win on Tuesday night would mark CSU?s 400th in Moby Arena. The Rams are currently 399-144 in Moby Arena since the venue opened Jan. 27, 1966.
Home Cookin?: CSU has won its last seven games in Moby Arena dating back to last season?s home finale against New Mexico and the first six games of 2004-05. Colorado State?s most recent home loss came on Feb. 16, 2004, a 79-73 decision against BYU.
More at Home: The Rams are shooting over 54 percent from the field at Moby Arena and, in contrast, are hitting at a 46 percent clip on the road. At the free throw line, CSU is hitting 72 percent of its shots at home and 64.6 percent away from home.
Moby Under Layer: Colorado State enters Tuesday night?s game with a 45-18 overall record in home games during Dale Layer?s five seasons.
Season Games Record
2004-05 6 6-0
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 63 45-18 (.714)
Moby Nonconference Record: The Rams are 31-4 (88.6 percent) in home nonconference games under Dale Layer. Colorado State has won seven nonconference home games in a row dating back to a Dec. 10, 2003 loss to Colorado in Moby Arena. The year-by-year nonconference breakdown includes:
Season Record Loss(es)
2004-05 6-0 --
2003-04 4-1 Colorado
2002-03 10-0 --
2001-02 4-2 Colorado,
Arkansas-Little Rock
2000-01 7-1 Creighton
Totals 31-4
Fewer Fouls: CSU is 6-1 when committing fewer fouls than its opponent this season.
Since 1902: Colorado State is in the school?s 104th season of intercollegiate competition in 2004-05. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,019-1,039 in 2,058 previous games dating back to 1902.
CSU vs. the Atlantic Sun Conference: Colorado State has a cumulative 6-1 record against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, including a 3-0 home record.
Next at Home: Colorado State will return to Moby Arena when they host Denver on Dec. 30. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain.
Road Streak: Colorado State holds a 12-game road losing streak after a Dec. 18 loss at Colorado. Colorado State?s last win on the road (excluding neutral site games), came Dec. 22, 2003 at South Florida. F Matt Williams? free throw with less than five seconds to play in the game helped Colorado State to a 66-65 victory in Tampa, Fla.
Taking The Lead: Matt Williams has given the Rams the lead for good in three of their six wins this season. Following is a list of players that gave CSU the lead for good in the 2004-05 season:
Game (Date) Game Scorer Score/Half Time Final Score
Regis (11-20-04) Williams 12-11/1st 9:49 78-49
Northern Colorado (11-22-04) Patterson 50-47/2nd 11:15 76-68
Nebraska-Omaha (11-24-04) M. Morris 40-37/1st 0:00 88-64
Drake (12-4-04) Williams 64-62/2nd 4:24 72-62
Montana State (12-7-04) Williams 6-5/1st 16:33 78-53
Texas State (12-21-04) Rakiecki 9-8/1st 14:27 83-65
Tall Timber: Colorado State?s roster in 2004-05 features three players (C Matt Nelson, C Stuart Creason, F Jason Smith) who are at least seven feet tall, and another (F Stephen Verwers), who is six-feet, 10-inches tall. The lineup ranks among the tallest in the nation.
Ahead and Behind: Following is a comparison of the times that CSU has led, trailed and been tied with its opponents:
Opponent Time Leading Time Trailing Time Tied
Regis 34:33 2:45 2:42
Northern Colorado 16:01 21:04 2:55
Nebraska-Omaha 23:06 12:21 4:33
IUPUI 0:00 39:06 0:54
Auburn 25:20 14:47 4:53
Drake 34:28 2:28 3:04
Montana State 36:48 1:11 2:01
Purdue 1:07 37:08 1:45
Colorado 0:00 38:03 1:57
Texas State 38:46 0:23 0:51
Total 210:09 169:16 25:35
PLAYER TIDBITS
WILL POWER-
? Senior forward Matt Williams enters Tuesday?s game seventh on the school?s career field goal percentage list. He has made 284-of-536 career field goals, 53.0 percent.
? Has scored in double figures six times in 10 games.
? In the last three games, leads CSU with 11 assists.
? Has shot better than 50 percent in seven of 10 games in the 2004-05 season.
? Has been above 50 percent from the field 58 times in 100 career games.
? Has recorded five or more rebounds in seven of 10 games this year and has surpassed that total 43 times in his career.
? Played in his 100th straight game on Tuesday against Texas State. In his first 100 games, Williams has started 55 times.
NELSON NUMBERS -
? Senior center Matt Nelson has scored in double figures in 18 of his last 19 games dating back to last season.
? Shot over 50 percent from the floor in his last six games and, during that time, is hitting at a 69.4 percent clip.
?Is 7th in career scoring at Colorado State with 1,337 points.
THE BOAT -
? Sophomore guard Dwight Boatner leads the team in assists with 28.
? Had a string of 19 straight games with an assist snapped on Tuesday against Texas State.
? Is shooting at a 38.9 percent clip from three-point range in his career.
? Has scored in double figures in three of the last five games.
TO THE RACK -
? Senior guard Jon Rakiecki has hit 20-of-55 three-pointers (36 percent) this season.
? Scored a season-most 15 points going 4-of-8 from long range at Purdue.
? Recorded back-to-back double-figure scoring games for the fourth time in his career against Purdue and Colorado.
? Has hit a three-pointer in nine of 10 games in 2004-05 and in 11 of his last 12 games dating back to last season.
MORRIS MAGIC -
? Junior guard Micheal Morris is sixth on the school?s career list with 94 blocked shots.
? Needs just 28 assists to move into the CSU all-time assists top ten.
? 22 times in 67 career games, he has dished out five or more assists.
? Tied his career-high with seven rebounds against Colorado.
FOR BETTER OR VER-WERS -
? Sophomore center Stephen Verwers led the team with four assists and ranked second on the squad with six rebounds against Texas State.
? Has made six field goals on the season, four of which were on dunks.
P.T. -
? Sophomore forward Phillip Thomasson leads the Rams with a 75 percent field goal percentatge.
THAT SMITH KID -
? Freshman forward Jason Smith , from nearby Kersey, Colo., has scored in double figures six times in 10 games.
? Leads the Mountain West Conference in field goal percentage.
? Ranks third on the team with a 10.3 per game scoring average.
? Has made over 64 percent of his field goals, and also averages 4.3 rebounds per game.
? Has gathered 17 rebounds in his last three games.
In Moby: Colorado State won nine of 13 home games in 2004 and averaged 4,877 fans per game, a 25-percent increase from 2003 when the team averaged 3,917 fans per game. It is the highest per-game average since 1998.
Rams On Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded seven of 10 opponents in 2004-05. The Rams are 4-3 when collecting more boards than their opposition. Against Texas State, CSU outrebounded the Bobcats by 19, the largest margin of the year.
Center Scoring: C Matt Nelson ranks third in school history in career scoring by a center:
Career Scoring By A Center
1. Bill Green, 1961-63 1,682
2. Rich Strong, 1983-86 1,555
3. Matt Nelson, 2002-04 1,337
Three-Point Turnaround: Tuesday?s win over Texas State marked the first game that CSU has shot below 30 percent from three-point range in the 2004-05 season hitting just 11.1 percent in the game. The contest also marked just the second time that a CSU opponent has hit over 30 percent from long range with the Bobcats hitting at a 50 percent rate.
Foes Under 40: Colorado State is 4-2 this season when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor including the following games:
Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 20 Regis (W) 17-49 .347
Nov. 24 Neb.-Omaha (W) 17-48 .354
Nov. 30 at Auburn (L) 29-78 .382
Dec. 4 Drake (W) 21-59 .356
Dec. 7 Montana State (W) 21-60 .350
Dec. 11 Purdue (L) 22-56 .393
Rams Plus 50: Colorado State has shot above 50 percent from the floor in six games this season. The Rams hold a record of 5-1 when eclipsing the 50 percent mark including:
Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 20 Regis (W) 26-46 .565
Nov. 24 Neb.-Omaha (W) 27-48 .563
Dec. 4 Drake (W) 24-41 .585
Dec. 7 Montana State (W) 25-46 .543
Dec. 18 Colorado (L) 29-57 .509
Dec. 21 Texas State (W) 30-50 .600
Starting Adjustments: Colorado State has used six different starting combonations this season.
Points in the Paint: Against Texas State, the Rams scored a season-high 44 points in the paint.
More on Television: The Colorado State Rams will appear on national or regional television 15 times in the 2004-05 season. These dates include:
Date Opponent Network
Dec. 11 at Purdue ESPN+Plus
Dec. 18 at Colorado Fox Sports Net
Dec. 30 vs. Denver Fox Sports Net
Jan. 8 at Air Force ESPN+Plus
Jan. 15 vs. BYU ESPN+Plus
Jan. 17 vs. Utah Fox Sports Net
Jan. 24 at San Diego State ESPN
Jan. 29 at Wyoming ESPN+Plus
Feb. 5 vs. New Mexico Fox Sports Net
Feb. 7 vs. Air Force ESPN
Feb. 12 at Utah KJZZ
Feb. 14 at BYU SportsWest
Feb. 21 vs. UNLV Fox Sports Net
Feb. 21 vs. UNLV ESPN+Plus
Feb. 26 vs. Wyoming Fox Sports Net
Double-Figure Leads: Colorado State is 6-0 when holding a double-figure lead in a game.
From the Bench: With both teams receiving 21 points from the bench against Colorado, it marked the first time this season that the Rams did not outscore their opposition from the bench. CSU leads opponents 348-145 from the pine this year while accounting for 45.3 of the team?s offense on the year.
Plus 80: The Rams lost for just the third time under Dale Layer when scoring more than 80 points in CSU?s 89-83 setback to Colorado. CSU is 30-3 under Layer when hitting the 80-point mark. The Rams? last loss when scoring 80 or more came in a 96-91 overtime loss to UNLV in 2001-02. The last time it happened in regulation play was in a 109-86 loss at Colorado in 2000-01.
Just Twice at Moby: Northern Colorado and Texas State are the only two visiting teams to shoot better than 40 percent from the floor in Moby Arena this season.
Rams Run Past Texas State:
Colorado State University shot a season-best 60 percent from the field and broke the game open in the first half en route to an 83-65 win over visiting Texas State Tuesday night in men?s basketball action in Moby Arena.
The win pushes the Rams to 6-4 on the year while Texas State falls to 5-3.
Colorado State erased Texas State?s only lead of the game six minutes into the contest when guard Jon Rakiecki?s three-pointer gave the Rams a 9-8 lead. The Rams would widen the lead to as many as 12 in the first half before settling for a 40-19 intermission lead behind 10 points from center Matt Nelson.
Nelson, a 7-foot senior, finished with a game-best 18 points and also led all players with nine rebounds. Teammate Matt Williams, a senior forward from Temple, Tex., scored 16 points, while freshman Jason Smith added 14.
The trio combined for 48 points, and helped Colorado State score 44 of the team?s points inside the paint.
?We made a much better effort getting the ball inside,? said Rams? coach Dale Layer. ?We were sharper at the offensive end than we?ve been.?
Colorado State led the game by as many as 21 points in the game before Layer turned the contest over to his bench.
TSU was led by guard Josh Naylor, who scored 17 points while forward Anthony Dill had 16 points.
Rams Sign Four: Colorado State signed four players to National Letters of Intent, including:
C.J. Clark, a 6-7, 200-pound forward from Houston, Tex. (Cypress Springs HS), was a first team all-district selection averaging 13 points, six rebounds and six assists per game for Cypress Springs High School in 2003-04. Clark was a high honorable mention pick by Street & Smith?s and was selected as the 211th recruit in the nation by Hoopscoop.
Stephan Gilling, a 6-3, 185-pound guard from Chino Hills, Calif. (Ayala HS), was a first team all-league selection and team MVP for Ayala High School. As a junior, he averaged 13.5 points, five rebounds and three assists per game and his seven consecutive three-point field goals in a half during the year. He was rated as an honorable mention selection by Street & Smith?s and was the 288th recruit in the nation by Hoopscoop. He was ranked as on of the top ten shooters on the West Coast by Insiders.com.
Michael Harrison, a 6-10, 200-pound forward from Aurora, Colo. (Northeastern JC), averaged 12 points and nine rebounds as a freshman at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. Harrison shot over 56 percent from the field and had the ninth-best single season rebound total in NJC?s history and is considered a preseason Junior College All-American by Street & Smith?s and is the seventh-ranked Junior College player in the nation by Hoopscoop. At Aurora Central High School, he averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots per game and was a second team all-state pick as a senior.
Corey Lewis, a 6-0, 180-pound point guard from Lafayette, La. (Dodge City CC), is averaging 13 points, five assists and four rebounds per game at Dodge City Community College. Lindy?s basketball magazine ranks Lewis as the sixth-best point guard in the country.
