Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Preview - Montana State
12/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLORADO STATE vs. MONTANA STATE
Dec. 7, 2004 ? Moby Arena ? Fort Collins, Colo. ? 7 p.m. MT
The Matchup...Colorado State looks to continue its winning ways at home when the Rams face Montana State in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Rams come into the game with a 4-2 mark and winners of their last five games at Moby Arena dating back to last year. Senior forward Matt Williams paced CSU with 23 points and nine rebounds in a 72-62 victory over Drake on Saturday night and leads the Rams with 15.7 points per game on the season. CSU is getting a defensive spark by blocking 21 shots in the last two games including a school-record 11 against Drake on Saturday.
About Montana State: The Bobcats of Montana State enter Tuesday?s matchup with a 1-4 overall record after a 71-70 loss to Wyoming on Saturday night. MSU is led by Branden Miller who averages 12.8 points per game including an 18-point outing against Wyoming. Ja?Ron Jefferson led the Bobcats in Saturday night?s game with 19 points and is averaging 8.4 points per game on the year.
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 18-11 during coach Dale Layer?s tenure in games played in December.
Home Cookin?: CSU has won its last five games in Moby Arena dating back to last season?s home finale against New Mexico and the first three 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 53 percent from the field at Moby Arena and, in contrast, are hitting at a 43 percent clip on the road. At the free throw line, CSU is hitting 71.4 percent of its shots at home and 57.4 percent away from home.
Moby Under Layer: Colorado State enters Saturday night?s game with a 42-18 overall record in home games during Dale Layer?s five seasons.
Season Games Record
2004-05 4 4-0
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 61 43-18
Moby Nonconference Record: The Rams are 29-4 (87.9 percent) in home nonconference games under Dale Layer. Colorado State has won five 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 4-0 --
2003-04 4-1 Colorado
2002-03 10-0 --
2001-02 4-2 Colorado,
Arkansas-Little Rock
2000-01 7-1 Creighton
Totals 29-4
Since 1902: Colorado State is in the school?s 104th season of intercollegiate competition in 2004-05. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,017-1,037 in 2,053 previous games dating back to 1902.
Last Year in Bozeman: Colorado State held a 7-4 record coming into last year?s game against Montana State. Leading early in the game, C Matt Nelson suffered a sprained knee and did not play the rest of the game. He has scored eight points and collected three rebounds prior to being injured. He battled the knee injury the rest of the season and the Rams had a 5-12 record in the next 17 games after MSU.
CSU vs. the Big Sky: Colorado State has a 45-30 record against current members of the Big Sky Conference, including Idaho (6-7), Idaho State (13-7), Montana (16-12) and Montana State (10-4)
Next On Road: Colorado State?s next road game is Dec. 11, when the Rams face Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Game time is 12 p.m. Eastern Time/10 a.m. Mountain Time.
Road Streak: Colorado State looks to break a 10-game road losing streak in the team?s next outing away from Moby Arena Dec. 11 at Purdue. 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 DeLand, Fla.
Taking The Lead: Following is a list of CSU players that have given the Rams the lead for good in 2004-05:
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
On T.V.: The Dec. 11 game at Purdue will be televised by ESPN+Plus. The game can be seen locally on Altitude Sports (Channel 35 in Fort Collins for all Comcast Cable subscribers).
Trip To Boulder: Following the game at Purdue, students at Colorado State undergo final examinations for the fall semester Dec. 13-17. The Rams then return to hardwood action Dec. 18 by playing against in-state rival Colorado in Boulder. Game time is 7 p.m. in the Coors Events Center.
Colorado T.V.: The Rams? game with Colorado Dec. 18 will be televised live in the Denver-Fort Collins metro region by Fox Sports Network Rocky Mountain. Drew Goodman calls the play-by-play, Marty Fletcher is the analyst, and Sandy Williams is the sideline reporter.
Tall Timber: Colorado State?s roster in 2004-05 will feature 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.
Block Party: Colorado State has blocked 21 opponent shots in its last two games including a school record tying 11 against Drake on Saturday.
Nelson Numbers: C Matt Nelson has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 14 games dating back to last season. Nelson posted his fifth career double-double at IUPUI with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Nelson On Career List: Colorado State C Matt Nelson is 8th in career scoring at Colorado State with 1,266 points. Nelson is the 15th player in school history to score 1,000 or more points in his career, and the 4th (Andy Birley, Brian Greene, John Sivesind) to have played under Rams? coach Dale Layer.
Nelson 20: Colorado State has a 17-10 all-time record in 27 games that C Matt Nelson has scored 20 or more points.
Nelson Scoring Leader: C Matt Nelson has led CSU in scoring for the past two seasons. Nelson is the 12th player since 1948 to lead the Rams in scoring in back-to-back seasons. By leading the team in scoring in 2004-05, Nelson could become only the seventh player in school history to lead the team in that category in three straight seasons.
20-Point Games: C Matt Nelson (27), F Matt Williams (5), swingman Freddy Robinson (1) and G Micheal Morris (1) have combined for 34 career 20-point scoring games. In 2004-05, F Matt Williams is the only player to score 20 or more points in a game. He has achieved the feat three times: 20 points in the opening game with Regis 25 against Nebraska-Omaha and 23 against Drake.
Big Crease: Redshirt freshman C Stuart Creason has made his presence felt in his first year of competition for the Rams. Creason, a seven-footer from Coppell, Tex., has started in four of the team?s past five games. At IUPUI he scored a career-most 10 points, then came back at Auburn to surpass that total in the first half with 12 points. He finished the game at Auburn with 17 points, making all seven of his field goals and three free throws, plus adding a career-most 10 rebounds.
The Boat: Sophomore G Dwight Boatner leads the team in assists with 19, and has been the team?s top player in that category in each of the past four games. Boatner, who is averaging 6.2 points per game, closed the 2003-04 season with a flurry. Boatner scored in double figures eight of the team?s final 11 games and sparked the Rams? 60-48 win over nationally-ranked Air Force - the MWC regular-season champion - by scoring 11 points.
Rak Rack: G Jon Rakiecki was among the MWC?s top three-point shooters in 2003-04. Colorado State had an 8-2 record when Rakiecki made two or more three-point goals in a game in 2003-04. He started seven games and scored a career-most 19 points in CSU?s overtime win over UNLV. So far in 2004-05, he has hit 10-of-28 treys, 36 percent, and the Rams are 1-1 when he hits two or more threes in a game. Rakiecki scored a season-most 13 points at Auburn.
P.T.: Sophomore F Phillip Thomasson, along with teammate F Matt Williams, are the only two players on the team who have started all six games. Thomasson is averaging 4.7 points per game, and second behind Williams with a 5.2 per-game rebounding average. He currently leads the team in field goal accuracy, having made 10-of-15 shots from the floor, 67 percent.
Morris Magic: Michael Morris, whose younger brother Sean is a freshman member of the team, is seventh on the school?s career list with 91 blocked shots. He has led the team in blocked shots in each of the past two seasons. Eleven times in 2003-04, he had five or more assists in a game. Twenty-two times in 62 career games, Morris has dished out five or more assists in a game. Morris scored 10 points, had three assists, and a blocked three shots in the game against Drake.
Verwers Word: C Stephen Verwers shot 58 percent from the field by making 26-of-45 field goals and did not miss a field goal in the team?s first three games of last season last year. He missed only one through four games and shot 50 percent or better 14 times. Verwers averaged 2.5 points per game last year as a freshman and started eight times. To date in 2004-05, Verwers has played in all six games, twice as a starter
At Home: Colorado State finished the 2003-04 season with a 9-4 home record and began its 2004-05 season with a 4-0 record.
On the Road: Colorado State was 3-10 on the road a year ago, winning games at Drake, Stetson and South Florida.
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.
Will Power: F Matt Williams, a senior, enters Tuesday?s game eighth on the school?s career field goal percentage list. He has made 263-of-502 career field goals, 52.4 percent. Williams has scored in double figures four times in six games, including 23 against Drake.
Will at 20: Senior F Matt Williams posted his fifth career 20-point effort against Drake. In his career, Williams has posted 20-point games against Colorado (26), Nebraska-Omaha (25), Drake (23), San Diego State (21) and Regis (20).
More Will Power: Matt Williams has shot better than 50 percent in four of six games in the 2004-05 season. He has been above 50 percent from the field 55 times in 96 career games. Williams has also recorded five or more rebounds in every game this year and has surpassed that total 41 times in his career. He had nine rebounds to go along with 23 points in the game against Drake.
Smith?s Scoring: Freshman F Jason Smith scored a career-most 14 points, making 6-of-10 field goals and a pair of free throws, and had a career-most seven rebounds in the game at Auburn. Smith, from nearby Kersey, Colo., has scored in double figures four times in six games and is fourth on the team with a 10.0 per game scoring average. He has made 62 percent of his field goals, and also averages 3.8 rebounds per game.
Rams On Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded four of six opponents in 2004-05. The Rams are 2-2 when collecting more boards than their opposition.
Plus 80: Colorado State is 29-2 all-time under Dale Layer in games the Rams scored 80 or more points in a game.
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 1,266
Rebound Margins: Colorado State is 1-0 when holding a double-digit rebound margin over an opponent this year, including:
Date Game Reb-Foe Margin
Nov. 24 vs. Neb.-Omaha 38-26 +12
Foes Under 40: Colorado State is 3-1 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
Rams Plus 50: Colorado State has shot above 50 percent from the floor in three games this season. The Rams hold a record of 3-0 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
The Miracle In Moby: Moby Arena opened in 1966. One of the most memorable games in arena history took place a day before a new year arrived in 2004 against Purdue University. Colorado State led by as many as 13 points before falling behind in the second half, setting the stage for the ?Miracle In Moby.? Trailing by four points with seven seconds to play, G Micheal Morris hit a three-pointer to draw the Rams within a point. F Matt Williams deflected the ensuing inbounds pass, Morris caught it in midair atop the arc and threw in a shot at the buzzer for an improbable 71-69 win over the 21st-ranked Boilermakers.
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
Williams Leads Rams Past Drake:
Colorado State University outscored visiting Drake scoreless the last four minutes, 37 seconds of the game en route to a 72-62 win over the Bulldogs in Moby Arena Saturday night.
The win gives Dale Layer?s Rams a 4-2 record entering a Tuesday night game with Montana State, while Drake is 1-2.
Drake?s Aliou Keita knotted the score at 62 on a layin, the last of four ties in the contest.
From that point, the Rams scored 10 consecutive points including four by Matt Williams.
Williams, a six-foot, six-inch senior from Temple, Tex., finished the game with 23 points, including 11-of-13 free throws plus six field goals, and a game-best nine rebounds.
?Matt Williams had a game we certainly needed from him, a game we expect him to have every night,? said Layer.
Colorado State used a 6-0 run in the opening moments of the game to seemingly take control of the game, and lead by as many as 11. But the Bulldogs, behind the scoring of Pete Eggers, rallied to trail by only a point, 32-21, at intermission.
Eggers finished with a career-most 21 points in the game.
Keita scored the first basket of the second half to give Drake a lead, and the teams exchanged three more leads in the next four minutes before Jason SMith?s two free throws with 15 minutes, 30 seconds to play put Colorado State ahead to stay. Drake would never lead again, though they would tie the score twice in the final six minutes of the game, the last coming on Keita?s layin that was followed by the Rams? 10-0 run.
A season-most five Rams finished in double figures, led by Williams, who scored 16 of his points in the final half.. Guard Dwight Boatner scored a season-most 13 points, while freshman center Jason Smith added 12. Center Matt Nelson and guard Micheal Morris each scored 10 points in the game.
Rams Sign Four: Colorado State signed three 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.
