Men's Basketball Preview - San Diego State

The Matchup...The Colorado State men?s basketball team travels to San Diego, Calif. to take on the Aztecs of San Diego State University in a 9 p.m. PT showdown broadcast nationally on ESPN. The Rams look to bounce back from two consecutive losses, one of which came in an 86-77 setback to UNLV on Saturday night. In the loss to the Runnin? Rebels, CSU freshman guard Sean Morris connected on a school-record-tying nine three-pointers and 31 points, the most by a Ram since Freddy Robinson posted the same number a year ago in Las Vegas.

About San Diego State: After a hearbreaking 88-81 overtime loss to Wyoming on Saturday, the Aztecs will look to get back in the win column against the Rams on Monday night. Guard Brandon Heath leads a duo of sophomores averaging over 18 points per game with an 18.9 per game average in 2004-05. Heath also paces the Aztecs with 62 assists on the year and has captured a team-best 35 steals. Forward Marcus Slaughter rounds out the pair with 18.3 points per night including 83 free throws this season. The Aztecs (8-8, 2-1 MWC) hold a 5-5 record in Cox Arena this season including an 81-73 win over UNLV on Jan. 15.

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 January: Colorado State is 14-18 during coach Dale Layer?s tenure in games played in January.

On Mondays: Colorado State holds a 13-19 record under Dale Layer when playing on a Monday. The Rams are 1-2 in 2004-05.

Road Woes: Colorado State holds a 15-game road losing streak after Saturday?s loss at UNLV. 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.

Ending the Streak: CSU?s loss to Utah at Moby Arena on Jan. 17 snapped a 10-game home winning streak, the fourth-longest streak in Moby Arena history.

Home Sweet Home: The Rams are shooting 54.4 percent from the field at Moby Arena and, in contrast, are hitting at a 43.7 percent clip on the road. At the free throw line, CSU is hitting 71.4 percent of its shots at home and 66.7 percent away from home.

Moby Under Layer: Colorado State holds a 48-19 overall record in home games during Dale Layer?s five seasons.
Season Games Record
2004-05 10 9-1
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 67 48-19 (.716)

Since 1902: Colorado State is in the school?s 104th season of intercollegiate competition in 2004-05. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,022-1,043 in 2,065 previous games dating back to 1902.

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.

Injury Report: Senior guard Nick Ball, who has started in two games this season, is listed as day-to-day with a sprained ankle suffered in the Utah game.

Ahead and Behind: In Monday?s loss to Utah, the Rams lost for just the second time this season when leading more than their opponent:
Opponent Time Leading Time Trailing Time Tied
Regis (W) 34:33 2:45 2:42
Northern Colorado (W) 16:01 21:04 2:55
Nebraska-Omaha (W) 23:06 12:21 4:33
IUPUI (L) 0:00 39:06 0:54
Auburn (L) 25:20 14:47 4:53
Drake (W) 34:28 2:28 3:04
Montana State (W) 36:48 1:11 2:01
Purdue (L) 1:07 37:08 1:45
Colorado (L) 0:00 38:03 1:57
Texas State (W) 38:46 0:23 0:51
Stetson (W) 31:52 5:51 4:17
Denver (W) 31:02 8:15 0:43
Pepperdine (L) 0:12 37:22 2:26
Air Force (L) 13:36 22:46 3:48
BYU (W) 32:12 5:10 2:38
Utah (L) 19:28 17:31 3:01
UNLV (L) 14:49 23:37 1:34
Total 353:10 289:48 44:02

PLAYER TIDBITS

WHOA NELLY!! -
? Senior center Matt Nelson has scored in double figures in 15-straight games and in 25 of his last 26 games dating back to last season.
? Leads the nation in field goal percentage (.669).
? Recorded his sixth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against BYU. The rebounding mark was his seventh time in double figures rebounding.
? Shot over 50 percent from the floor in his last 13 games.
? Is 5th in career scoring at Colorado State with 1,447 points.
? In the past nine games as a starter, has made 61-of-85 field goals (71.8 percent).
? Ranks on CSU?s top-five list in career scoring, field goal percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted and blocked shots.

WILL POWER-
? Senior forward Matt Williams enters Monday?s game eighth on the school?s career field goal percentage list. He has made 297-of-562 career field goals, 52.8 percent.
? Ranks fourth in the MWC in free throw percentage for the year hitting 83.6 percent from the charity stripe.
? Has scored in double figures seven times in 15 games and in six of nine home games.
? Has shot better than 50 percent in 10 of 15 games in the 2004-05 season.
? Has been above 50 percent from the field 61 times in 105 career games.
? Has recorded five or more rebounds in eight of 15 games this year and has surpassed that total 44 times in his career.
? Had a string of 103-straight games played snapped at Air Force due to injury.
? Returned to the floor against Utah after a two-game hiatus due to an injury sustained in the Pepperdine game.

SMITH, NO MYTH -
? Freshman forward Jason Smith , from nearby Kersey, Colo., has scored in double figures eight times in 17 games.
? Posted a career-best 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting against BYU.
? Ranks third on the team with a 10.0 per game scoring average and leads all freshmen in the Mountain West Conference in the category.
? Has made over 60 percent of his field goals and ranks fourth in the MWC in FG percentage.
? Has gathered 63 rebounds (6.3 rpg) in his last 10 games.
? Has recorded at least one point and one rebound in every game that he has played.
? Ranks second in career field-goal percentage hitting 60.7 percent as a freshman.

MORRIS MAGIC -
? Junior guard Micheal Morris is sixth on the school?s career list with 96 blocked shots.
? Needs just 16 assists to move into the CSU all-time assists top ten.
? Tied his career-high with seven rebounds against Colorado.

BALL GAME -
? Senior guard Nick Ball hit for a career-high 11 points against Stetson.
? Listed as day-to-day after suffering a sprained ankle against Utah.

FOR BETTER OR VER-WERS -
? Sophomore forward Stephen Verwers scored a career-high eight points against Denver.
? Has made 15 field goals on the season, six of which were on dunks.

TO THE RACK -
? Senior guard Jon Rakiecki is shooting at a 90.9 percent clip from the free thow line in league play. The percentage ranks fourth in the MWC.
? Needs four three-pointers to move into the CSU top 10 in three-point field goals made. His four-year total stands at 110.
? Ranks seventh in career three-point field goals attempted (315).

MORE MORRIS -
? Freshman guard Sean Morris notched a career-best 31 points and five assists tying the school record for three-pointers in a game (9) against UNLV.
? His eight rebounds against BYU marked the first time a true guard had eight boards since Jon Rakiecki posted the figure against Colorado on Dec. 5, 2001. It also marked the first time a player under six-feet tall had that figure since Joe Macklin had eight vs. Wyoming on Feb. 9, 2002.
? Has played an average of 25 minutes per game in the last three games including his first career start at UNLV. In his first six games of the year, he averaged six minutes per game.

Rams On The Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded 12 of 17 opponents in 2004-05. The Rams are 7-5 when collecting more boards than their opposition.

Winning Big: Five of Colorado State?s nine victories have been by 20 points or more while winning by double figures seven of nine times.

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 1,447

Personal Fouls: Colorado State is 0-5 when committing more fouls than its opponent in 2004-05. Dating back to last year, the Rams have lost their last 14 games when the foul total is heavy in their column.

Double-Figure Leads: Colorado State is 9-0 when holding a double-figure lead in a game.

Starting Adjustments: Colorado State has used 10 different starting combonations in 17 games this season.

NOTING THE UNLV GAME

Starting Young: The Rams started three freshmen in Saturday?s game against UNLV. It marks the first time that CSU has started three freshmen since a 75-68 win over American University on Dec. 2, 1994.

Freshmen Scoring: In Saturday?s loss at UNLV, Colorado State freshmen Stuart Creason, Sean Morris and Jason Smith combined for 45 of the team?s 77 points. CSU?s freshmen also combined for the first 11 points of the game.

Stellar Performance: In Sean Morris? 31-point, record-setting performance on Saturday, the freshman made good on his first seven three-pointers from the field and had 12 points, tying his previous career high, just six minutes into the game. Morris? total marked the first 20-plus point game by a CSU guard since his brother, Micheal, hit that mark against San Diego State last year. It was also the first 30-point performance by a CSU guard since Milt Palacio hit for 31 at UNLV on Jan. 30, 1999.

From the Bench: CSU leads opponents scoring 515-217 from the bench this year while accounting for 40.8 percent of the team?s offense on the year. Saturday?s loss to UNLV marked the first time this season an opponent has outscored the Rams from the bench (35-18).

Points Off Turnovers: Saturday?s game marked just the fifth time in 17 games that the Rams have had more points off turnovers (21-14) than their opponent this year.

Three-Point Woes Ending?: In their previous four games, the Rams hit 14-of-64 (.219) three-pointers. In Saturday?s loss to UNLV, CSU hit 10-of-23 (.435) including nine from Sean Morris. CSU?s guards had hit only 8-of-29 (.276) threes in their previous two games compared to 10-of-23 (.435) on Saturday.

Season Records: In Saturday?s game versus UNLV, CSU casted a season-high 23 three-pointers while UNLV shot 53.3 percent from the field, a season-high for a CSU opponent and the first time a Ram foe has hit more than 50 percent this season. CSU?s 13 turnovers in the game marked their lowest total in 10 games.

Big Crowd: The Rams played in front of 14,701 fans on Saturday night in Las Vegas, marking the largest crowd to watch the Rams this year. The previous honor went to Purdue?s 12,018 fans on Dec. 11.

No Block Party: With no blocked shots by UNLV in Saturday?s game, it marked the first time this season that a CSU opponent had not recorded a block. CSU has had at least two blocked shots in every game this 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 32-3 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.

Foes Under 40: Colorado State is 6-4 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
Dec. 30 Denver (W) 24-62 .387
Jan. 3 Pepperdine (L) 22-57 .386
Jan. 8 Air Force (L) 20-57 .351
Jan. 15 BYU (W) 24-69 .348

Rams Plus 50: Colorado State has shot above 50 percent from the floor in eight games this season. The Rams hold a record of 7-1 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
Dec. 28 Stetson (W) 35-57 .614
Dec. 30 Denver (W) 26-46 .565

More on Television: The Colorado State Rams will appear on national or regional television 14 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. 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

Turnovers by Half: Colorado State has committed 178 of its 281 turnovers (63.3 percent) in the first half. Only five times during the season (including the last two games) have the Rams committed more turnovers in the second half than they did in the first.

Up Next: Colorado State travels north to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Cowboys of the University of Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 1 p.m.

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