Men's Basketball Preview: CSU vs. Pepperdine

Dec. 9, 2005

Game #8: Colorado State (6-1) vs. Pepperdine (1-5)
Dec. 10, 2005  7:05 p.m. MST
Fort Collins, Colo.  Moby Arena (8,745)

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THE MATCHUP
Colorado State comes into tonight's game against Pepperdine looking for its seventh win in eight games this season. The Rams suffered their first loss of the year Wednesday in a 71-67 contest at Kansas State. Michael Harrison notched a team-best 13 points to go with six rebounds to lead five CSU players in double figures. Micheal Morris continues to be one of the Rams' top rebounders after grabbing a team-high seven on Wednesday. Sophomore forward Jason Smith remains Colorado State's leading scorer on the year hitting for 17.9 per night while coralling nine rebounds per game.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE
The Waves of Pepperdine have started their season with a 1-5 overall record following a 65-56 loss to UC Santa Barbara Wednesday. Four of their six games have been on the road, where they hold an 0-4 mark on the season while going 1-1 in contests in Malibu. Michael Gerrity holds a team-high 15.2 scoring average for the Waves while Tashaan Forehan-Kelly hits for 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

BEST STARTS
Colorado State has started its season with a 6-1 record for the 13th time in school history. The Rams will look to start 7-1 for just the eighth time on Saturday night. Following is a list of CSU's best starts through eight games:

Season Record
1953-54 7-1
1968-69 7-1
1970-71 7-1
1971-72 7-1
1990-91 7-1
1997-98 7-1
2000-01 7-1

MOBY UNDER LAYER
Colorado State holds a 54-22 overall record in home games during Dale Layer's five seasons.

Season Games Record
2005-06 4 4-0
2004-05 15 11-4
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 76 54-22 (.711)

MOBY NONCONFERENCE RECORD
The Rams are 37-4 (90.2 percent) in home nonconference games under Dale Layer. Colorado State has won 12 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)
2005-06 4-0 --
2004-05 8-0 --
2003-04 4-1 Colorado
2002-03 10-0 --
2001-02 4-2 Colorado,
Arkansas-Little Rock
2000-01 7-1 Creighton
Totals 37-4

ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD
Colorado State holds an all-time record of 410-159 in Moby Arena.

AGAINST THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Colorado State holds an all-time record of 11-13 in games against opponents currently in the West Coast Conference. That record includes a 4-1 mark in home games. Dale Layer's 1-1 record against WCC teams is comprised of two games vs. Pepperdine.

THE RAMS IN DECEMBER
The Rams hold a 23-14 record in the month of December during Dale Layer's tenure as head coach.

SINCE 1902
Colorado State is in the school's 102nd season of intercollegiate competition in 2005-06. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,031-1,055 in 2,086 previous games dating back to 1902.

ON SATURDAYS
The Rams hold a 31-37 record in Saturday games during the Dale Layer era including a 2-0 mark (Denver, IUPUI) in 2005-06.

RANKING NATIONALLY
Through games on Dec. 5, Jason Smith ranked nationally in three statistical categories including 47th in points per game, 41st in rebounds per game and 25th in blocks per game. Michael Harrison also had the 35th-best blocks per game numbers in the nation.

BLOCK PARTY
Colorado State leads the Mountain West Conference and ranks fourth in the nation in blocked shots per game averaging 7.86 every time out. The Rams boast three of the top four shot blockers in the Mountain West in Jason Smith (2nd), Michael Harrison (3rd) and Micheal Morris (4th). In CSU's win over Auburn, CSU posted a school record 12 blocked shots and the Rams have blocked nine or more shots in a game three times in six games and have never had fewer than six blocked shots in a game this year.

WELCOME BACK
Colorado State returns three starters and five letterwinners from last year's team including 2005 MWC Freshman of the Year Jason Smith who averaged 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season while leading the team with 36 blocks. Stuart Creason and Micheal Morris represent the other two starters returning. Creason ranked fifth on the team with 3.1 rebounds per game while Morris led the team in assists for the third-straight year with 87. One of the top outside threats in the Mountain West, Sean Morris returns for his sophomore campaign after knocking down 39 three-pointers a year ago while Andrew Patterson comes back for his senior season for the Rams as well. Junior forward Freddy Robinson will also be back in the Rams' lineup in 2005-06 after sitting out last year because of an injury.

NEW FACES
The Rams welcome eight new faces to their roster this season. Included in that mix are two Junior College Transfers (Michael Harrison and Cory Lewis) and six high school standouts (Preston Petersen, Stephan Gilling, Tim Layer, Chris Harris, Ronnie Aguilar and C.J. Clark).

THEY COME FROM ALL OVER
Colorado State's lineup consists of 15 players representing seven different states including California (2), Colorado (3), Louisiana (1), Mississippi (1), Nebraska (1), Oklahoma (1) and Texas (6).

TALL ORDER
Colorado State's roster in 2005-06 features three players (C Ronnie Aguilar, C Stuart Creason, F Jason Smith) who are at least seven feet tall, and another (F Michael Harrison), who is six-feet, nine-inches tall. The lineup ranks among the tallest in the nation.

THE CENTURY MARK
Colorado State has not allowed an opponent to score 100 points in a game in 136-straight regular-season contests. The last team to put up triple figures on the Rams was Colorado on Dec. 23, 2000 in Boulder. The last time CSU allowed 100 points in Moby Arena was Feb. 21, 1980 against Brigham Young, a span that stretches 372 regular season home games.

RECEIVING VOTES
For the first time since the 1997-98 basketball season, Colorado State has received votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and the AP Top 25 poll. The Rams are the only team in the Mountain West to receive votes in either poll over the past week.

INJURY BUG
Injuries continue to haunt Colorado State. Already in 2005-06, three players have missed a game due to injury or illness (Ronnie Aguilar-7, Freddy Robinson-5, Stuart Creason-3). In Dale Layer's six seasons as head coach, CSU players have missed a total of 185 games due to injury or illness. That figure averages out to be 1.2 players missed per game and 30.8 players per season.

PLAYER TIDBITS SINKING THE "J" -
 Sophomore forward Jason Smith has recorded double-doubles in three of his last five games.
 Has gathered four or more rebounds in his last 22 games. In the last 11 games, he has a total of 93 rebounds. He has had five or more rebounds 25 times in 33 games.
 Ranks 4th in the Mountain West in scoring (17.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg) and 2nd in blocked shots (2.57 bpg).

MAGIC MAN -
 Senior guard Micheal Morris is 6th on the school's career list with 123 blocked shots.
 Ranks 8th in career assists at CSU with 326 in his three-year career.
 Has led CSU in assists 47 times in his career.
 Ranks 7th in the MWC in rebounding (6.3 rpg), 6th in assists (3.14 apg), 2nd in free throw percentage (.857) and 4th in blocked shots (1.71 bpg). He is also 2nd in league in assist/turnover ratio with 2.00 assists for every turnover committed.

SEAN PO -
Sophomore guard Sean Morris hit a school-record nine three-pointers for the second time in his career against Colorado. In the game, Morris posted a career-best 34 points.
 Ranks 3rd in the MWC hitting 2.57 three-pointers per game this season. He is alson 8th in the league in three-point field goal percentage hitting at a .400 clip on the year.
 Has hit a three-pointer in 13-straight games.

I WANNA BE LIKE MIKE -
 Junior forward Michael Harrison ranks 3rd in the MWC in blocked shots with 2.14 per game.

TYING UP LEWIS ENDS -
 Junior guard Cory Lewis leads the team with 31 assists on the year.
 Ranks 2nd in the MWC in assists (4.43 apg), 4th in free throw percentage (.800) and 7th in assist/turnover ratio (1.29).

STU BALANCE -
 Sophomore center Stuart Creason ranks third on the team with 10.5 points per game after sitting out the first three games of the season due to injury.
 Is 15-of-21 (.714) shooting in his last four games.

NOTING THE KANSAS STATE GAME
 The game marked the first time that five Rams scored in double figures since Dec. 7, 2004 versus Montana State.
 CSU had a season-high 23 turnovers while K-State hit 27-of-32 free throws, season highs in free throws made and attempted for a CSU opponent.

FOES UNDER 40 Colorado State 5-1 when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor including the following games:

Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 18 Northern Colorado (W) 20-65 .308
Nov. 23 North Dakota State (W) 18-58 .310
Nov. 26 Denver (W) 17-50 .340
Nov. 28 Auburn (W) 26-70 .371
Dec. 3 IUPUI (W) 21-56 .375
Dec. 7 Kansas State (L) 20-56 .357

RAMS PLUS 50
Colorado State is 3-0 when shooting better than 50 percent from the floor. Those games include:

Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 21 Colorado (W) 26-50 .520
Nov. 28 Auburn (W) 25-50 .500
Dec. 3 IUPUI (W) 25-44 .568

MORE ON TELEVISION
The Colorado State Rams will appear on national or regional television at least five times in the 2005-06 season. These dates include:

Date Opponent Network
Nov. 21 Colorado Fox Sports Net
Nov. 26 vs. Denver Fox Sports Net
Dec. 7 at Kansas State Fox Sports Midwest
Feb. 18 UNLV ESPN+Plus
Feb. 25 at Wyoming ESPN2

FOULING OUT
Senior guard Micheal Morris has gone a team-high 45 consecutive games without fouling out. In fact, Morris has only fouled out once in 92 career games with the Rams. Morris was disqualified against UNLV on Jan. 26, 2004 with 2:34 remaining in regulation in an overtime game that featured six players who notched five fouls (five from UNLV), as CSU went on to win 89-83.

Consecutive Games Without Fouling Out:
Micheal Morris 45, Sean Morris 27, Andrew Patterson 19, Freddy Robinson 13, Cory Lewis 7, Stephan Gilling 7, C.J. Clark 7, Chris Harris 7, Ryan Brown 5, Michael Harrison 3, Stuart Creason 2, Jason Smith 1.

CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS
Following is a list of consecutive free throws made by current Colorado State players along with their all-time longest streak at CSU:

Player Current All-Time
Micheal Morris 8 20
Sean Morris 9 12
Jason Smith 10 11
Stuart Creason 1 10
Cory Lewis 7 7
Freddy Robinson 1 7
Andrew Patterson 0 5
Michael Harrison 1 3
Ryan Brown 2 2
C.J. Clark 2 2
Stephan Gilling 1 1

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 70
Over the past two seasons, Colorado State is 1-12 when scoring less than 70 points in a game. In contrast the Rams are 16-5 when hitting 70 and 7-1 when reaching the 80-point plateau.

THEIR FIRST LOSS
In their first six games, the Rams have handed three teams (Colorado, Denver, Auburn) their first loss of the season.

FATHER/SON COMBOS
Head Coach Dale Layer and his son Tim are one of nine father/son combinations in NCAA Division I college basketball. The others include: Mike & Michael Anderson (UAB), John & Patrick Beilein (West Virginia), Mike & Mike Davis Jr. (Indiana), Neil & Neil P. Dougherty (TCU), Mick & Casey Durham (Montana State), Ernie & Jorday Kent (Oregon), Kelvin & Kellen Sampson (Oklahoma), Kirk & Drew Speraw (Central Florida).

NEW ADDITIONS
Colorado State had three players sign National Letters of Intent during November's early signing period including one Junior College Transfer and two high school standouts:

Alton Robinson, 6-6, 200, F, Hattiesburg, Miss., Pearl River Community College
Alton Robinson is an all-region and all-conference performer at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, Mississippi. He averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds per game as a freshman at PRCC and was selected as a preseason JuCo All-American. In his 2005-06 season opening game against Mississippi Delta on Nov. 3, he scored 32 points. He has been selected as the 65th-best junior college player in the country by JucoJunction and was named the third-best small forward in the nation by Lindy's.

"Alton is a mature, explosive player," said CSU head coach Dale Layer. "He can play three different positions and will bring toughness, rebounding and basketball savvy to the team. He can be an offensive force for us."

Jarrel Smith, 6-7, 185, F, Encino, Calif., Birmingham High School
Jarrel Smith was the third-leading scorer in the Los Angeles area in 2004-05 after averaging 24 points and six rebounds per game at Birmingham High School. He was an All-American honorable mention nominee last season.

"Jarrel is an explosive scorer who can put up points in several different ways," commented Layer. "He can shoot the three or he can drive around you and score. He's very long and very athletic."

Jake Nielson, 6-1, 170, G, Aurora, Colo., Grandview High School
Jake Nielson was an all-state honorable mention at Grandview High School in 2005 after averaging 14 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

"Jake is the second best senior in the state. He's smart, skilled and unselfish and will have a great career at the point."

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.

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