Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Preview - CSU vs. UNLV
2/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Matchup...Colorado State continues its three-game homestand with a Monday night matchup with UNLV in Moby Arena. The Rams snapped an eight-game losing streak Saturday with a 93-88 overtime win over San Diego State. In the game, CSU?s Matt Williams (26 points, 10 rebounds) and Jason Smith (24 points, 11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles while the Rams matched their largest come-from-behind win (14 points) of the year. Micheal Morris also dished out a career-best 11 assists in the game, the most by a CSU player since 1997.
About UNLV: The Runnin? Rebels will carry a three-game winning streak into Moby Arena Monday. UNLV defeated Wyoming 68-66 and has won its last three game by a total of seven points. Odartey Blankson leads the Rebels with 17.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while Romel Beck (13.6 ppg) and Jerel Blassingame (10.1 ppg) round out their players averaging in double figures. Blankson led UNLV in Saturday?s win with 24 points and seven rebounds.
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 February: Colorado State is 7-28 (.200) during coach Dale Layer?s tenure in games played in February.
On Mondays: Colorado State holds a 13-22 (.371) record under Dale Layer when playing on a Monday. The Rams are 1-5 in 2004-05 with a Monday win over Northern Colorado.
Moby Under Layer: Colorado State holds a 49-21 overall record in home games during Dale Layer?s five seasons.
Season Games Record
2004-05 13 10-3
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 70 49-21 (.700)
Road Woes: Colorado State holds a 19-game road losing streak after Monday?s loss at BYU. 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.
Since 1902: Colorado State is in the school?s 104th season of intercollegiate competition in 2004-05. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,023-1,049 in 2,072 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.
Freshmen In the MWC: CSU freshmen Stuart Creason, Sean Morris and Jason Smith are the only Rams who have higher scoring averages in MWC play than in non-conference games. Creason is averaging 4.6 in conference and 4.5 overall and Morris is at 10.3 in league play compared to 7.4 for the season while Smith is hitting 11.0 in the MWC and 10.3 overall.
PLAYER TIDBITS
WHOA NELLY!! -
? Senior center Matt Nelson has scored in double figures in 22-straight games and in 32 of his last 33 games dating back to last season.
? Ranks 24th in the nation and 2nd in the MWC in field goal percentage (.604).
? Recorded his third double-double of the year and seventh of his career at BYU. Two of his three double-doubles this season have been against the Cougars.
? Moved into 4th in career scoring at CSU in the Jan. 8 game against Air Force. He now has 1,553 career points at CSU and needs just two points to tie Rich Strong for the third spot.
? Ranks on CSU?s top-five list in career scoring, field goal percentage, field goals made, 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 318-of-597 career field goals, 53.3 percent.
? Ranks 2nd in the MWC in free throw percentage for the year hitting 85.1 percent from the charity stripe.
? Has shot better than 50 percent in 14 of 19 games in the 2004-05 season.
? Has been above 50 percent from the field 65 times in 109 career games (59.6 percent).
? Has recorded five or more rebounds in nine of 19 games this year and has surpassed that total 45 times in his career.
? Posted his sixth 20-point game of his career matching a career-high with 26 points against SDSU. In the game, he also matched a career-high with 10 rebounds for his fourth career double-double and the second this year.
SMITH, NO MYTH -
? Freshman forward Jason Smith , from nearby Kersey, Colo., has scored in double figures 10 times in 22 games.
? Ranks third on the team with a 10.3 per-game scoring average and leads all freshmen in the Mountain West Conference in the category.
? Has gathered four or more rebounds in his last 11 games. During that stretch, he is averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.
? Has had five or more rebounds 14 times in 22 games this year.
? Ranks third in the MWC in blocked shots in league games.
? Notched a career-best 24 points to go with 11 rebounds for his first career double-double against San Diego State.
MORRIS MAGIC -
? Junior guard Micheal Morris is sixth on the school?s career list with 105 blocked shots.
? Ranks 10th in career assists at CSU with 283 in his three-year career.
? Has led CSU in assists in five of the last seven games.
? Played a career-most 45 minutes in CSU?s overtime win over San Diego State.
? Dished out a career-high 11 assists against SDSU marking the first time a Ram had hit that mark since 1997.
TO THE RACK -
? Senior guard Jon Rakiecki ranks 9th in career three-point field goals made with 119.
? Ranks 6th in career three-point field goals attempted (348).
MORE MORRIS -
?Freshman guard Sean Morris tied a school record for three-pointers in a game (9) against UNLV.
? Pulled down a career-best nine rebounds against New Mexico.
? Ranks second in the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.36) in league contests. He also ranks fourth in the Mountain West in three-point field goal percentage (.464) in league play.
Injury Bug: Injuries continue to haunt Colorado State. After Monday?s game against BYU, CSU players have missed a total of 42 games played (Freddy Robinson-24, Sean Morris-8, Matt Williams-5, Jason Smith-2, Nick Ball-1, Stuart Creason-1, Matt Nelson-1) due to injury or illness. In Dale Layer?s five seasons as head coach, CSU players have missed a total of 166 games due to injury or illness. That figure averages out to be 1.2 players missed per game and 33.2 players per season.
Rams On The Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded 17 of 24 opponents in 2004-05. The Rams are 8-9 when collecting more boards than their opposition.
Winning Big: Five of Colorado State?s 10 victories have been by 20 points or more while winning by double figures seven of 10 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 1,553
Personal Fouls: Colorado State is 0-9 when committing more fouls than its opponent in 2004-05. Dating back to last year, the Rams have lost their last 18 games when the foul total is heavy in their column.
Double-Figure Leads: Against Wyoming, Colorado State lost for the first time this season when holding a double-digit lead in a game. The Rams, who gave up a 12-point lead against Wyoming, are 9-1 in games that they have held a double-digit lead.
NOTING THE SAN DIEGO STATE GAME
Coming From Behind: CSU rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit matching its largest come-from behind victory of the year.
Clutch Free Throws: Colorado State hit 11-of-12 free throws in the last 2:00 of regulation and the overtime period. They his 12-of-12 in the second half marking the second time this year that the Rams have been perfect from the stripe in the second half (Colorado).
Season Highs/Lows: CSU tied a season-high with 93 points while making a seson-best 27 free throws and hitting at a 93.1 percent clip from the foul line. The Aztecs hit 31 field goals, including 11 threes, in Saturday?s game marking season highs for CSU opponents.
Top Rebounders: CSU?s Jason Smith (11) and Matt Williams (10) each grabbed double-figure rebounds marking the first time since last year?s overtime win over UNLV that two Rams have posted double-figure boards in the same game.
Matching the Last Two Games: CSU?s 93 points in the game came just six shy of matching their point total from the last two games combined against Utah (50) and BYU (49).
Points in the Paint: CSU?s 44 points in the paint match the team?s season high.
Foes Under 40: Colorado State is 6-8 this season when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor.
Rams Plus 50: Colorado State has shot above 50 percent from the floor in 10 games this season.
Turnovers by Half: Colorado State has committed 242 of its 391 turnovers (61.9 percent) in the first half. Only seven times during the season have the Rams committed more turnovers in the second half than they did in the first.
