Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Preview - vs. Air Force
2/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Matchup...Colorado State will look to break a five-game losing skid Monday night when they entertain Air Force in Moby Arena for a 10 p.m. MT tipoff. CSU suffered a 55-47 setback to New Mexico Saturday night and, in their last two games, have shot under 30 percent from the field. Senior Matt Nelson scored in double figures for the 18th-straight game Saturday with 16 points and eight rebounds while freshman Sean Morris posted 15 points and nine rebounds in the contest. Nelson leads the Rams with a 15.3 per-game scoring average while grabbing a team-best 5.7 rebounds per night.
About Air Force: The Falcons will try to rebound from a 67-63 overtime loss to Wyoming in Laramie Saturday. In the game, Air Force saw four players reach double figures in scoring including Antoine Hood and Nick Welch who lead the team with 12.3 and 12.2 points per game on the season, respectively. The Falcons will bring a 14-8 overall mark and a 5-2 Mountain West record into Moby Arena Monday while posting a 2-7 mark on the road this 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 February: Colorado State is 6-25 during coach Dale Layer?s tenure in games played in February.
On Mondays: Colorado State holds a 13-20 record under Dale Layer when playing on a Monday. The Rams are 1-3 in 2004-05 with a win over Northern Colorado and losses to Pepperdine, Utah and San Diego State.
Moby Under Layer: Colorado State holds a 48-20 overall record in home games during Dale Layer?s five seasons.
Season Games Record
2004-05 11 9-2
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 68 48-20 (.706)
Road Woes: Colorado State holds a 17-game road losing streak after a Jan. 29 loss at Wyoming. 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 1,022-1,046 in 2,068 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: Colorado State forwards Matt Williams (knee) and Jason Smtih (hamstring) have been listed as doubtful for Monday night?s game against Air Force.
Ahead and Behind: Following is a breakdown of the time CSU has been ahead, behind and tied with their opponents this season:
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
San Diego State (L) 0:00 39:05 0:55
Wyoming (L) 26:08 10:17 3:35
New Mexico (L) 8:12 30:00 1:48
Total 387:30 369:10 50:20
PLAYER TIDBITS
WHOA NELLY!! -
? Senior center Matt Nelson has scored in double figures in 18-straight games and in 28 of his last 29 games dating back to last season.
? Ranks eighth in the nation in field goal percentage (.629).
? Recorded his 30th career 20-point game against San Diego State. Nelson?s four 20-point games against the Aztecs mark his most against any opponent.
? Is 5th in career scoring at Colorado State with 1,501 points.
? 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 298-of-564 career field goals, 52.8 percent.
? Listed as doubtful for Monday?s game with Air Force due to a knee sprain suffered against Pepperdine.
? Ranks second in the MWC in free throw percentage for the year hitting 83.6 percent from the charity stripe.
? Has shot better than 50 percent in 11 of 16 games in the 2004-05 season.
? Has been above 50 percent from the field 62 times in 106 career games.
? Has recorded five or more rebounds in eight of 16 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.
SMITH, NO MYTH -
? Freshman forward Jason Smith , from nearby Kersey, Colo., has scored in double figures nine times in 19 games.
? Listed as doubtful for Monday?s game with Air Force due to a pulled hamstring suffered in practice Feb. 4.
? Posted a career-best 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting against BYU.
? Ranks third on the team with a 10.1 per game scoring average and leads all freshmen in the Mountain West Conference in the category.
? Has gathered 76 rebounds (6.3 rpg) in his last 12 games.
? Has recorded at least one point and one rebound in every game that he has played.
? Ranks second in the conference in blocked shots in league games.
? Has had five or more rebounds 12 times in 19 games this year.
MORRIS MAGIC -
? Junior guard Micheal Morris is sixth on the school?s career list with 98 blocked shots.
? Needs just five assists to move into the CSU all-time assists top ten.
? Posted a season-best six assists versus New Mexico Saturday night. Morris now has 11 career games with six or more assists.
FOR BETTER OR VER-WERS -
? Sophomore forward Stephen Verwers scored a career-high eight points against Denver.
? Has made 17 field goals on the season, seven of which were on dunks.
? Is one of four Rams to see action in all 20 games this year.
TO THE RACK -
? Senior guard Jon Rakiecki is shooting at a 83.3 percent clip from the free thow line in league play.
? Needs one three-pointer to move into the CSU top 10 in three-point field goals made. His four-year total stands at 113.
? Ranks seventh in career three-point field goals attempted (328).
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.
? Pulled down a career-best nine rebounds against New Mexico.
? In his last four games, Morris is 21-of-43 (.488) from the floor and 19-of-32 (.594) from three-point range. Morris is averaging 16.3 points per game in that span.
? Ranks first in the conference in three-pointers made per game (3.00) in league contests.
Injury Bug: Injuries continue to haunt Colorado State. After Saturday?s game against New Mexico, CSU players have missed a total of 36 games played (Freddy Robinson-20, Sean Morris-8, Matt Williams-4, Nick Ball-1, Stuart Creason-1, Matt Nelson-1, Jason Smith-1) due to injury or illness. In Dale Layer?s five seasons as head coach, CSU players have missed a total of 160 games due to injury or illness. That figure averages out to be 1.1 players missed per game and 31.4 players per season.
Rams On The Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded 14 of 20 opponents in 2004-05. The Rams are 7-7 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 1,501
Personal Fouls: Colorado State is 0-7 when committing more fouls than its opponent in 2004-05. Dating back to last year, the Rams have lost their last 16 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 NEW MEXICO GAME
Starting Adjustment: Colorado State used its 11th-different starting lineup in Saturday?s loss to UNM.
Stingy Defense: For the second game in a row, the Rams? defense allowed only 22 points in the first half tying for the second-lowest point total by an opponent in a half this season.
Guard Play: Colorado State?s guards combined to make 7-of-31 (.226) shots on the night. Excluding freshman Sean Morris? 5-for-14 night, the guards shots 2-of-17 (.118) in the game.
Season Highs/Lows: CSU scored a season-low 47 points while tying for season-lows in field goals made (17) and field goal percentage (.298). The Rams, however, hit for a season best 87.5 percent from the free throw line and held New Mexico to a field goal percentage of .309, the lowest by a Colorado State opponent this year.
Assists Stats: With Micheal Morris? six assists on Saturday, it marked just the second time this season that a Ram has hit the six-assist mark. The only other time this year was when Jon Rakiecki dished out seven assists against Denver.
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.
Scoring Leaders: After leading the Rams in scoring only twice in their first eight contests, Matt Nelson has led CSU in scoring in nine of the last 12 games.
Foes Under 40: Colorado State is 6-6 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
Jan. 29 Wyoming (L) 21-59 .356
Feb. 5 New Mexico (L) 17-55 .309
Rams Plus 50: Colorado State has shot above 50 percent from the floor in eight games this season. The Rams hold a record of 7-2 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
Jan. 24 San Diego State (L) 26-50 .520
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 201 of its 320 turnovers (62.8 percent) in the first half. Only six times during the season have the Rams committed more turnovers in the second half than they did in the first.
Up Next: The Rams travel to Salt Lake City to take on league-leader Utah on Feb. 12. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. MT.
