Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Preview - at New Mexico
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Matchup...The Colorado State men?s basketball team will close out regular-season play Saturday night against the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The Rams are coming off a thrilling 96-94 overtime victory over Wyoming and will look to improve on their 11-15, 3-10 MWC record before entering the Mountain West Tournament in Denver. CSU has dropped its last nine contests in The Pit and will try to win on the road for the first time since Dec. 22, 2003. Matt Nelson is coming off a season-best 31-point effort against Wyoming and leads the Rams with 15.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
About New Mexico: New Mexico will put a 22-6 overall record on the line Saturday night when they face the Rams. The Lobos won their fifth-straight Monday with a 77-66 victory at UNLV. Danny Granger paces the UNM offense with 18.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 2004-05. Troy DeVries in the team?s second-leading scorer with 11.6 ppg including 83 three-point field goals while dishing out a team-most 76 assists.
vCSU 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 March: Colorado State is 9-7 (.563) during coach Dale Layer?s tenure in games played in March.
On Saturdays: Colorado State holds a 29-36 (.446) record under Dale Layer when playing on a Saturday. The Rams are 5-8 in 2004-05 with Saturday wins over Regis, Drake, BYU, San Diego State and Wyoming.
Road Woes: Colorado State holds a 19-game road losing streak after its Feb. 14 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.
Moby Under Layer: Colorado State holds a 50-22 overall record in home games during Dale Layer?s five seasons.
Season Games Record
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 72 50-22 (.694)
Since 1902: Colorado State is in the school?s 104th season of intercollegiate competition in 2004-05. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,024-1,050 in 2,074 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.
Better In the MWC: Three Rams (Matt Nelson, Sean Morris and Jason Smith) are the only Rams who have higher scoring averages in MWC play than in non-conference games. Nelson is averaging 16.4 in conference and 15.9 overall and Morris is at 11.3 in league play compared to 8.5 for the season while Smith is hitting 11.2 in the MWC and 10.4 overall.
Clutch Performers: Following is a rundown of CSU?s top ?clutch players? and their point totals in the final five minutes of games this year:
Matt Williams 47, Matt Nelson 44, Jason Smith 43, Jon Rakiecki 36, Micheal Morris 41, Sean Morris 26, Andrew Patterson 20, Stuart Creason 17, Nick Ball 8, Phillip Thomasson 5, Stephen Verwers 4, Brian Lohrey 3
PLAYER TIDBITS
WHOA NELLY!! -
? Senior center Matt Nelson has scored in double figures in 24-straight games and in 34 of his last 35 games dating back to last season.
? Moved into 3rd place in career scoring at CSU in his Feb. 21 game against UNLV passing Rich Strong (1,555). He now has 1,608 career points at CSU and would need 74 points to match the second place total of 1,682.
? Ranks 22nd in the nation and 2nd in the MWC in field goal percentage (.610).
? 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.
? 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 Saturday?s game eighth on the school?s career field goal percentage list. He has made 325-of-613 career field goals, 53.0 percent.
? Ranks 5th in the MWC in free throw percentage for the year hitting 83.5 percent from the charity stripe.
? Has shot better than 50 percent in 15 of 21 games in the 2004-05 season and has been above 50 percent from the field 66 times in 111 career games (59.5 percent).
? Has recorded five or more rebounds in 10 of 21 games this year and has surpassed that total 46 times in his career.
SMITH, NO MYTH -
? Freshman forward Jason Smith , from nearby Kersey, Colo., has scored in double figures 11 times in 24 games.
? Ranks third on the team with a 10.4 per-game scoring average and is the only freshman to rank in the MWC in scoring (18th), rebounding (9th) or field goal percentage (6th).
? Has gathered four or more rebounds in his last 13 games. In the last three games, he has a total of 25 rebounds. He has had five or more rebounds 16 times in 24 games this year.
? 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 6th on the school?s career list with 108 blocked shots.
? Ranks 9th in career assists at CSU with 297 in his three-year career.
? Has led CSU in assists in seven of the last nine 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.
? Has had 25 assists in his last three games.
TO THE RACK -
? Senior guard Jon Rakiecki ranks 7th in career three-point field goals made with 123.
? Ranks 5th in career three-point field goals attempted (360).
? Hit four three-pointers in Saturday?s win over Wyoming matching his career-best in Moby Arena.
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.
? Second in the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.69) in league contests. He also ranks third in the Mountain West in three-point field goal percentage (.493) in league play.
? In two games against UNLV this year, Morris has scored 50 points (31, 19) marking the top two scoring games of his career.
? Has hit for double figures in his last three games and has hit 15-of-25 three-pointers in that span.
Rams On The Boards: Colorado State has outrebounded 17 of 26 opponents in 2004-05. The Rams are 8-9 when collecting more boards than their opposition.
Injury Bug: Injuries continue to haunt Colorado State. After Saturday?s game against Wyoming, CSU players have missed a total of 44 games played (Freddy Robinson-26, 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 168 games due to injury or illness. That figure averages out to be 1.2 players missed per game and 33.6 players per season.
Winning Big: Five of Colorado State?s 11 victories have been by 20 points or more while winning by double figures seven of 11 times.
Center Scoring: C Matt Nelson ranks second in school history in career scoring by a center:
Career Scoring By A Center
1. Bill Green, 1961-63 1,682
2. Matt Nelson, 2002-04 1,608
3. Rich Strong, 1983-86 1,555
Getting to the Stripe: CSU has lost its last 11 games when getting to the free throw line fewer times than its opponent. Over the last two years, Colorado State has lost 21 of its last 22 when getting to the line less than its opponent.
Close Calls: CSU is just 2-5 in games decided by 5 points or less and 4-9 in games decided by 9 or fewer.
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: Colorado State has squandered double-figure leads twice this season. At Wyoming the Rams led by 12 before falling 69-56 and against UNLV, CSU led by 13 in the first half and lost 81-79. CSU is 9-2 this year when leading an opponent by double figures.
NOTING THE WYOMING GAME
Starting Adjustments: Colorado State used its 16th different starting lineup in 26 games Saturday night.
Nelly?s Numbers: With 31 points, Matt Nelson recorded his season high in points and fell just one point shy of his career best (32 vs. Denver). The number marks the most Nelson has had in a Mountain West contest in his four-year career.
Season High: Colorado State scored a season-best 96 points.
Senior Effort: On senior night, three of the four departing seniors hit for double figures. It marked the third time that has happened this season (Stetson, Colorado, Wyoming).
Keeping the Ball: Colorado State turned the ball over only four times in the final 25 minutes of the game Saturday.
Lighting It Up: CSU (96) and Wyoming (94) combined for 190 points in Saturday?s game marking the seventh-most total points scored in a CSU victory in school history.
Free Throw Success: CSU has hit better than 80 percent from the free throw line in each of its last three games. The Rams have been over 80 percent from the stripe just five times total this year. During that time CSU has hit 77-of-90 free throws (.856).
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. The Rams hold a record of 8-2 when eclipsing the 50 percent mark.
Turnovers by Half: Colorado State has committed 255 of its 415 turnovers (61.4 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.
