Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Preview: CSU vs. BYU
1/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2006
Game #20: Colorado State (12-7, 1-5) vs. BYU (11-6, 3-3)
January 28, 2006 • 7:05 p.m. MST
Fort Collins, Colo. • Moby Arena (8,745)
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THE MATCHUP
Colorado State will be looking to end a three-game losing streak Saturday night when they host the BYU Cougars in a 7 p.m. contest in Moby Arena. The Rams had a nine-game home winning streak snapped on Wednesday in a 72-67 loss to Wyoming and will be looking to pick up their second Mountain West win of the year. Jason Smith continues to be the Rams' top scorer and rebounder on the season averaging 16.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
ABOUT BYU
BYU brings an 11-6 overall record into Moby Arena on Saturday following an 89-80 overtime win over TCU on Wednesday in Provo. The Cougars are 3-3 in Mountain West play but are 0-3 in league road games. Forward Trent Plaisted is among the top freshmen in the MWC and leads the Cougars with 13.0 points per game on the year after going for a career-high 22 points and 16 rebounds against TCU on Wednesday. BYU boasts the top scoring offense in the conference averaging 76.5 points on the season and has hit the 80-point plateau eight times this season.
MOBY UNDER LAYER
Colorado State holds a 58-23 overall record in home games during Dale Layer's five seasons.
Season Games Record
2005-06 9 8-1
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 81 58-23 (.716)
ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD
Colorado State holds an all-time record of 414-160 (.721) in Moby Arena.
THE RAMS IN JANUARY
The Rams hold a 15-25 record in the month of January during Dale Layer's tenure as head coach. The Rams were 1-6 in January last season and are 1-5 this year.
SINCE 1902
Colorado State is in the school's 102nd season of intercollegiate competition in 2005-06. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,037-1,061 in 2,098 previous games dating back to 1902.
ON SATURDAYS
The Rams hold a 33-39 record in Saturday games during the Dale Layer era. CSU is 4-2 in Saturday matchups in 2005-06 including wins over Denver, IUPUI, Pepperdine and Utah and losses to New Mexico and TCU. CSU has won its last six in Moby Arena on a Saturday with its last loss coming against New Mexico on Feb. 5, 2005 (55-47).
CLOSING IN ON 250
Head Coach Dale Layer is closing in on career victory number 250. Heading into Saturday's game versus BYU, Layer holds a 249-172 career mark including an 82-85 record at Colorado State.
BLOCK PARTY
Colorado State ranks ninth in the nation in blocked shots per game averaging 6.63 blocks every time out. The Rams boast three of the top five shot blockers in the Mountain West in Michael Harrison (2nd), Jason Smith (3rd) and Stuart Creason (4th). Harrison (21st) and Smith (44th) each rank among national leaders in the category. Twice this year, against Auburn and Pepperdine, CSU posted a school record 12 blocked shots.
THE CENTURY MARK
Colorado State has not allowed an opponent to score 100 points in a game in 148-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 377 regular season home games.
MOUNTAIN WEST ROAD GAMES vDale Layer holds a 5-35 road record against Mountain West opponents since taking over the CSU program in 2000. CSU has a 19-game road losing streak in Mountain West play dating back to a 66-65 win at Utah on March 6, 2003.
SOLID FROM THE BENCH
Colorado State's bench has outscored its opponent's bench in 15 of its last 16 games. CSU's bench has accounted for 30 or more points in six of the team's last eight games.
SLOW STARTS
In CSU's five conference losses, the Rams have been outscored 77-47 in the first eight minutes of the games.
MOBY THREES
Colorado State has hit 67-of-153 three-pointers (.438) in Moby Arena this year. In contrast, the Rams are 52-of-165 (.315) from behind the arc away from home.
POWERFUL IN THE PAINT
Colorado State has been outscored in the paint just three times this season. Colorado outscored the Rams 44-18 down low while Auburn edged the Rams in points in the paint 40-38 and Wyoming outscored the Rams 40-22 down low.
PLAYER TIDBITS
Jason Smith -
• Sophomore forward Jason Smith has gathered six or more rebounds in 13 of his last 20 games and has scored in double figures in 20 of his last 21 games.
• Ranks 3rd in the Mountain West in scoring (16.6 ppg), 4th in rebounding (7.1 rpg), 7th in free throw percentage (.779) and 3rd in blocked shots (1.89 bpg)
• Ranks 8th in on the school's list in blocked shots (72) and ranks 9th in career field goal percentage (.536).
Micheal Morris -
• Senior guard Micheal Morris is 5th on the school's career list with 127 blocked shots.
• Ranks 6th in career assists at CSU with 354 in his career.
• Has led CSU in assists 50 times in his career.
Sean Morris -
• 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 9th in the Mountain West in three-point field goals made per game (1.95).
• Ranks 8th in career three-point field goal percentage (.402) at CSU.
Michael Harrison -
• Junior forward Michael Harrison ranks 3rd in the Mountain West in field goal percentage (.619) and 2nd in blocked shots with 2.37 per game.
• Ranks 28th in the nation in blocks per game (2.4 bpg) and 12th in field goal percentage (.619).
• Has had four or more rebounds in 16 of 19 games this year.
• Ranks 1st in career field goal percentage (.619) at CSU.
Cory Lewis -
• Junior guard Cory Lewis ranks 2nd in the MWC in assists (4.00 apg), 8th in free throw percentage (.776), 10th in steals (1.39 spg) and 4th in assist/turnover ratio (1.38).
Stuart Creason -
• Sophomore center Stuart Creason ranks 4th in the MWC in blocked shots (1.44 bpg).
• Recorded his 2nd career double-double versus Arkansas Tech (16 points, 11 rebounds).
• Ranks 7th in the CSU record books in career field goal percentage (.540).
NOTING THE WYOMING GAME
• Sean Morris recorded a career-high four steals.
• CSU was outscored in the paint (40-22) for just the third time this season.
• CSU trailed at the half for just the second time this season at home.
• The crowd of 8,289 was the largest in Moby Arena this season.
• Michael Harrison is now tied for 6th with Pat Durham for most blocked shots (45) in a single season.
• Jason Smith's 31 minutes marked the first time in nine games that he has played 30 or more minutes in a game.
FOES UNDER 40
Colorado State 8-1 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
Dec. 10 Pepperdine (W) 19-65 .292
Dec. 22 Hawai'i (W) 18-52 .346
Dec. 30 Arkansas Tech (W) 23-64 .359
RAMS PLUS 50
Colorado State is 7-0 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
Dec. 20 Western Michigan (W) 33-54 .611
Dec. 28 UCCS (W) 37-56 .661
Dec. 30 Arkansas Tech (W) 31-57 .544
Jan. 14 Utah (W) 32-50 .640
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
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 18 20
Jason Smith 17 17
Sean Morris 2 16
Cory Lewis 2 12
Stuart Creason 11 11
Freddy Robinson 6 7
Stephan Gilling 0 6
Michael Harrison 0 6
Andrew Patterson 5 5
Ryan Brown 1 4
C.J. Clark 2 2
Chris Harris 0 2
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 70
Over the past two seasons, Colorado State is 2-14 when scoring less than 70 points in a game. In contrast the Rams are 21-9 when hitting 70 and 11-2 when reaching the 80-point plateau.
SHOOTING COMPARISON
Coming into conference play, Colorado State opponents had held the upper hand in shooting percentage just once (Colorado) in 13 games. After four contests of Mountain West play, CSU opponents have outshot the Rams in five times resulting in four Ram losses.
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.
LIVE STATS
Live statistics for all Colorado State home games may be obtained by going to CSURams.com and going to the men's basketball schedule/results page. Live statistics tracked through College Sports Online's Game tracker.
SOLID DOWN THE STRETCH
Colorado State has hit 101-of-127 (.795) free throws in the final five minutes of games this year led by Micheal Morris who is hitting at a .938 (15-of-16) clip.
