Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Get Set For Wednesday's Border War
1/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2007
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GAME NO. 19
COLORADO STATE (14-4/4-2)
at WYOMING (11-8/2-3)
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007 | Laramie, Wyo. | Arena-Auditorium (15,000) | 7:00 p.m. MT
THE MATCHUP
Colorado State will be in search of its first three-game Mountain West winning streak since 2004 when the Rams travel north to meet the Wyoming Cowboys Wednesday night in Laramie. CSU moved into sole possession of second place in the MWC after a 90-78 win over BYU on Saturday with a 4-2 conference mark on the season. Junior guard Tim Denson has paced CSU's scoring efforts with 17 and 18 points in his last two games, respectively while junior forward Jason Smith leads the Rams on the season with 16.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
ABOUT WYOMING
Wyoming enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 11-8 and a conference mark of 2-3. The Cowboys have lost three in a row, two of which were by only two points, but hold an impressive 7-1 mark in the Arena-Auditorium this season. UW has a trio of guards that are among the best in the league led by Brandon Ewing, who paces the Mountain West averaging 20.5 points per game. Brad Jones is second on the team with a 15.9 point scoring average to go with his team-high 82 assists while James Spencer goes for 12.2 points per game while shooting better than 45 percent from three-point range this season.
SINCE 1902
Colorado State is in the school's 103rd season of intercollegiate competition in 2006-07. CSU has a cumulative record of 1,055-1,073 in 2,128 previous games dating back to 1902.
ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD
Colorado State holds an all-time record of 423-166 (.718) in Moby Arena.
MOBY UNDER LAYER
Colorado State holds a 66-28 overall record in home games during Dale Layer's six seasons.
Season Games Record
2006-07 9 8-1
2005-06 15 9-6
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 96 67-29 (.698)
THE RAMS IN JANUARY
Colorado State holds a 19-28 record in the month of January under head coach Dale Layer. CSU has finished 1-6 in January in each of its last two seasons but currently holds a 4-2 mark this year.
ON WEDNESDAYS
The Rams are 9-16 in games played on Wednesday during coach Dale Layer's tenure at Colorado State. CSU is currently 3-2 on Wednesdays in 2006-07 with wins over Denver, Northern Colorado and TCU and losses to Rice and Air Force.
100 WINS
With Saturday's win over BYU, Dale Layer became just the third coach in school history to record 100 victories at the school. Layer joins Jim Williams (352) and Stew Morrill (121) as the only CSU coaches to record 100 wins at the school. His record currently stands a 100-97 since taking over at CSU in the 2000-01 season.
1,000/500 MAN
CSU forward Jason Smith has scored 1,059 points and has 541 rebounds in his career at Colorado State. He is only the sixth player in school history and first since Brian Greene, who played from 2000-03 (1,259 points, 669 rebounds) to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds. The other four are Pat Durham, 1986-898 (1,980, 851); Bill Green, 1961-63 (1,682, 726); Rich Strong (1983-86 (1,555, 805).
NOTING THE BYU GAME
- CSU's 4-2 start to league play is the best since joining the Mountain West in 1999-00 and CSU's 14-4 overall record is the best season start since starting 15-3 in 1997-98.
- CSU's 90 points was the seventh-most points scored by the Rams in MWC play and was the second-most points scored in regulation in MWC play (102 vs. SDSU, 2003).
- CSU's 90 points was a season high
- CSU hit a season high 34 field goals
- CSU's 22 assists matches a season high.
- CSU's 12 turnovers is a season low.
- BYU's 55.4 shooting percentage was the highest by a Ram opponent this season.
- Tim Denson tied a career high with 18 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
Colorado State will travel to Laramie, Wyo., to face the Wyoming Cowboys Wednesday at 7 p.m.
PLAYER TIDBITS & TRENDS
#3 Xavier Kilby
• Kilby has gathered 19 rebounds in his last five games.
• Has scored in six consecutive games.
#4 Cory Lewis
• Lewis has had an assist in 47 of 48 games in his career including 42 multi-assist games.
• Lewis has recorded an assist in 46 straight games.
• Has recorded multiple assists in 22 consecutive games.
• Has led CSU in assists 37 times in his career.
• Has played 30 or more minutes in 32 of 48 career games at CSU.
• Is 13-of-24 (.542) from three-point range in his last six games.
#5 Tyler Smith
• Has been in double figures scoring in 10 of 17 games with CSU.
• Has hit a three-pointer in 14 of his past 15 games.
• Has 18 assists in his last four games.
#12 Tim Denson
• Denson has recorded an assist in all 18 games this year.
• Has multiple rebounds in 15 straight games after getting no rebounds in his first three contests.
• Has scored 25 points in his last two games.
• Is 5-of-6 from three-point range in his last two games.
#14 Jason Smith
• Scored in double figures in 56 of 75 career games.
• Has had four or more rebounds in 36 straight games.
• Has had six or more rebounds in 26 of his last 31 games.
• Has had an assist in 35 of his last 39 games.
• Has started in 49 consecutive games.
• Has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 14 of 18 games this year and in his last 10 contests.
#30 Stuart Creason
• Creason has posted four or more rebounds in each game this season.
• Has multiple blocks in 13 of his last 15 games.
#33 Stephan Gilling
• Has hit a three-pointer in 40 of 48 games and has had multiple three-pointers in 28 games.
• Currently is currently 7th all-time in 3-point field goal percentage (.427) at CSU.
BLOCKING SHOTS...SINCE 2002
Colorado State has recorded at least one blocked shot in every game dating back to Jan. 28, 2002, a span that encompasses 117-straight games.
BEST RECORDS
CSU is currently out to its best league start since joining the Mountain West Conference in 1999-00. This marks the Rams' best league start since going 4-2 to start WAC play in 1997-98. CSU's 14-4 record is also among the team's best after 18 games. It is the Rams' best start since the 1997-98 season when CSU won 15 of its first 18 games.
SEEING DOUBLE
Jason Smith's 28-point, 11-rebound performance versus New Mexico marked the 14th time in his career he has double-doubles in scoring and rebounding. The junior now ranks sixth in all-time double-doubles in school history. Following is a list of the top double-dippers at CSU:
1. Mike Childress (1969-71) - 33
2. Bob Rule (1965-67) - 19
3. Pat Durham (1986-89) - 18
4. Sonny Bustion (1963-65) - 17
5. Gary Rhoades (1970-73) - 16
6. Jason Smith (2004-07) - 14
7. Rick Fisher (1970-71) - 12
8. Rich Strong (1982-86) - 11
TELEVISION STARS
Colorado State will play on television more times this season than they ever have in the history of the program. Fans will be able to catch the Rams at least 19 times on television this season. CSU will play on the mtn. 15 times and on CSTV and Fox Sports Net twice.
HOME VS. ROAD
Colorado State is currently shooting 153-of-208 (.736) from the free throw line at home while hitting just 146-of-218 (.670) charity shots on the road. CSU also commits 19.4 turnovers per game away from home and only 15.9 per game in Moby Arena.
CSU RECEIVES VOTE IN USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES POLL
Colorado State received one vote in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. CSU received votes in weeks seven and nine last season in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and received votes in the AP poll in week five of last season. The Rams have not cracked the top 25 in any poll since the 1989-90 season.
FOES UNDER 40
Colorado State is 7-1 when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor including:
Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 15 Rice 17-49 .347
Nov. 18 Montana State Northern 21-54 .389
Nov. 20 Boise State 19-52 .365
Dec. 6 Northern Colorado 20-53 .377
Dec. 9 Colorado 21-60 .350
Dec. 29 Alabama State 20-54 .370
Dec. 30 Chattanooga 22-64 .344
Jan. 17 TCU 20-58 .345
RAMS PLUS 50
Colorado State is 9-1 when shooting better than 50 percent from the floor this year including:
Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 18 Montana State Northern 32-58 .552
Nov. 29 Denver 29-55 .527
Dec. 2 Kansas State 27-51 .529
Dec. 18 North Dakota State 26-52 .500
Dec. 29 Alabama State 25-47 .532
Dec. 30 Chattanooga 25-50 .500
Jan. 3 Air Force 30-55 .545
Jan. 6 New Mexico 31-49 .633
Jan. 9 Utah 22-42 .524
Jan. 20 BYU 34-60 .567
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
Cory Lewis 3 20
Jason Smith 2 19
Stuart Creason 0 11
Freddy Robinson 0 11
Tim Denson 1 9
Stephan Gilling 0 6
Tyler Smith 4 5
Xavier Kilby 5 5
Jordan Surratt 0 1
HIGH SCORING OFFENSE
Colorado State's 90-point performance against BYU marks the team's seventh-highest point production in a Mountain West Conference game in school history. It is also the second-highest point total in regulation since joining the league in the 1999-00 season.
OWNING THE BOARDS
Colorado State has been dominant on the boards so far this season. The Rams have outrebounded opponents in 14 games this year while tying opponents on the glass twice. CSU leads the Mountain West with a 5.9 rebounding advantage per game. Only once (Kansas State) has Colorado State lost the rebounding edge this season.
QUICK STARTS ARE IMPORTANT
Colorado State has won 11-straight games when leading at the half dating back to Mar. 4, 2006 when CSU led Air Force at the break 31-26 before losing 63-59.
QUICK STARTS PART II
Colorado State is currently 10-0 this season when leading at the first media timeout. In fact, the team leading at the media timeout usually wins the game. Only three times this year (vs. Colorado, vs. Denver and vs. TCU) has the team trailing at the first break won the game. CSU is 0-2 this season when tied at the first media timeout.
ALREADY EQUALING LAST YEAR
Colorado State's four conference wins after six games already ties the Rams' four-win total from the entire season last year. Individaully, Stuart Creason has surpassed his total rebounds last year (103) with 104 in 17 games this season. Creason also has equaled his 38 blocked shots from a year ago.
KEEP THOSE FANS AT HOME
Colorado State is currently 1-4 when the attendance is over 6,300 fans and 13-0 when the attendance falls below 6,300. CSU's only win in front of a big crowd this year came at New Mexico, in front of 12,788 fans.
CSU BASKETBALL ADDS THREE
Colorado State head coach Dale Layer today announced that three players have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at Colorado State.
Jesse Woodard (6-1, 190, Guard, Compton, Calif./Centennial HS)
Jesse Woodard was ranked as a top 30 player in the nation and was a top five West Coast point guard at Centennial High School in Compton, Calif. He averaged 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists for Centennial HS and helped his team reach the sectional finals as a junior. He competed for the Compton Magic AAU team and was a three-time all-star at the renowned Adidas All-Star camps. Woodard chose CSU over Iowa State, Virginia Tech, Utah and UNLV.
Shane Edwards (6-7, 190, Forward, Gilbert, Ariz./Northeastern JC)
Shane Edwards averaged eight points and five rebounds in his freshman season at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. Currently, Edwards is averaging better than 20 points, 10 rebounds per game for the Plainsmen after helping the team to a 30-4 overall record and a top 20 ranking in 2005-06. The athletic 6-7 forward was widely regarded as one of the best high school athletes to come out of the State of Arizona, sporting a wing span of 7-feet, one-inch. Edwards played at Mountain Pointe High School before coming to NJC.
Omar Leary (5-10, 170, Guard, Portland, Ore./Northeastern JC)
Leary, a 5-10, 170 point guard, averaged 10 points, four assists and two steals per game for Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., as a freshman in 2005-06. The Portland, Ore., native was regarded as one of the top 10 players to come out of Oregon as an all-city and all-state selection for Lincoln High School in Portland. He is regarded as one of the best point guards in the western U.S. coming out of NJC after helping the Plainsmen to a 30-4 record as the team's starting point guard in 2005-06.
THE GREEN MACHINE
Following a vote by the student body at Colorado State, the CSU student section will be referred to as "The Green Machine" in all 2006-07 home basketball contests.
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.
