Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Look to End Streak in Salt Lake City
2/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2007
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GAME NO. 22
COLORADO STATE (14-7/4-5)
at UTAH (8-14/3-6)
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007 | Salt Lake City, Utah | Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) | 7:00 p.m. MT | The Mtn.
THE MATCHUP
Colorado State looks to end a string of three-straight losses when they travel to Salt Lake City for a mid-week clash with the University of Utah (Colorado State Sports Network/The Mtn.). The Rams suffered a 70-66 setback against New Mexico Saturday dropping them to 14-7 overall and 4-5 in the league. CSU will be in search of its fourth-straight win over the Utes, a streak that would be the longest in the series for the Rams since winning five in a row over Utah in 1990. Colorado State junior Jason Smith continutes to highlight the Ram's lineup averaging 16.5 points and a league-best 9.2 rebounds per game on the season.
ABOUT UTAH
The Utes come into Wednesday's game with an 8-14 overall record and a 3-6 mark in conference play. Utah earned a 70-65 road win over TCU on Saturday and has claimed victory in three of its last five contests. Center Luke Nevill is Utah's leading player with 17 points and eight rebounds per game. Nevill shoots at a league-leading 65.3 percent clip from the floor and has a team-best 22 blocks on the year. Utah boasts a host of league leaders including Shaun Green who hits better than 55 percent of his three-pointers and Johnnie Bryant who makes 3.00 threes per contest. The Utes are also leading the MWC in team rebounding defense holding opponents to only 26.5 boards per game.
SINCE 1902
Colorado State is in the school's 103rd season of intercollegiate competition in 2006-07. CSU has a cumulative record of 1,055-1,076 in 2,131 previous games dating back to 1902.
ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD
Colorado State holds an all-time record of 423-168 (.716) in Moby Arena.
MOBY UNDER LAYER
Colorado State holds a 67-30 overall record in home games during Dale Layer's six seasons.
Season Games Record
2006-07 11 8-3
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 98 67-31 (.684)
THE RAMS IN FEBRUARY
Colorado State holds a 11-34 record in the month of February under head coach Dale Layer. With their loss to New Mexico on Saturday, CSU is 0-1 this season.
ON WEDNESDAYS
The Rams are 9-17 in games played on Wednesday during coach Dale Layer's tenure at Colorado State. CSU is currently 3-3 in games played on Wednesday this season including wins over Denver, Northern Colorado and TCU and losses to Rice, Air Force and Wyoming.
SHOOTING... THE KEY TO SUCCESS
The main difference between a win and a loss this season for the Colorado State basketball team has been the team's shooting percentage. In 14 wins the Rams have hit at a 51.2 percent clip from the floor while shooting 40.8 percent from three-point range. In contrast, CSU is only shooting 44.2 percent in six losses while hitting at a 31.5 percent rate from long range in those games.
BIG MEN TO HIGHLIGHT UTE-RAM MATCHUP
Colorado State seven-footers Jason Smith and Stuart Creason will go up against Utah's 7-1 sophomore Luke Nevill in Wednsday's game. Smith leads the MWC in rebounding with 9.2 per game with Nevill in third in the conference with 8.0 per contest. Similarly, Nevill leads the league shooting .653 from the floor while CSU's Creason is second with a .641 percentage.
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
Colorado State has outblocked 17 of 21 opponents this season and has only been outblocked once (Colorado). Opponents have outblocked the Rams only one time in the last 33 games versus Mountain West Conference opponents (San Diego State, 2/4/06). CSU currently leads the MWC and ranks 18th nationally blocking 5.62 shots per game.
OWNING THE BOARDS
Colorado State has been dominant on the boards so far this season. The Rams have outrebounded opponents in 17 games this year while tying opponents on the glass twice. CSU is second in the Mountain West with a 5.5 rebounding advantage per game. Only twice (Kansas State, New Mexico) has Colorado State lost the rebounding edge this season.
AMONG THE BEST STARTS
Despite losses in their last three games, CSU's 14-7 record is tied for the ninth-best start, after 21 games, in school history. CSU's 18-3 mark in 1997-98 and 1948-49 marks the best-ever start while CSU has been 17-4 once, 16-5 three times and 15-6 twice. The Rams' record matches a 14-7 record that CSU has recorded seven other times in school history, most recently in 1995-96 season.
LONGEST RIVALRIES
CSU and Utah will meet for the 134th time on Wednesday making it the third-longest rivalry in CSU history. Only Wyoming (204) and Denver (155) have played CSU more times than Utah.
NOTING THE NEW MEXICO GAME
- CSU's 22 points in the first half marked the lowest first-half scoring output since scoring 21 vs. BYU on Feb. 14, 2005.
- New Mexico's 36-34 rebounding edge marks only the second time (Kansas State) that CSU has been outrebounded this season.
- New Mexico's 18 offensive rebounds ties for the most by a Ram opponent this season (Kansas State).
- CSU broke a string of 12-straight wins when committing fewer fouls than its opponent.
- CSU's 90 percent free throw percentage is a season high.
- CSU's four steals is a season low.
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 120-straight games.
LOOKING AHEAD
CSU returns home for two consecutive home games against San Diego State Saturday and TCU Tuesday. The SDSU game with be a 1 p.m. tipoff while the TCU game will begin at 7 p.m.
PLAYER TIDBITS & TRENDS
#3 Xavier Kilby
• Kilby is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game in his last five contests.
• Has scored in 10 consecutive games.
#4 Cory Lewis
• Lewis has had an assist in 50 of 51 games in his career including 45 multi-assist games.
• Lewis has recorded an assist in 49 straight games.
• Has recorded multiple assists in 25 consecutive games.
• Has led CSU in assists 40 times in his career.
• Has played 30 or more minutes in 35 of 51 career games at CSU including his last nine contests.
#12 Tim Denson
• Denson has recorded an assist in 20 of 21 games this year.
• Has had a rebound in 18 straight games after getting no rebounds in his first three contests.
#14 Jason Smith
• Scored in double figures in 59 of 78 career games.
• Has had four or more rebounds in 39 straight games.
• Has had six or more rebounds in 28 of his last 34 games.
• Has started in 52 consecutive games.
• Has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 16 of 21 games this year.
#30 Stuart Creason
• Creason has posted four or more rebounds in each game this season.
• Has multiple blocks in 16 of his last 18 games.
• Has 24 blocks in his last five games.
• Has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 18 of 21 games.
#33 Stephan Gilling
• Has hit a three-pointer in 43 of 51 games and has had multiple three-pointers in 31 games.
• Has had multiple three-pointers in his last 10 games.
SEEING DOUBLE
Jason Smith's 12-point, 10-rebound performance versus UNLV marked the 16th time in his career he has double-doubles in scoring and rebounding. The junior now ranks fifth 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
Jason Smith (2004-07) - 16
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 188-of-249 (.755) from the free throw line at home while hitting just 160-of-238 (.672) charity shots on the road. CSU also commits 19.0 turnovers per game away from home and only 16.3 per game in Moby Arena.
SHADOW APPEARS AT CSU
Nevil "The Shadow" Shed, one of the stars on Texas Western's 1966 NCAA championship team, spent more than two hours talking to CSU's men's basketball team Wednesday night. Shed was in town as part of the university's celebration of Black History Month, and the night before his campus events, had dinner with players and coaches, then spoke about life lessons learned through athletics, the movie, and his playing career. Shed was a starter for coach Don Haskins' `66 Miners which beat Kentucky in the NCAA championship and one of the central figures in the movie "Glory Road," released a year ago, which detailed the rise of the first national champion which featured five African-American starters. Shed has been an instructor at the University of Texas-San Antonio for nearly three decades and also works for the San Antonio Spurs in various roles. He formerly played in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, then was a college assistant basketball coach at his alma mater, along with stops at Wyoming then UTSA.
WINNING IS IN THE BALANCE
A balanced scoring attack has proven to be a key to the Rams' success this season. In CSU wins, top scorers Cory Lewis and Jason Smith combine for 34.6 percent of CSU's scoring while, in Ram losses, the duo accounts for 45.5 percent of Ram points.
RAMS ATOP LEAGUE RANKINGS
CSU's Jason Smith is the MWC leader in rebounding (9.2 rpg) while Stuart Creason is the league's best in blocking shots (2.67 bpg). In conference games, Smith and Creason rank first and third, respectively, in field goal percentage (.651 and .604). Meanwhile, Creason is the also the league's leader with 3.89 blocks per game in conference play. As a team, the Rams are leading the Mountain West in blocked shots (5.62 bpg) while leading the conference in rebouinding margin in conference games with an average +7.3 margin per game.
FOES UNDER 40
Colorado State is 7-2 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
Feb. 3 New Mexico 24-64 .375
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 5 20
Jason Smith 8 19
Stuart Creason 6 11
Freddy Robinson 6 11
Tim Denson 2 9
Stephan Gilling 0 6
Tyler Smith 1 5
Xavier Kilby 5 5
Jordan Surratt 0 1
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 10-2 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 1-1 this season when tied at the first media timeout.
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.
MWC TOURNAMENT TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Fans planning to follow Colorado State University's men's and women's basketball teams to the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas can purchase tickets to the event through the Rams' athletic ticket office. The tournament runs March 7-10 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. Reserved all-session tickets are available on line at CSURAMS.com. Tickets are $165 for all men's and women's games. Single-session men's tournament tickets are only available for purchase beginning Monday, Mar. 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center box office and are $37 for lower bowl seats, $27 for upper bowl seats. CSU students can purchase discounted tickets for the tournament only at the Thomas & Mack Center box office. Students must have a valid CSU ID. Tickets are $17 per session in the lower bowl, $12 for the upper bowl.
