Colorado State University Athletics
Game Notes: Rams open 2008 Mountain West Season
1/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GAME NO. 14 COLORADO STATE (6-7/0-0) vs. UNLV (11-3/0-0) Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena| 3 p.m. MT
THE MATCHUP Colorado State opens the 2008 Mountain West Conference season at home with UNLV, the team that knocked the Rams out of the MWC Tournament, ending their 2007 season.
Look at the Rams The Rams finished 2007 on a high note, defeating Western State after a disappointing December. CSU is led in scoring by Marcus Walker who is averaging 15.3 points per game and has made a team-high 21 three-pointers this season. Right behind Walker is Willis Gardner averaging 13.1 points per game, sinking 18 shots from beyond the arc. Freshman Andre McFarland has the best three-point percentage on the team at 63.2 percent including 8-of-10 in the last two games. Stuart Creason averages 12.2 points per game and shoots a team-best 57.6 percent.
About UNLV The Rebels are off to an 11-3 start including winning the last four games at home and the Duel in the Desert championship. Most recently UNLV defeated Minnesota, who the Rams tangled with on Dec. 8, 81-64. Wink Adams, a preseason MWC all-conference selection, averages 14.6 points on 41.3 percent shooting. Joe Darger (12.1) and Curtis Terry (10.7) also average in double figures for UNLV. On the boards Darger leads the team averaging 5.7 per game and Rene Rougeau shoots a team-best 53.6 percent from the field.
Series with UNLV The Rams trail UNLV 26-7 in the series and have not won since taking an 89-83 overtime victory at home in 2004. The Rams are on a nine-game losing streak, including three meetings last season.
Local Connections Colorado State freshman Andre McFarland is from Las Vegas, where his family continues to reside.
Mountain West Prediction In the preseason, the Rams were picked by the league's coaches and media to finish ninth in the Mountain West.
Colorado State vs. Western State Colorado State snapped a four-game losing streak with a team effort behind outstanding play by the freshmen as the Rams took an 87-47 victory over Western State Dec. 29 in front of 2,647 fans. Marcus Walker led the way with 16 points for CSU. Jesse Woodard, Flynn Clayman and Josh Simmons, all true freshmen, stepped up for the Rams (6-7). Woodard finished with a career-high 14 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Clayman had a career-best eight points and also notched a career-high nine rebounds. Simmons finished with 10 points, just three shy of a career high, and five assists. CSU set a season high with 53 team rebounds and shot a deadly 48.4 percent from the field. The Rams were precision from beyond the arc, shooting 60 percent, including eight shots in the second half. Ronnie Aguilar had a career-high rebounding night with 12 off the glass. The Rams shot 72.7 percent from the field in the second half and outscored the Mountaineers by 30 points.
YOUTHFUL OFFENSE This season the Rams field their youngest squad in the last 30 years and the freshmen have really come through. The five CSU freshmen are averaging a combined 20.4 points per game with Josh Simmons and Andre McFarland assuming starting roles.
DOUBLE DIGITS Marcus Walker, Stuart Creason and Willis Gardner each average double figures for the season in scoring. The Rams' leading scorer has come from the trio in every game this season. Together they account for 61.8 percent of CSU's total points.
The 700 club Willis Gardner, Marcus Walker, Stuart Creason and Andre McFarland each are shooting at least .700 from the free-throw line this season. Gardner leads the way shooting .895 (34-38) and hit 17 consecutive shots before his misses at North Dakota State, Dec. 15.
Gardnering some Attention Willis Gardner leads the team in free-throw percentage, dishes out a team-high 3.5 assists per game, ranks third on the team with 4.2 rebounds a game and leads the team averaging 33.5 minutes per game.
Career night Andre McFarland and Jesse Woodard finished their first semester in college with a huge night on the court at Nevada, Dec. 19. McFarland hit four shots from beyond the arc on his way to a career-high 17 points. Woodard, who is primarily a defensive spark for the Rams, showed his stuff with nine points on the same night.
POINTS ON THE BOARD Marcus Walker had CSU's best scoring outing in more than 30 years as he scored 43 points against Tennessee State Nov. 17 at the BP Top of the World Classic. Walker shot the lights out, hitting on 15-of-18 from the field, 83.3 percent.
IRON MAN GARDNER Gardner became the first player since Micheal Morris on Nov. 19, 2005, to play the full minutes in a game on Nov. 9 at Montana. He is the first Ram in two decades to play all 40 minutes in his Colorado State debut. He also played 40 minutes against North Dakota State.
ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD Colorado State holds an all-time record of 428-170 (.716) in Moby Arena.
Championship Colorado State won its first Top of the World Classic championship in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 18. Stuart Creason was named the tournament MVP and Marcus Walker, who set the tournament record for most points in a game with 43 against TSU, joined him on the squad.
