Colorado State University Athletics
GAME NOTES: Rams host New Mexico in regular-season finale
3/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GAME NO. 30
COLORADO STATE (6-23/0-15) at
New Mexico (23-7/10-5)
Saturday, March 8, 2008 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena | 3:30 p.m. MT
THE MATCHUP
Colorado State finishes the 2007-08 regular season by hosting New Mexico on Senior Night. CSU will say farewell to Stuart Creason, in his final game in Moby Arena.
LOOK AT THE RAMS
CSU looks to snap a 16-game losing streak. The Rams set their longest single-season streak with the loss to Utah on Tuesday.
BY THE NUMBERS...
4...Number of double-doubles for CSU this season. Stuart Creason (2), Ronnie Aguilar and Marcus Walker have each doubled up in points and rebounds.
10...Number of games with at least 20 points for the Mountain West scoring leader Marcus Walker this season.
18.9...MWC-leading scoring average for Marcus Walker in conference action this season.
Possible Starters:
Colorado State Rams:
No. Pos. Name Pt. Reb.
13 F Andre McFarland 7.9 4.3
12 G Adam Nigon 2.8 2.8
04 G Marcus Walker 17.6 3.0
30 C Stuart Creason 12.4 5.7
21 G Josh Simmons 5.0 2.8
New Mexico Lobos:
No. Pos. Name Pt. Reb.
30 F Roman Martinez 6.8 3.9
53 F Daniel Faris 9.2 4.5
02 G Jonathan Willis 3.4 1.0
05 G Dairese Gary 7.8 2.2
15 G J.R. Giddens 15.7 8.6
ABOUT NEW MEXICO
The Lobos are coming off a 14-point victory (59-45) on Senior Night against UNLV. They have won seven of their last eight with their only loss coming in a 80-79 overtime loss to BYU on Feb. 26. UNM is led in scoring by J.R. Giddens, who averages 15.7 points per game as well as 8.6 rebounds a game. Chad Toppert is the only other Lobo in double figures with 10.5 points per game.
SERIES WITH UNM
The Rams-Lobos series dates back to CSU's days in the WAC with the Rams trailing 61-41. CSU is 1-3 vs. UNM at Moby Arena in the last four years.
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT (2003-04)
CSU's Matt Nelson and Freddy Robinson combined for 44 of the Rams' 76 points in a 2004 contest vs. the Lobos. UNM's Danny Granger (19 points), David Chiotti (15 points) and Lenny Miles (10 points) also totaled 44 points. Nelson and Robinson shot 13-of-22 (59 percent) combined, as the Rams went on to shoot 47 percent as a team. CSU also shot 39 free throws, making 30 of them in the 76-66 victory of New Mexico, the Rams' last win in Fort Collins.
RAM RECORDS VS. THE LOBOS (1994)
Ryan Yoder had one of his 11-assist games (third all-time) vs. New Mexico in 1994.
Aguilar INJURY
Center Ronnie Aguilar underwent an MRI on Feb. 17 to determine the severity of his foot injury; his return is still undetermined.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Marcus Walker leads the league in scoring but isn't afraid to share the ball as he is in the Top 20 in the league in assists per game (2.6). Also spreading things around is Willis Gardner (2.8). The pair combine to average 5.4 assists per game.
McFARLAND IMPACT
Andre McFarland, a true freshman, is averaging 7.9 points per game and despite playing the forward position is the Rams' top three-point shooter. He is shooting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. McFarland is second in the league in freshman scoring and third among freshman rebounders.
RETURN OF THE BIG MAN
Stuart Creason sat out nine games with a foot injury but has returned to the Rams' lineup with a mission. Creason is averaging 12.4 points a game since his return. He also has 26 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in the last six games.
WALK IN THE PARK
While Marcus Walker may be new to CSU after stepping back into his true position, shooting guard, this season he has exploded offensively for the Rams. He averages 17.6 points per game, first in the Mountain West. When he isn't making baskets, Walker is setting up teammates. He currently averages 2.6 assists per game and has a career-high seven in two games.
CLOSING IN...
Marcus Walker is within the top 10 in several of CSU's stat categories in his first year of play, including field goals made in a season (No. 4) and field goals attempted in a season (No. 4). Walker (510 points this season) is also nearing the top 10 in scoring in a season. He only needs 23 more points to tie Cedric Goodwyn (533 points in 2000) for the No. 10 spot.
ACES
Willis Gardner and Marcus Walker are a pair of aces when it comes to the free-throw line as each shoots .750 or better. Gardner is hitting . 912 (52-57) while Walker is 68-86 for .791.
NOTING THE UTAH GAME
• With the Rams' 32 three-point attempts in the game, the 2007-08 CSU squad moved into fourth place in school history with 519 total attempts from three-point range this season.
• The loss makes the 20-game road losing streak for the Rams the fifth longest in the nation to date.
• CSU's 16-game overall losing streak is the longest in program history, eclipsing the streak that ran 15 games from 1918-20.
• CSU made four consecutive three-point buckets to end the first half. CSU made 12 three-pointers in the game.
• Marcus Walker now ranks fourth in single-season field-goal attempts with 432. He had his 25th game in double figures with 10 points.
• Andre McFarland was two points short a career high with 15 in the game, but set a MWC career high.
• Willis Gardner had his second-consecutive game in double figures with 11 points. The total is his Mountain West Conference road game high.
RAINING THREES
The Rams went 16:05 without a two-point basket in the first half against Air Force (Feb. 23), scoring all 24 points on three-pointers. The stretch was the longest CSU has gone in a half without a two-point basket since the inception of the three-point line in 1986-87. Creason had the layup and converted on the free-throw after a foul for a three-point play to break the streak. To that point CSU was 8-of-9 from beyond the arc.
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.
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.
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.
WINTER CHILL
CSU was winless in the first month of 2008, going 0-7 during January. The freeze has continued as the Rams lost every game in February.
MOUNTAIN WEST ACTION
Colorado State has just one player averaging double figures in MWC action this season. Marcus Walker, who leads the league in scoring (conf. - 18.9, overall - 17.6) prior to the game vs. BYU was the only Ram to score in double-digits in every MWC game this season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Rams head out to Las Vegas, Nev., on Tuesday for the MWC tournament.
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.
