Colorado State University Athletics
Game notes: Rams tip off season Saturday night vs. Grizzlies
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2014
Game Notes 1 (PDF)
Opening tip
• Colorado State officially opens the 2014-15 season, its third under head coach Larry Eustachy, on Saturday, Nov. 15, playing host to traditional Big Sky power Montana.
• The tilt between the Rams and the Grizzlies is set for an 8 p.m. MT tipoff at Moby Arena.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Radio Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller and Brian Roth.
• ROOT Sports will broadcast the game, with Tim Neverett (play-by-play) and Joe Cravens (analyst) calling the action. Fans outside of the ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and Northwest regions can also watch the game streaming online via the MW Network at CSURams.com/videos and TheMW.com.
• GameTracker live statistics are available at CSURams.com.
• The matchup will mark the 34th in the series between Colorado State and Montana, and the fifth meeting since 2007-08. CSU leads the series 20-13.
Rams quick hits
• The 2014-15 season marks the 112th in the history of the Colorado State men's basketball program. The Rams are 1,171-1,195 (.495) in 2,366 games all-time.
• Colorado State enters the 2014-15 men's basketball season under the direction of coaching veteran Larry Eustachy who begins his third season at the helm of the Rams' program and his 24th as a Division I head coach.
• Colorado State basketball is looking for its fifth postseason appearance in six years, and its third NCAA Tournament berth in four seasons, in 2014-15.
• Colorado State returns a majority of its production from a season ago, a stark contrast to the Rams' transition from 2012-13 to 2013-14 after graduating five senior starters.
• Overall, the Rams' roster breaks down to six returning players, including starters Daniel Bejarano, J.J. Avila and Joe De Ciman, plus nine newcomers. However, three of the nine newcomers - senior Stanton Kidd, junior Tiel Daniels and sophomore John Gillon - practiced with the squad last season while redshirting as transfers from NCAA Division I programs.
• Colorado State's 2014-15 schedule is rated among the toughest in the Mountain West. Based on last season's final RPI rankings for known Division I opponents, the Rams' schedule ranks first with an average of 127.6, ahead of UNLV (134.3), Boise State (140.1), Fresno State (140.7) and Wyoming (145.3).
About Montana
• Montana enters the 2014-15 season coming off of 17-13 (12-8 Big Sky) record in 2013-14, and will officially open their first season under the direction of new head coach Travis DeCuire on Saturday vs. Colorado State.
• DeCuire, a former standout point guard for the Grizzlies, is the 27th head coach in UM history, taking over for Wayne Tinkle who left Missoula after eight seasons to coach Oregon State.
• The Grizzlies finished tied for second in the Big Sky Conference last season, and are predicted to finish fifth in the Big Sky preseason media poll in 2014-15.
• The Grizzlies posted a 2-0 mark in exhibition play leading up to Saturday's opener, grabbing home wins over Whitworth (94-79) and Saint Martin's (104-70) on Nov. 3 and Nov. 8, respectively.
• The Grizzlies return one full-time starter from the 2013-14 season - senior guard Jordan Gregory - and two part-time starters in senior forward Mike Weisner and sophomore guard Mario Dunn.
• Gregory ranks as the team's leading returner in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (3.1 rpg), three-pointers made (62), and assists (59).
• Dunn ranks as the team's top returner in blocks (12) and steals (27), while Weisner is the returning leader in both free-throw percentage (.947) an three-point percentage (.466).
• The Griz also return four other letterman, all of whom played in at least 16 games in 2013-14. Sophomore guard Brandon Gfeller earned two starts as a freshman last season and saw action in 27 games, while senior center Chris Kemp leads that group having played in 29 games a season ago, averaging 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds.
Series vs. Montana
• Saturday's matchup between Colorado State and Montana marks the 34th meeting all-time between the programs.
• Colorado State is 20-13 all-time against the Grizzlies.
• The Rams have won four straight in the series dating back to a road loss to open the 2007-08 season.
• The first matchup between the programs came Dec. 29, 1950, a 65-54 CSU victory in Missoula.
• From 1952-1962, the programs played twice each year as rivals in the Mountain States Conference.
• Since the 2007-08 season, CSU and Montana have played five times in eight seasons, including season openers in 2007-08 at Montana, and in Moby Arena in 2008-09, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
• The 2012-13 season-opening win over Montana (72-65) at Moby Arena marked head coach Larry Eustachy's first official victory at the helm of the Rams' program.
A win over Montana will...
• Give third-year head coach Larry Eustachy his 43rd win at Colorado State and the 445th of his career.
• Mark the seventh straight year the Rams have won their season opener. The last time CSU lost its season-opening game was on the road against Montana in 2007-08 (75-39).
• Move the Rams to 86-25 all-time in regular-season home openers, and push the Rams' winning streak in such contests to 34 games, dating back to a 79-64 setback vs. Oklahoma State on Dec. 8, 1980.
• Will extend CSU's home court win streak to three games. The Rams are 30-7 at Moby Arena under head coach Larry Eustachy.
• Give the Rams a 21-13 all-time advantage over the Grizzlies.
• Even Eustachy's record against Montana at 5-5, including a 2-0 mark vs. the Griz as the Rams' head coach.
• Push the Rams to 137-73 all-time in matchups against the current membership of the Big Sky Conference.
Eustachy vs. Montana
• CSU Head coach Larry Eustachy is 4-5 in his 24-year career against Montana.
• Eustachy faced the Grizzlies eight times as the head coach at Idaho from 1990-91 to 1992-93, going 3-5 in those matchups.
• As head coach of the Rams, Eustachy is 1-0 against the Griz. He led the Rams to a 72-65 in the 2012-13 season opener, capturing his first CSU victory, and the first in a school-record 26-win campaign that saw the Rams advance to the third round of the 2013 NCAA tournament.
Rams vs. the Big Sky
• All-time, Colorado State is 136-73 against current members of the Big Sky and 94-23 against Big Sky opponents at Moby Arena.
• Colorado State has played against every member of the Big Sky at least once, with the exception of Southern Utah.
• The Rams have won nine consecutive games against Big Sky opponents, with their last loss coming in a 70-63 game at Northern Colorado on Dec. 1, 2009.
Rams in home openers
• Colorado State is 85-25 (.772) all-time in regular-season home openers dating back to the program's first game, a 64-15 victory over Northern Colorado, in 1901-02.
• Colorado State enters Saturday's contest vs. Montana riding a 33-game winning streak in home openers.
• The Rams' last home-opening loss was a 79-64 setback vs. Oklahoma State on Dec. 8, 1980. That game marked the home coaching debut of Tony McAndrews, and was the first home game in Fort Collins after the retirement of legendary head coach Jim "J.J." Williams at the end of the 1979-80 season.
Eustachy in season openers
• CSU head coach Larry Eustachy opens his 24th season as a head coach at the DI level on Saturday.
• In his previous 23 season openers, Eustachy is an impressive 21-2.
• Eustachy has led his teams to nine consecutive regular-season openers, dating back to a 70-68 loss to Georgia State in his first game as the head coach at Southern Miss in 2004.
Looking ahead
• Colorado State returns to the court the 2014-15 season on Friday, Nov. 21, playing host to Georgia State, the defending Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion.
• The tilt between the Rams and the Panthers is set for a 7 p.m. MT tipoff at Moby Arena.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Radio Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller and Brian Roth.
• Free streaming video of the matchup between the Rams and the Panthers is available via the Mountain West Network at CSURams.com/videos and TheMW.com.
• GameTracker live statistics are also available at CSURams.com.
• The matchup will mark the first in the series between Colorado State and Georgia State.
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Game Notes 1 (PDF)
Opening tip
• Colorado State officially opens the 2014-15 season, its third under head coach Larry Eustachy, on Saturday, Nov. 15, playing host to traditional Big Sky power Montana.
• The tilt between the Rams and the Grizzlies is set for an 8 p.m. MT tipoff at Moby Arena.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Radio Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller and Brian Roth.
• ROOT Sports will broadcast the game, with Tim Neverett (play-by-play) and Joe Cravens (analyst) calling the action. Fans outside of the ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and Northwest regions can also watch the game streaming online via the MW Network at CSURams.com/videos and TheMW.com.
• GameTracker live statistics are available at CSURams.com.
• The matchup will mark the 34th in the series between Colorado State and Montana, and the fifth meeting since 2007-08. CSU leads the series 20-13.
Rams quick hits
• The 2014-15 season marks the 112th in the history of the Colorado State men's basketball program. The Rams are 1,171-1,195 (.495) in 2,366 games all-time.
• Colorado State enters the 2014-15 men's basketball season under the direction of coaching veteran Larry Eustachy who begins his third season at the helm of the Rams' program and his 24th as a Division I head coach.
• Colorado State basketball is looking for its fifth postseason appearance in six years, and its third NCAA Tournament berth in four seasons, in 2014-15.
• Colorado State returns a majority of its production from a season ago, a stark contrast to the Rams' transition from 2012-13 to 2013-14 after graduating five senior starters.
• Overall, the Rams' roster breaks down to six returning players, including starters Daniel Bejarano, J.J. Avila and Joe De Ciman, plus nine newcomers. However, three of the nine newcomers - senior Stanton Kidd, junior Tiel Daniels and sophomore John Gillon - practiced with the squad last season while redshirting as transfers from NCAA Division I programs.
• Colorado State's 2014-15 schedule is rated among the toughest in the Mountain West. Based on last season's final RPI rankings for known Division I opponents, the Rams' schedule ranks first with an average of 127.6, ahead of UNLV (134.3), Boise State (140.1), Fresno State (140.7) and Wyoming (145.3).
About Montana
• Montana enters the 2014-15 season coming off of 17-13 (12-8 Big Sky) record in 2013-14, and will officially open their first season under the direction of new head coach Travis DeCuire on Saturday vs. Colorado State.
• DeCuire, a former standout point guard for the Grizzlies, is the 27th head coach in UM history, taking over for Wayne Tinkle who left Missoula after eight seasons to coach Oregon State.
• The Grizzlies finished tied for second in the Big Sky Conference last season, and are predicted to finish fifth in the Big Sky preseason media poll in 2014-15.
• The Grizzlies posted a 2-0 mark in exhibition play leading up to Saturday's opener, grabbing home wins over Whitworth (94-79) and Saint Martin's (104-70) on Nov. 3 and Nov. 8, respectively.
• The Grizzlies return one full-time starter from the 2013-14 season - senior guard Jordan Gregory - and two part-time starters in senior forward Mike Weisner and sophomore guard Mario Dunn.
• Gregory ranks as the team's leading returner in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (3.1 rpg), three-pointers made (62), and assists (59).
• Dunn ranks as the team's top returner in blocks (12) and steals (27), while Weisner is the returning leader in both free-throw percentage (.947) an three-point percentage (.466).
• The Griz also return four other letterman, all of whom played in at least 16 games in 2013-14. Sophomore guard Brandon Gfeller earned two starts as a freshman last season and saw action in 27 games, while senior center Chris Kemp leads that group having played in 29 games a season ago, averaging 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds.
Series vs. Montana
• Saturday's matchup between Colorado State and Montana marks the 34th meeting all-time between the programs.
• Colorado State is 20-13 all-time against the Grizzlies.
• The Rams have won four straight in the series dating back to a road loss to open the 2007-08 season.
• The first matchup between the programs came Dec. 29, 1950, a 65-54 CSU victory in Missoula.
• From 1952-1962, the programs played twice each year as rivals in the Mountain States Conference.
• Since the 2007-08 season, CSU and Montana have played five times in eight seasons, including season openers in 2007-08 at Montana, and in Moby Arena in 2008-09, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
• The 2012-13 season-opening win over Montana (72-65) at Moby Arena marked head coach Larry Eustachy's first official victory at the helm of the Rams' program.
A win over Montana will...
• Give third-year head coach Larry Eustachy his 43rd win at Colorado State and the 445th of his career.
• Mark the seventh straight year the Rams have won their season opener. The last time CSU lost its season-opening game was on the road against Montana in 2007-08 (75-39).
• Move the Rams to 86-25 all-time in regular-season home openers, and push the Rams' winning streak in such contests to 34 games, dating back to a 79-64 setback vs. Oklahoma State on Dec. 8, 1980.
• Will extend CSU's home court win streak to three games. The Rams are 30-7 at Moby Arena under head coach Larry Eustachy.
• Give the Rams a 21-13 all-time advantage over the Grizzlies.
• Even Eustachy's record against Montana at 5-5, including a 2-0 mark vs. the Griz as the Rams' head coach.
• Push the Rams to 137-73 all-time in matchups against the current membership of the Big Sky Conference.
Eustachy vs. Montana
• CSU Head coach Larry Eustachy is 4-5 in his 24-year career against Montana.
• Eustachy faced the Grizzlies eight times as the head coach at Idaho from 1990-91 to 1992-93, going 3-5 in those matchups.
• As head coach of the Rams, Eustachy is 1-0 against the Griz. He led the Rams to a 72-65 in the 2012-13 season opener, capturing his first CSU victory, and the first in a school-record 26-win campaign that saw the Rams advance to the third round of the 2013 NCAA tournament.
Rams vs. the Big Sky
• All-time, Colorado State is 136-73 against current members of the Big Sky and 94-23 against Big Sky opponents at Moby Arena.
• Colorado State has played against every member of the Big Sky at least once, with the exception of Southern Utah.
• The Rams have won nine consecutive games against Big Sky opponents, with their last loss coming in a 70-63 game at Northern Colorado on Dec. 1, 2009.
Rams in home openers
• Colorado State is 85-25 (.772) all-time in regular-season home openers dating back to the program's first game, a 64-15 victory over Northern Colorado, in 1901-02.
• Colorado State enters Saturday's contest vs. Montana riding a 33-game winning streak in home openers.
• The Rams' last home-opening loss was a 79-64 setback vs. Oklahoma State on Dec. 8, 1980. That game marked the home coaching debut of Tony McAndrews, and was the first home game in Fort Collins after the retirement of legendary head coach Jim "J.J." Williams at the end of the 1979-80 season.
Eustachy in season openers
• CSU head coach Larry Eustachy opens his 24th season as a head coach at the DI level on Saturday.
• In his previous 23 season openers, Eustachy is an impressive 21-2.
• Eustachy has led his teams to nine consecutive regular-season openers, dating back to a 70-68 loss to Georgia State in his first game as the head coach at Southern Miss in 2004.
Looking ahead
• Colorado State returns to the court the 2014-15 season on Friday, Nov. 21, playing host to Georgia State, the defending Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion.
• The tilt between the Rams and the Panthers is set for a 7 p.m. MT tipoff at Moby Arena.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Radio Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller and Brian Roth.
• Free streaming video of the matchup between the Rams and the Panthers is available via the Mountain West Network at CSURams.com/videos and TheMW.com.
• GameTracker live statistics are also available at CSURams.com.
• The matchup will mark the first in the series between Colorado State and Georgia State.
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