Colorado State University Athletics
Game notes: Rams face tough road challenge at Fresno State
2/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| (--/RV) Colorado State at Fresno State | Game 27 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Feb. 16, 2015 | 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT | Fresno, Calif. | Save Mart Center (15,596) | |||||||||||||||||||
| COLORADO STATE RAMS | FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Record | 21-5, 8-5 MW | Record | 12-13, 7-5 MW | ||||||||||||||||
| Last Game | Feb.14 at San Diego State (L, 72-63) | Last Game | Feb. 14 vs. Boise State (W, 70-64) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rank (AP | Coaches) | -- | RV | Rank (AP | Coaches) | -- | -- | ||||||||||||||||
| Head Coach | Larry Eustachy (Long Beach State, 1979) | Head Coach | Rodney Terry (St. Edwards, 1990) | ||||||||||||||||
| > Overall Record | 465-288 (24th Season) | > Overall Record | 57-70 (Fourth Season) | ||||||||||||||||
| > Record at CSU | 63-30 (Third Season) | > Record at FS | 57-70 (Fourth Season) | ||||||||||||||||
| CSU STATISTICAL LEADERS | FS STATISTICAL LEADERS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Minutes/Game | J.J. Avila (33.4) | Minutes/Game | Marvelle Harris (37.1) | ||||||||||||||||
| Points/Game | J.J. Avila (16.0) | Points/Game | Marvelle Harris (17.4) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds/Game | J.J. Avila (7.6) | Rebounds/Game | Marvelle Harris (5.2) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three-Pointers | Daniel Bejarano (44) | Three-Pointers | Marvelle Harris (44) | ||||||||||||||||
| Assists | John Gillon (80) | Assists | Marvelle Harris (87) | ||||||||||||||||
| Blocks | Stanton Kidd (18) | Blocks | Karachi Edo (37) | ||||||||||||||||
| Steals | J.J. Avila (47) | Steals | Marvelle Harris (55) | ||||||||||||||||
| Field-Goal % | Tiel Daniels (.620) | Field-Goal % | Karachi Edo (.559) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three-Point % | Stanton Kidd (.440) | Three-Point % | Emmanuel Owootoah (.375) | ||||||||||||||||
| Free-Throw % | Joe De Ciman (.829) | Free-Throw % | Julien Lewis (.800) | ||||||||||||||||
| TEAM STATISTICAL COMPARISON | BROADCAST INFORMATION | ||||||||||||||||||
| Category | CSU | FS | Video: ESPN3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Scoring Offense | 72.8 | 65.3 | Play-by-Play: Peter Young | ||||||||||||||||
| Scoring Defense | 64.1 | 65.4 | Color Analyst: Blaine Fowler | ||||||||||||||||
| Field-Goal % | .447 | .424 | > DirecTV: -- | ||||||||||||||||
| Opponent Field-Goal % | .421 | .425 | > Dish Network: -- | ||||||||||||||||
| Three-Point % | .356 | .308 | > Comcast: -- | ||||||||||||||||
| Opponent Three-Point % | .358 | .339 | > Streaming: WatchESPN.com | ||||||||||||||||
| Free-Throw % | .668 | .701 | Audio: Colorado State Sports Network | ||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds/Game | 37.5 | 32.0 | Play-by-Play: Gary Miller | ||||||||||||||||
| Rebounding Margin | +5.8 | -3.0 | Color Analyst: Brian Roth | ||||||||||||||||
| Assist/Game | 14.9 | 10.3 | > Flagship: 105.5 FM ESPN | ||||||||||||||||
| Turnovers/Game | 10.7 | 11.4 | > Affiliates: 1580 AM KREL/1100 AM KNZZ | ||||||||||||||||
| Opponent Turnovers/Game | 12.3 | 13.9 | > Streaming: ESPNDenver.com | ||||||||||||||||
| Steals/Game | 5.5 | 8.2 | Live Stats: GameTracker | ||||||||||||||||
| Blocks/Game | 2.9 | 4.0 | > GoBulldogs.com | ||||||||||||||||
Game Notes 27 (PDF) 
Opening tip
• Colorado State (21-5, 8-5 MW), travels to Fresno, Calif., looking to complete a regular-season sweep of Fresno State (12-13, 7-5 MW) on Wednesday night.
• Tipoff between the Rams and Bulldogs is set for 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Radio Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller (play-by-play) and Brian Roth (analyst) on the call.
• The contest will also be streamed on ESPN3 with Peter Young (play-by-play) and Blaine Fowler (analyst) calling the action courtside.
• GameTracker live stats are available at GoBulldogs.com
Rams quick hits
• The 2014-15 season marks the 112th in the history of the Colorado State men's basketball program. The Rams are 1,192-1,200 (.498) in 2,392 games.
• CSU 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 including 66 percent of its scoring and 70 percent of its rebounding.
• 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.
• CSU's 2014-15 schedule is rated among the toughest in the Mountain West. Based on last season's final RPI rankings for Division I opponents.
• Through games played Feb. 15, the Rams are 26th in the NCAA RPI and second among MW members, behind league-leading San Diego State (20th).
• The Rams' 21-5 record is the second-best through 26 games in program history. CSU's best 27-game mark stands at 22-5.
• CSU's 14 consecutive wins to open the 2014-15 season, ranked as the longest win streak in program history, surpassing an 11-game stretch during the 1988-89 season.
• Prior to CSU's first loss of the year, Jan. 3 at New Mexico, the Rams were one of four remaining unbeatens nationally with Kentucky, Duke and Virginia.
• CSU features a balanced scoring attack, with the Rams posting 13 games this season with at least four players in double-figures scoring, including six games with five players notching 10+ points.
• Entering Wednesday, there are 12 players in the Mountain West ranked in the top-20 in the league in both scoring and rebounding. CSU boasts two such players in senior forwards J.J. Avila and Stanton Kidd.
• At 21-5, Colorado State ranks in the tied for 17th nationally with a win percentage of 80.8 percent.
About Fresno State
• Fresno State, picked seventh in the MW preseason poll, enters Wednesday's matchup tied for fifth (with Utah State) in the standings, a half game behind CSU and 2.5 games behind league-leading San Diego State, with a 7-5 mark in conference play.
• The Bulldogs are 12-13 overall, having posted a 9-2 mark at home, 3-8 on the road, and 0-3 on a neutral court.
• Fresno State has bounced back after a 1-6 start in November, improving to 4-3 in December, 5-3 in January and 2-1 in February.
• Fresno State has won three straight games at home since a 70-65 (3OT) loss to then-No. 25 Wyoming on Jan. 17. The Bulldogs have defeated Nevada (66-62), San Jose State (81-63) and Boise State (70-64) during their current streak.
• The Bulldogs entered the season returning return five lettermen, including four starters, from the team that posted a 21-18 record last year, and finished tied for fifth in the Mountain West with a 9-9 record.
• Fresno State's roster features four double-digit scorers, led by junior guard Marvelle Harris who paces the team in both scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg).
• Sophomore G/F Paul Watson ranks second in scoring (11.4 ppg) and third in rebounding (4.4 rpg). Junior G Julien Lewis, a transfer from Texas, averages 11.0 points, while junior G Cezar Guerrero is averaging 10.5 points since returning from an academic suspension eight games ago.
• As a team, the Bulldogs rank fifth in the Mountain West with a scoring average of 65.3 points per game (222nd nationally) while ranking ninth in scoring defense at 65.4 points allowed per game (149th nationally).
Series vs. Fresno State
• Wednesday's matchup between CSU and Fresno State marks the 27th in the series.
• Colorado State is 14-12 in the all-time series (12-2 home, 1-9 away, 1-1 neutral).
• The first matchup in the series - an 84-66 CSU home win - was played on Dec. 29, 1964.
• Since Fresno State joined the Mountain West prior to 2012-13, the Rams are 5-1 overall against the Bulldogs, with an 1-1 mark at the Save Mart Center.
• Colorado State captured an 80-57 home win over Fresno State on Jan. 31.
• The Rams' lost the most recent matchup in Fresno, falling 75-66 last year at Save Mart Center to split the season series, after sweeping the regular-season series and capturing an MW tourney win in 2012-13.
Eustachy vs. Fresno State
• Rams coach Larry Eustachy is 6-1 against Fresno State in his 24-year career as a Division I head coach.
• Eustachy first faced the Bulldogs during his tenure at Iowa State, capturing a 79-70 neutral-site victory at the Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 28, 1998.
• Since taking over the CSU program, Eustachy is 5-1 against the Bulldogs, leading the Rams to three wins in his first season - including a win in the MW tourney - splitting last year, and winning the initial matchup this season.
• Eustachy is 1-1 all-time in road games vs. Fresno State.
20-win seasons
• Colorado State's 83-82 win over UNLV on Feb. 7 gave the Rams 20 wins for the 2014-15 season.
• It marks the CSU program's ninth 20-win season, and the second in three years under head coach Larry Eustachy.
• Eustachy joins Boyd Grant and Stew Morrill as the only coaches in CSU's history with multiple 20-win campaigns.
• In the Rams' eight previous 20-win campaigns, the squad has advanced to the NCAA tournament six times, added one NIT berth, and missed the postseason one time.
• The Rams have never missed an NCAA Tournament berth in a year in which the team has recorded at least 21 victories.
A win over San Diego State will...
• Give head coach Larry Eustachy his 64th win in his third season at CSU and the 466th of his 24-year career.
• Move the Rams to 22-5, matching the best record in program history through 27 games with the 1953-54 team.
• Mark CSU's fifth 22-win campaign in school history, all of which have resulted in an NCAA tournament berth.
• Improve CSU's record against Fresno State to 15-12 overall, and give the Rams a 6-1 mark against the Bulldogs since they joined the MW prior to the 2012-13 season.
• Give head coach Larry Eustachy a 4-4 record against San Diego State in his 24-year career.
• Make CSU the third team to beat Fresno State at home this season, joining Cal (64-57) and then-No. 25 Wyoming (70-65, 3OT).
• Push the Rams to 11-9 under Eustachy in February games.
• Pull the Rams record to 21-22 in games played away from Moby Arena (road/neutral) under Larry Eustachy in three years overall, and give the Rams a 9-4 mark away from home this season.
Avila stands alone
• Entering Wednesday's game at Fresno State, CSU senior forward J.J. Avila is the only player in the Mountain West to rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, assists per game and steals per game.
• Avila ranks fifth in the league in scoring (16.0 ppg), third in rebounding (7.6 rpg), sixth in field-goal percentage (.540), seventh in assists (3.0) and second in steals (1.9 spg).
Top win percentages nationally
• At 21-5 (.808), entering Wednesday's game at Fresno State, the Rams rank tied for 17th nationally in win percentage.
Road success
• Through the loss at San Diego State (Feb. 14), CSU is 8-4 away from Moby Arena this season (road/neutral games).
• The Rams have finished .500 or better away from Moby Arena 16 times in program history.
• The Rams' best single-season winning percentage in road/neutral games is .667 (10-5 in 1962-63).
• CSU's single-season record for wins away from home sits at 12, set during the 1988-89 season.
Rams' best start
• Colorado State's 14 wins to open a season without a loss established a new program record for best start.
• The Rams had previously started 6-0 on three occasions, first setting the mark in 1970-71 and matching it in 2005-06 and 2012-13, Larry Eustachy's first at the helm of the Rams' program.
• The Rams' current 21-5 mark is the second best in program history through 26 games. CSU had previously started 22-4 in 1953-54.
• Entering Wednesday's game at Fresno State, CSU's best 27-game mark stands at 22-5 in 1953-54.
Looking ahead
• Colorado State (21-5, 8-5 MW), returns home to Fort Collins, looking for to complete a regular-season sweep of in-state rival Air Force (12-13, 5-9 MW) on Saturday afternoon.
• Tipoff between the Rams and Falcons is set for 4 p.m. MT at Moby Arena.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Radio Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller (play-by-play) and Brian Roth (analyst) on the call.
• The contest will also be televised live on ROOT Sports with Drew Goodman (play-by-play), Marty Fletcher (analyst) and Jenny Cavnar (sideline) calling the action courtside.
• GameTracker live stats are available at CSURams.com.
