Rams To Open Mountain West Road Action at Boise State Saturday Night

2019-20 Colorado State Men's Basketball
Game #11 - Colorado State (6-4, 0-1 MW) vs. Boise State (4-3, 0-1 MW)
Dec. 7, 2019 • 7 p.m. MT • ExtraMile Arena (12,380) - Boise, Idaho

Video: MW Network
Radio: Colorado State Sports Network (Play-by-Play: Brian Roth / Color Analyst: Adam Nigon)
Flagship: KARS 102.9 FM (Fort Collins) / Affiliates: KDCO 104.7 FM (Denver), KMTS 99.1 FM (Glenwood Springs), KMTS 96.7 FM (West Glenwood Springs), KRDO 105.5 FM (Colorado Springs), KKVT 100.7 FM (Grand Junction), KMTS/KKVT 99.5/100.3 FM (Rifle), KKVT 97.1 FM (Delta), KKVT 98.1 FM (Montrose), KRFD 100.1 FM (Sterling), KNEC 100.9 FM (Yuma), KNAB 1140 AM (Burlington), KLMR 920 AM (Lamar) / TuneIn App
Live Stats: Colorado State
Complete Game Notes: Colorado State / Boise State

Opening Tip
• The Rams head on the road for their second game in this early Mountain West Conference action, playing at Boise State on Sat., Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. This will be the fourth time in the last five years that CSU's opening conference road game is in Boise.
• The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network along with the audio on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon on the call.
• CSU Sports Network broadcasts can be also accessed on mobile devices through the TuneIn app (free on all Apple, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Amazon Kindle devices) – once downloaded, search "Colorado St. Rams Sports Network" in the app for the games and coaches' show broadcasts.
• The game will also have live stats on CSURams.com

The Leaders
• Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved (Minnesota, '97) is in his second season at CSU as head coach with an 18-24 mark and has a 97-111 overall record is in his seventh season as a head coach.
• Boise State Head Coach Leon Rice (Washington State, '86) is in his 10th season at Boise State and as a head coach overall with a 182-119 record.

A Quick Look at Boise State
• Returning four starters and six letterwinners from last season's 13-20 squad that tied for seventh in the Mountain West with an 7-11 mark, the Broncos were picked to finish fifth in the league's preseason poll.
• Junior guard Derrick Alston was a preseason All-MW pick this year and honorable mention selection last season and is performing like it, leading the Broncos at 21.6 points per game. 2019 Third-Team All-MW honoree senior guard Justinian Jessup leads the team in minutes, three-pointers, blocks, steals and free-throw percentage.

History Versus Boise State
• The two teams have been in a battle in recent years, with Boise State holding a slight 13-11 lead in games played, with the Broncos up 10-5 in MW play and winning eight of 10 in Boise. BSU has won six of the last seven meetings dating back to the 2016-17 season.
• Last year, the Broncos took two of three, with the road team winning in the regular season and Boise State taking the win in the MW Tournament First Round. (box scores on pages 19-21).
• CSU leader Niko Medved has an 1-2 record against Boise State as a head coach and 7-14 against Mountain West teams overall in his six-plus years.

BOISE STATE - 11-13
Conference: 5-10
Home: 8-4 / Away: 2-8 / Neutral: 1-1
(complete list on page 14)

Mountain West Openers
• Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference in 1999-2000, the CSU men's basketball team is just 5-16 in Mountain West openers regardless of whether the opener is at home or on the road (4-8 at home, 1-8 on the road).

Improvement Always
• Head coach Niko Medved has had extensive success wherever he has coached, both as a head and an assistant.
• As an assistant coach, he helped turn around the CSU program to improving its win totals from his first year in each successive year, ending in four straight postseason appearances.
• He continued that trend at Furman and Drake, improving both programs' win totals from the previous year in each of his five seasons as a head coach, finishing his last three years in postseason play.
• In his first year at CSU in 2018-19, he continued that trend, surpassing the previous season's win totals at CSU, both overall and in Mountain West play.
• This season, the Rams already have six non-conference wins, surpassing last year's total of five, with four games to play.

Roster Size... But Inexperienced
• The Rams will start the year with 12 eligible players on the roster. CSU had 14 players available to start the 2018-19 season but only 11 in 2017-18.
• Of those 12 this season, just five were a part of the program last season.
• Returners for the Rams combine for 10 seasons of NCAA Division I experience.

Travel Miles (including bus & to/from airport)
Non-Conference (round trip) - 4 trips/11,242 mi.
• Cayman Islands Classic (Grand Cayman) - 4,464 miles
• Duke (Durham, N.C.) - 3,036 miles
• Tulsa (Tulsa, Okla.) - 1,878 miles
• Loyola Marymount (Los Angeles, Calif.) - 1,864 miles

Mountain West (round trip) - 10 trips/12,207 mi.
• San Jose State (San Jose, Calif.) - 1,899 miles
• San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.) - 1,753 miles
• Nevada (Reno, Nev.) - 1,748 miles
• Fresno State (Fresno, Calif.) - 1,701 miles
• UNLV (Las Vegas, Nev.) - 1,289 miles
• MW Tournament (Las Vegas, Nev.) - 1,289 miles
• Boise State (Boise, Idaho) - 1,261 miles
• Utah State (Logan, Utah) - 771 miles
• Air Force (Colorado Springs, Colo.) - 256 miles
• Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.) - 131 miles

National Rankings (Team/Players)
(through Dec. 4, 2019)
Team (Top 70 of 350 Division I teams)
Free Throws Attempted                           228          5th
Free Throws Made                                 155          10th
Field Goal Percentage                            46.8        66th

Players (top 100 nationally)
Nico Carvacho
Free Throw Attempts                              74              1st
Double-Doubles                                    4            20th
Defensive Rebounds Per Game                7.40       22nd
Free Throws Made                                 41           29th
Rebounds Per Game                              9.8          34th

Carvacho Growing On the Floor
• Redshirt-senior center Nico Carvacho showed his increased comfort level on the floor, growing extensively since his freshman year.
• In 2017-18, he averaged 11.1 points and 12.3 rebounds in Mountain West play, leading by a wide margin in rebounding for league games only (next was 9.6 per game).
• For his play in '17-18, Carvacho was named Honorable Mention All-Mountain West by both the league's coaches and media members in two separate votes.
• Last season, Carvacho was effective, recording double-doubles in a school-record 22 games and averaged a team-high 16.1 points and a nation-leading 12.9 rebounds per game while shooting a league-best 59.2 percent from the floor (31st in NCAA).
• In 2018-19, he led CSU in rebounding in 29 of 32 games including 22 straight before Feb. 23's contest against Wyoming when he was limited to 20 minutes due to fouls.
• At UNLV Jan. 2, 2019, Carvacho set a new career best with 28 points and added 20 rebounds for his second 20-20 game of the year and school-record third of his career.
• Carvacho also was named First Team All-Mountain West and All-Defensive Team by the league's media, in 2018-19.
• In addition, Carvacho was honored on the US Basketball Writers Association All-District squad last season.
• Carvacho started the 2018-19 season No. 20 on the CSU career rebounding chart. With his 12 rebounds against San Diego State Feb. 12, he became the all-time leading rebounder at CSU.
• He now has a Mountain West-record 1048 (tops in NCAA among current active players), passing previous leader Pat Durham (1985-89) at 851.
• Carvacho also is first in CSU offensive rebounds with 367 and in CSU career defensive rebounds with 681 (since tracking of the two categories began).
• He is now the leader in Mountain West-only double-doubles with 27, passing San Diego State's Kawhi Leonard (2009-11) and Nevada's Jordan Caroline. His 39 career double-doubles are fourth in the league's history (tied for first among current active NCAA Division I players).
• Carvacho became the 29th CSU player in history to reach the 1,000 point mark in his career, accomplishing that feat in the opening round of the 2019 MW Championship.
• With his five rebounds against Arkansas State Nov. 20, 2019, he became the first player in league history with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
• He was also named to the preseason watch list for the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced. Last year, he was a finalist as one of final 10 players from which the top center in men's college basketball will be recognized.
• Carvacho was named to the Preseason All-MW team entering this season by the league's media representatives.
• For his play against Omaha and in the three contests in Grand Cayman as CSU went 3-1 combined, Carvacho was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team. He posted a pair of double-doubles and averaged 14.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in those games.

CSU Career Ranks
Points
18.    1085     Chuck Newcomb (70 Games)          1957-60
19.    1073     Nico Carvacho (110 Games)         2016-pres.

Field Goals Made
16.    424     Chuck Newcomb (70 Games)         1957-60
17.    421      Nico Carvacho (110 Games)         2016-pres.

Field Goal Percentage (Minimum 75 Made)
12.    .559     David Fisher (151-270)                     1998-01
13.    .552     Nico Carvacho (421-763)             2016-pres

Rebounds
1.     1048    Nico Carvacho                           2016-pres.
2.     851      Pat Durham (125 Games)                1985-89

Rebounding Average (Minimum 35 Games)
3.     9.6      Bill Green (76 Games)                    1960-63
4.     9.6      Nico Carvacho (110 Games)        2016-pres.

Defensive Rebounds
1.     689     Nico Carvacho (110 games)         2016-pres.

Offensive Rebounds
1.     359     Nico Carvacho (110 games)         2016-pres.

Blocked Shots
11.     66       Michael Harrison                         2005-06
       66       Ceedric Goodwyn                        1998-00
13.    63       Nico Carvacho                          2016-pres.

Games Started
3.     113       Pat Durham                                1985-89
4.     107      Nico Carvacho                          2016-pres.
       107       David Turcotte                            1984-88

Minutes
12.    2871     Wes Eikmeier                               2009-13
13.    2870    Daniel Bejarano                             2011-15
14.    2861    Nico Carvacho                          2016-pres.

Double-Doubles
1.      39 Nico Carvacho (2016-pres.) (4th in MW history)

CSU Single-Season Rebounding Ranks (only 300+ boards)
1.      414      Nico Carvacho (32 Games)             2018-19
2.     392     Mike Childress (23 Games)              1969-70
3.     373      Emmanuel Omogbo (36 Games)        2016-17

CSU Single-Season Offensive Rebounds
1.      133      Pierce Hornung (33 Games)             2012-13
2.     125      Nico Carvacho (32 Games)             2018-19
     125      Nico Carvacho (32 Games)               2017-18
4.     121       Tiel Daniels (34 Games)                 2015-16

CSU Single-Season Defensive Rebounds
1.     289     Nico Carvacho (32 Games)             2018-19
2     272      Emmanuel Omogbo (36 Games)        2016-17

Mountain West Career Rebounds (All Games)
1.      1048    Nico Carvacho (CSU, 110 gm)      2016-pres.
2.      958     Jordan Caroline (Nevada, 105 gm)     2016-19
3.      943     Luke Nevill (Utah)                        2005-09

Mountain West Only Game Career Rebounds
1.      589     Nico Carvacho (CSU)                2016-pres.
2.      486     Jordan Caroline (Nevada)                2016-19
3.      460     Luke Nevill (Utah)                        2005-09

Mountain West Career Double-Doubles
1.       44 Jordan Caroline (Nevada)                     2016-19
2.      40 Kawhi Leonard (SDSU)                        2009-11
        40 Andrew Bogut (Utah)                         2003-05
4.      39 Nico Carvacho (CSU)                     2016-pres.

Mountain West Games Only Career Double-Doubles
1.       27   Nico Carvacho (CSU)                     2016-pres.
2.      22 Jordan Caroline (Nevada)                     2016-19
3.      21   Kawhi Leonard (SDSU)                        2009-11

NCAA D-I Active Career Rankings (through Dec. 4, 2019)
1.       Total Rebounds                                          1048
t-1.     Double-Doubles                                           39
5.      Rebounding Average                                    9.5
7.            Consecutive Starts                                  106
38.    Field Goal Percentage                                  55.1

Martin Stepping Up His Role
• Redshirt-senior Kris Martin has emerged as one of the leaders this season.
• He started last 16 of 27 games played in 2018-19, averaging 9.2 points (fourth for the Rams), 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 29.5 minutes a game
• He scored in double digits in 13 games, with two of 20+
• The guard made his season debut in 2018-19 against South Dakota State, Nov. 21, and tallied 11 points in 30 minutes of action.
• He led CSU with 21 points at Colorado, Dec. 1.
• Martin recorded his first CSU career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Utah State, March 5.
• The guard led CSU in its opening win over Denver, Nov. 5, scoring a team-high 18 points and adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• The senior currently is fourth for CSU at 8.7 points per game while playing 27.4 minutes a contest, fifth on the team. He is shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 68.4 from the charity stripe while also adding 4.01 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game.

Moving On Up
• Sophomores Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are going to be looked at to help lead this team as two of the four returning starters.
• Thistlewood was fifth on last year's team at 8.9 points per game and Moore is sixth at 8.8 points per game. Thistlewood scored in double figures in 16 contests, with Moore with 11 10+ point games.
• Thistlewood scored in double figures in each of the last six games and ranked third in the MW in three-point field goal percentage in conference games.
• Moore and Thistlewood each shot 78 percent or better from the charity stripe.

This season
• Thistlewood and Moore both had a solid game in the win over Omaha, Nov. 13.
• Thistlewood was 5-for-11 on field goals, including 5-for-8 from the three-point arc, and hit all four free throws for a career-high 19 points. He also added seven rebounds, two off his career best earlier this year against Denver.
• Moore tallied a season-best 16 points, including five triples against the Mavericks.
• Moore was solid in the thrilling win over Loyola Chicago Nov. 26, as he had a game-high 15 points, including 6-of-9 FG and 3-5 from the arc.
• Thistlewood was a standout against Washington State Nov. 27, as he had a game high and career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 FG, including tying a career-high with five three-pointers and chipped in four rebounds.
• Thistlewood is now third on the team at 10.7 points and second at 4.5 rebounds per game, while Moore is sixth at 7.9 points a contest and leads in steals with 15.

Newcomers With Early Impact
• Head coach Niko Medved has played four freshmen in nine of the 10 contests so far, with three playing in all 10.
• Guard Isaiah Stevens has started all 10 games and tied for game-high honors with forward David Roddy with 12 points at #4 Duke, Nov. 8.
• Roddy also added six rebounds and a steal in his 21 minutes of action.
• Dischon Thomas and John Tonje have both played at least eight contests and contributed off the bench.
• Stevens followed it up with against Omaha, Nov. 13, tallying 11 points and a team season-high five assists in the win and at Loyola Marymount, Nov. 16, with a game-high 21 points, five rebounds and five assists in the come-from-behind win.
• Stevens and Roddy both had a presence against Arkansas State Nov. 20. Stevens then had 11 points, six rebounds and a team season-high eight assists while Roddy had a personal-best 14 points with three blocks.
• Roddy scored in double figures in all three games in Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands Classic, averaging 11.0 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting from the field.
• Against Utah Valley Dec. 1, two other newcomers made a major contribution. Thomas scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor and hitting all four free throws while adding six rebounds. Sophomore P.J. Byrd come off the bench and tallied eight points in 10 minutes in his first action of the season.
• Stevens is currently second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game, shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 41.7 from the arc and a team-best 89.5 percent from the free throw line. He has reached at least 10 points in seven of the 10 games so far and had at least four assists in six of them.
• Roddy is fifth at 8.4 points per game and third at 4.3 rebounds a contest, as the freshman has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and six total contests this season.

All-Time Overtime
Overall: 27-36
                1-ot       2-ot     3-ot       Tot
Home:      10-15      6-2      0-0     16-17
Road:       10-15       1-1       0-1      11-17
Neutral:      0-1        0-1       0-0       0-2
Totals      20-31      7-4      0-2     27-35

Looking Ahead
• The Rams return home for a pair of games, starting with South Dakota State on Tue., Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. Last year's Jackrabbitss went 24-9 to win the Summit League regular season and played in the National Invitation Tournament.
• The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network along with the audio on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon on the call.
• CSU Sports Network broadcasts can be also accessed on mobile devices through the TuneIn app (free on all Apple, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Amazon Kindle devices) – once downloaded, search "Colorado St. Rams Sports Network" in the app for the games and coaches' show broadcasts.

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