Rams Return Home To Host San Jose State Saturday Afternoon

2019-20 Colorado State Men's Basketball
Game #29 - Colorado State (18-10, 9-6) vs. San Jose State (7-20, 3-12)
Feb. 22, 2020 • 2 p.m. MT • Moby Arena (8,083) - Fort Collins, Colo.

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 / San Jose State

Opening Tip
• The Rams will return home to the friendly confines of Moby Arena to host San Jose State on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.
• The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
• The audio will be 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

2019-20 Rams Quick Hits
• Colorado State is under the direction of second-year head coach Niko Medved, who took over the helm of the Rams' program in 2018-19. In his seventh season as a head coach, Medved has a 109-117 record overall but improved on the previous season's record in each of his seven years as a head coach, including both years now at CSU.
• The 2019-20 season marks the 116th in the history of the Colorado State men's basketball program. The Rams are 1,280-1,282 (.500) in 2,562 games all-time.

• For broadcasting quick hits, current averages and career highs on individual players, go to the back page of the notes for a Radio/TV chart that includes that information.
The Leaders
• Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved (Minnesota, '97) is in his second season at CSU as head coach with a 30-30 mark and has an 109-117 overall record is in his seventh season as a head coach.
• San Jose State Head Coach Jean Prioleau (Fordham, '92) is in his third season with the Spartans and as a head coach overall with a 15-73 mark.

A Familiar Face In Fort Collins
• While he may be in just his second season in charge of the program, head coach Niko Medved was already a familiar face around Fort Collins and to Ram fans. Medved previously was on the coaching staff from 2007-13 under two different coaches. He was a key part of recruiting players that helped the Rams to four consecutive postseason appearances, the last two in the NCAA Tournament that included a win over Missouri in 2013.

A Quick Look at San Jose State
• Returning two starters and eight letterwinners from last season's 4-27 squad that was 1-17 in the Mountain West, the Spartans were picked to finish 11th in the league's preseason poll.
• Sophomore guard Seneca Knight leads the Spartans in points, rebounds and minutes per game, while senior guard Brae Ivey paces SJSU in assists, steals and free throw percentage.

History Versus San Jose State
• This is a unique series in that one team has won all the meetings so far, as CSU has won all previous 19 meetings, including eight at Fort Collins. All but one have occurred since 1997, with 14 of them in conference play.
• Earlier this year, the Rams took an 81-70 victory home from San Jose. (box score on page 19).
• CSU leader Niko Medved has an 2-0 record against San Jose State as a head coach.

SAN JOSE STATE - 19-0
Conference: 14-0
Home: 8-0 / Away: 9-0 / Neutral: 2-0
(complete list on page 21 with CSU vs. stats)

Medved vs. San Jose State -- 2-0 (2-0 at CSU)
Away: 2-0
     Date            School     Loc.         W/L   Score
*    2/20/19       Colo. St.      A             W     91-70
*    1/11/20         Colo. St.      A             W      81-70

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 had nine non-conference wins, surpassing last year's total of five. The squad has also won 18 games overall, surpassing last year's total of 12.
• The recent five-game win streak was the longest for CSU since the Rams won seven straight during 2016-17.

The Improvement Under Medved
Year            School                  Overall   Conf      Post
2012-13         Furman**                 6-24     3-15
2013-14         Furman                   9-21     3-13
2014-15         Furman                   11-22     5-13
2015-16         Furman                   19-16     11-7         $
2016-17         Furman                   23-11     14-4        $

2016-17         Drake**                    7-24     5-13
2017-18         Drake                     17-17     10-8        $
2017-18         Colorado State**        11-21     4-14
2018-19         Colorado State         12-20     7-11
2019-20        Colorado State         18-10     9-6
** Seasons prior to Medved taking over program
$ Postseason action for the program
Mountain West Record
• Colorado State - a charter member of the Mountain West - is now 139-186 (.427) in regular-season action against MW foes since the formation of the league in 1999-2000.

Thoughts From the Win At Wyoming
• With Feb. 15's win, the Rams swept the Border War for the first time since 2016-17 but still trail in the overall series 136-96 after picking up their 40th win ever in Laramie.
• CSU rallied for its biggest come-from-behind win in more than 20 years, with the most recent after trailing by 18 against UNLV for an 83-82 win in 2014-15.
• Combined between field goal attempts and free throws, CSU made 11-of-13 in the final 1:56 while holding Wyoming to 0-of-5 and one turnover.
• Isaiah Stevens set CSU's freshman assist record, now at 123, surpassing Michael Morris (2002-03) at 121. He is now 13th on the CSU single-season chart.
• Nico Carvacho recorded his NCAA active career-leading 47th career double-double in the game and his fourth in the last five contests.
• This was Martin's eighth double-figure scoring game of the season and the Rams are 8-0 when he has 10 or more this year (all 13 points and 5 boards came in the 2nd half)
• The Rams are now 3-9 when trailing with two minutes to play, picking up their first win in six tries in Mountain West play when down with 120 seconds to go.
• Colorado State is now 15-1 when outrebounding its opponent this year with the 52 a 40-minute high this season.
• This was the first time CSU had attempted 40 free throws in a game since Feb. 10, 2016 against Boise State, when the Rams went 30-of-41.

Roster Size... But Inexperienced
• The Rams started 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 combined for 10 seasons of NCAA Division I experience, starting the year.
• However that has not hampered the Rams, as the regular rotation consists of three seniors, two sophomores and four freshmen, with the breakdown below.

2019-20 Production Breakdown (Total (%))
Category          Fr. (4)          So. (3)        Jr. (1)       Sr. (3)
> Points         903 (42.7)     528 (25.0)     7 (0.3)    678 (32.0)
> Rebounds    339 (34.2)      141 (14.2)         0       447 (45.1)
> Assists        199 (46.0)       86 (19.9)      1 (0.3)     147 (33.9)
> Steals          47 (25.5)       56 (30.4)      1 (0.5)     80 (43.5)
> Blocks         29 (52.7)        2 (3.6)          0       24 (43.6)
> Minutes       2132 (37.4)     1600 (28.1)    14 (0.2)   1955 (34.2)

Better Basketball Evident
• The numbers tell the story as CSU has improved in its last 15 contests in key categories, including overall scoring (+9.2 ppg) as well as the number of players averaging 9.5 or more points a game. The result is wins in 11 of the last 15 games after a 7-6 start.

Category      FG%    3P%    Reb +/-   Ast      Stl   Plyr 9+ ppg
First 13 (7-6)   45.1    33.3      -1.1      13.7     6.3         3
Last 15 (11-4) 48.6    38.9      +4.2     17.0     6.8         5

Stevens       PPG    RPG     APG     SPG    FG%      3P%
First 13 (7-6)   10.9     2.9       3.5      0.5    46.4      37.0
Last 15 (11-4)   15.3     3.1       5.3       1.1     49.7       41.3

Roddy         PPG    RPG     APG     SPG    FG%      3P%
First 13 (7-6)    8.5     4.6       1.2      0.7     41.2       15.4
Last 15 (11-4)   14.7     6.7       2.4      0.5     51.6       25.0

Thistlewood PPG    APG      SPG    FG%    3P%      FT%
First 13 (7-6)    9.7     0.8       0.7     44.7    41.4       72.2
Last 15 (11-4)   11.3     0.5       0.7     45.6    39.7      90.3

Long Distance Charges Incurred
• The Rams have dialed long distance effectively over the last 15 games, connecting on 38.9 percent (138-of-355) of their shots beyond the arc.
• Five different CSU players are 38.0 percent or better beyond the line, led by freshman freshman John Tonje at 48.3 percent (14-of-29).
• The other four are sophomores Kendle Moore (45.3 percent) and Adam Thistlewood (39.7), freshman Isaiah Stevens (41.3 percent) and redshirt-senior Kris Martin (38.2 percent).

Conference Only Rankings
• Here are the team categories the Rams' rank in the top three in Mountain West only games and where the individual players appear in the rankings
                                (through games of Feb. 19, 2020)
CSU's Team Rankings                 Rank   Avg.
Field Goal Percentage                 2nd     46.8
3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage           3rd      38.1
Assists                                     1st     15.47
Assist/Turnover Ratio                  3rd      1.31

Individual Mountain West ONLY RankS (CSU only)
Scoring                       13.    Isaiah Stevens        14.00

14. David Roddy 13.47

Rebounding 1. Nico Carvacho 11.27

12. David Roddy 6.27
Field Goal Percentage 5. David Roddy 49.7

Free Throw Percentage 8. Isaiah Stevens 77.6

14. David Roddy 73.2

3-Pt. FG Made 12. Kendle Moore 2.00

                                 15.    Adam Thistlewood    1.92
Assists                         3.    Isaiah Stevens         4.53
Steals                        t-13.    Kendle Moore          1.20
Assist-to-Turnover          3.    Isiaah Stevens          2.13
Blocked Shots              t-6.    David Roddy            1.00

Offensive Rebounds 1. Nico Carvacho 3.53

                                 t-6.    David Roddy           2.27
Defensive Rebounds        1.    Nico Carvacho        7.73
Minutes Played             10.    Isaiah Stevens       32.82

Moby Arena Home Court Advantage
• CSU has a record of 563-239 (.702) record all-time at Moby Arena.
• The Rams had finished at least .500 in each of the last nine years prior to last season. This dated back to the 2008-09 season when the program was 6-9, prior to 2018-19's 8-9 mark.
• With the win over Nevada Jan. 29, CSU guaranteed a better than .500 home record this year.
• This year's 10-4 mark has to do with some significant differences in major categories in favor of the Rams.

Category      PPG    FG%   Reb     PF     Ast      TO    Stl
Colorado St. 79.3    50.4   33.7    191     248     160    94
Opponents   69.9    44.1    31.9    264    176     189    78

Looking Ahead
• The Rams will play its final road game of the regular season, traveling to Viejas Arena to take on #4 San Diego State Tuesday night.
• The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, with the tip scheduled for 9 p.m. MT/8 p.m. PT.
• The audio will be 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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