Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, December 11
Fort Worth, TX / Dickies Arena
12:00 PM
Colorado State
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Mississippi State
CSU Heads To The Lone Star State To Take On Mississippi State In Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Dec. 11
12/8/2021 3:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CSU Notes 10-vs Mississippi StateMississippi State Notes-Colorado StateLive VideoLive AudioLive StatsVarsity Network App
The Rams and Bulldogs will meet for just the second time in history when they tip off at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth at 12 p.m. MT
Opening Tip
• Colorado State will make the first of two back-to-back weekend trips to Fort Worth, Texas and Dickies Arena, one of the eight 2022 NCAA Regional First & Second Round sites, to take on Mississippi State in the opener of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, Sat., Dec. 11 at 12 p.m. MT.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPNU, with Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Adrian Branch (analyst) on the broadcast.
• 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 Varsity Network app (free on all Apple and Android devices). Fans can use the app for instant access to free gameday audio streams and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts.
• The game will also have live stats on CSURams.com.
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2021-22 Rams Quick Hits
• Colorado State is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Niko Medved, who took over the helm of the Rams' program in 2018-19. In his ninth season as a head coach, Medved has a 140-127 record overall but improved on the previous season's winning percentage in each of his eight years as a head coach, including both years now at CSU.
• The 2021-22 season marks the 117th in the history of the Colorado State men's basketball program. The Rams are 1,311-1,292 (.503) in 2,603 games all-time.
• CSU concluded the 2020-21 season in the National Invitation Tournament, advancing to the final four and finishing 20-8 overall record, including 14-4 in MW play, a three-game improvement over 2019-20 and 11 games over 2018-19.
• The Rams earned their eighth invitation for postseason play in the last 11 years, though postseason events were eventually cancelled due to the CoVID-19 virus worldwide pandemic.
• CSU returns all five starters and nine letterwinners to this year's squad along with four newcomers.
• 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.
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The Leaders
• Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved (Minnesota, '97) is in his fourth season at CSU as head coach with a 61-40 mark and has an 140-127 overall record is in his ninth season as a head coach.
• Mississippi State's Head Coach Ben Howland (Weber State, 1979) is in his seventh season with the Bulldogs with a 105-84 record and 26th as a head coach with a 506-290 record.
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A Familiar Face In Fort Collins
• While he may be in just his fourth 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 who helped the Rams to four consecutive postseason appearances, the last two in the NCAA Tournament that included a win over Missouri in 2013.
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A Quick Look at Mississippi State
• Returning three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's 18-15 team that finished ninth at 8-10 in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference and placed second in the NIT while also adding four Division I transfers, Mississippi State was picked to finish eighth in the media's preseason poll.
• The Bulldogs are led by junior guard Iverson Molinar, who was a preseason All-SEC selection by both the coaches and media, as well as four other players averaging at least 9.5 points per game. Molinar leads the team in scoring, assists, free throw percentage and minutes, while redshirt-junior forward Tolu Smith is tops in rebounds and field-goal percentage.
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History Versus Mississippi State
• The two teams have only met once, with CSU winning the 1999 National Invitation Tournament matchup at Moby Arena, 69-56
• Against current Southeastern Conference teams, CSU is 10-8 all-time, including 3-1 at neutral sites, while Medved is 0-3 overall versus the SEC (0-1 at CSU).
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 MISSISSIPPI STATE - 1-0
Home: 1-0
    Date              Loc.       W/L       Score     Att.
!    3/10/1999      Home       W         69-56  5096
! National Invitation Tournament (Home Sites)
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CSU vs. Southeastern Conference
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
Alabama                  0-1           -            -        0-1
Arkansas                 0-2         0-1         0-1        -
Auburn                    2-2         1-0         0-2      1-0
Florida                     1-0          1-0          -         -
Mississippi                1-0           -            -        1-0
Mississippi State        1-0          1-0          -         -
Missouri                   2-1          1-0         0-1       1-0
South Carolina           1-1          1-0         0-1        -
Texas A&MÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -
Totals                    10-8        5-2        2-5      3-1
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Medved vs. Mississippi State - First Meeting
Medved vs. SEC Opponents - 0-3 (0-1 CSU)
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Starting 9-0 Is A New Thing
• For the first time in his head coaching career, Niko Medved has his team at 9-0 in the early part of the season. His previous best starts were 3-1 in his only season at Drake and 3-1 in each of his three previous seasons at CSU.
• The only other time CSU was 9-0 at this point in the season was in 2014-15, when the Rams were a school record 14-0 to start the season and ended up in the NIT.
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Tournament Finals
• CSU advanced to the tournament championship game of a three-game neutral site tournament for the 10th time in school history, eventually winning the 2021 Paradise Jam.
• In three-game neutral site tournaments title games, the Rams are 6-4.
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In-Season Tournament Titles-Location (Number of Games)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Mile High Classic-Denver, Colo. (2)
1965 Â Â Â Â Mile High Classic-Denver, Colo. (2)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Utah Classic-Salt Lake City, Utah (2)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Far West Classic-Portland, Ore. (3)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Mile High Classic-Denver, Colo.(2)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Gator Bowl Classic-Jacksonville, Fla. (2)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Foothills Dodge Classic-Moby Arena (2)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Foothills Dodge Classic-Moby Arena (2)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jam Fest Tournament-Moby Arena (2)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Pearl Harbor Classic-Honolulu, Hawai'i (3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Phoenix Classic-Harford, Conn. (2)
2002Â Â Â Â Â CSU Tournament-Moby Arena (3)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Dr. Pepper Classic-Chattanooga, Tenn. (2)
2007Â Â Â Â Â BP Top of the World Classic-Fairbanks, Alaska (3)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Cancun Governor's Cup-Cancun, Mexico (3)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Hilltop Challenge-San Francisco, Calif. (2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invit.-El Paso, Texas (2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic (2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â GCI Great Alaska Shootout-Anchorage, Alaska (3)
2021Â Â Â Â Â USVI Paradise Jam-U.S. Virgin Islands (3)
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CSU Preseason MW Favorites
• For the first time in program history, the Colorado State men's basketball team has been picked to win the Mountain West in the annual preseason media poll, announced prior to the league's Media Days.
• As part of that, juniors David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens were named to the Preseason All-Mountain West squad.
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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 led the Rams to surpass the previous season's win totals at CSU, both overall and in Mountain West play.
• In 2019-20, the Rams had nine non-conference wins, betterring 2018-19's total of five. The squad also won 20 games overall, improving on 2018-19's total of 12.
• The five-game win streak during the 2020-21 season was the longest for CSU since the Rams won seven straight during 2016-17.
• In 2020-21, Medved led the Rams to their best conference record in program history with the 14-4 mark. The 14 wins were most CSU wins in any conference in history.
The Improvement Under Medved
Year      School            Overall  Win%  Conf.     Post
2012-13Â Â Furman**Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6-24Â Â Â Â .200Â Â Â Â 3-15
2013-14  Furman             9-21    .300    3-13       Â
2014-15  Furman             11-22    .333    5-13       Â
2015-16  Furman             19-16    .543    11-7        $
2016-17   Furman             23-11    .676    14-4        $
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2016-17Â Â Â Drake**Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7-24Â Â Â Â .226Â Â Â Â 5-13
2017-18   Drake               17-17    .500    10-8        $
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2017-18Â Â Â Colorado State**Â Â 11-21Â Â Â Â .343Â Â Â Â 4-14
2018-19  Colorado State   12-20    .375    7-11
2019-20  Colorado State   20-12   .625    11-7       $*
2020-21  Colorado State!   20-8    .714   14-4#       $
** Seasons prior to Medved taking over program
# School record for conference wins in a season
$ Postseason action for the program (2020 postseason canceled due to COVID-19)
! Season shortened due to COVID-19 protocols)
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The Road Is Unique This Year
• Because of six neutral site games in non-conference play (though Birmingham will hardly be neutral for Alabama on Dec. 21), Colorado State's first "true" road game in an opponent's home arena is not until Dec. 28 at The Pit vs New Mexico, 49 days from the start of the season.
• This is the longest time from the opening of the season until Colorado State played a true road game in the program's modern history.
• The last time CSU played its first road game of the year this late was in the 1971-72 season (which wasn't allowed to start until Dec. 1), when the Rams played Arizona in Tempe on Jan. 14, 1972 (a 78-74 UA win). CSU finished 15-9 that year.
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Challenging Schedule
• CSU has seven guaranteed opponents and two other possible opponents which played in postseason in 2020-21 on this year's schedule, combining for at least nine games, with the Rams currently at 2-0 against those teams.
• Alabama, Creighton, San Diego State, Oral Roberts and Utah State all competed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Saint Mary's and Mississippi State were in the NIT with Colorado State.
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Medved vs. 2021-22 Opponents
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
Air Force                 6-0         4-0        2-0        -
Alabama                          First Meeting
Arkansas-Pine Bluff    2-0         2-0          -         -
Boise State               2-4         1-2         1-1       0-1
Bradley                    3-1          1-0         1-0       1-1
Creighton                 1-0           -            -        1-0
Fresno State             6-1         4-0         1-1       1-0
Little Rock                1-0          1-0          -         -
Mississippi State                First Meeting
Nevada                    1-4          1-1         0-3        -
New Mexico              3-1         3-0         0-1        -
Northeastern             1-0           -            -        1-0
Northern Colorado     1-1          1-0         0-1        -
Oral Roberts             1-0          1-0          -         -
Peru State                1-0          1-0          -         -
Saint Mary's (CA)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -
San Diego State         1-4         0-2         1-2        -
San Jose State          5-0         1-0         2-0      2-0
Tulsa                       1-0           -            -        1-0
UNLVÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -
Utah State                1-6         0-2         1-3       0-1
Wyoming                 5-3         2-0        3-2      0-1
TOTALSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 46-29Â Â Â Â Â Â 27-8Â Â Â Â Â Â 12-17Â Â Â Â Â 7-4
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CSU vs. 2021-22 Opponents
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
Air Force                84-33      46-11      34-18     4-4
Alabama                  0-1           -            -        0-1
Arkansas-Pine Bluff    4-0         4-0          -         -
Boise State              12-15        9-5        2-9       1-1
Bradley                    1-0           -            -        1-0
Creighton                2-3          1-1         0-2      1-0
Fresno State           23-18       17-3       3-13      3-2
Little Rock                1-2          1-1         0-1        -
Mississippi State        1-0          1-0          -         -
Nevada                  10-16        6-4        4-11      0-1
New Mexico            49-78      36-26     12-50     1-2
Northeastern            2-0           -            -        2-0
Northern Colorado   70-36      51-12      18-24     1-0
Oral Roberts             4-1         3-0         1-1        -
Peru State                1-0          1-0          -         -
St. Mary's (Calif.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1
San Diego State       42-46      26-14      14-28     2-4
San Jose State         22-0        9-0        9-0      4-0
Tulsa                      3-3          1-1         1-2       1-0    Â
UNLVÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 19-41Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14-16Â Â Â Â Â Â 5-24Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-1
Utah State              40-60     28-20     12-37     0-3
Wyoming               98-137     53-56     42-76    3-5
TOTALSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 491-492Â Â 308-170Â Â 158-297Â 24-26
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CSU vs. 2021-22 Conference Foes (-MW)
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
American Athletic      11-19        6-4        2-10      3-5
Atlantic 10 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4-4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2-3
Big East                   3-4          1-1         0-2      2-1
Big Sky                  141-75     100-21     38-51     3-3
Colonial Ath. Assoc.   4-2          1-1           -        3-1
Ivy League               3-0         1-0         1-0       1-0
Missouri Valley         14-13        8-1         3-9      3-3
Pac-12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 124-251Â Â Â Â Â 79-90Â Â Â Â Â 36-151Â Â Â Â 9-10
Southeastern           10-8         5-2        2-5      3-1
Southwestern Athletic 10-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0
Sun Belt                  14-5        11-2        2-2       1-1
Summit League       107-75      69-31     36-43     2-1
West Coast             67-110      43-34     14-67    10-9
Divison II/Other       201-91     150-36    42-49    9-6
TOTALSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 713-657Â Â 483-223Â 177-390Â 52-44
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Closing In On A Historic Mark (x4)
• Barring injuries, Colorado State will have four players reach the 1,000-point career mark during this season, as only 30 have reached the mark previously for the Rams, the last being J.D. Paige during the 2018-19 season. Shown are where the four players currently are in terms of career points and ranking on CSU's all-time scoring chart.
• Junior David Roddy - 996 points (#31)
• Junior Isaiah Stevens - 986 points (#33)
• Senior Kendle Moore - 882 points (#49)
• Senior Adam Thistlewood - 866 points (#54)
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CSU CAREER SCORING CHART
21.    1058   Prentiss Nixon (94 games)           - 2015-18
22.   1051    Greg Smith (121 games)              - 2009-13
23.   1050   J.J. Avila (63 games)                   - 2013-15
       1050   Aaron Atkinson (102 games)        - 1990-94
25.   1043   Milt Palacio (88 games)              - 1996-99
26.   1035   Andy Birley (121 games)              - 1999-03
27.   1029   George Price (71 games)             - 1969-72
28.   1025   Larry Hoffner (70 games)             - 1957-60
29.   1009   Marcus Walker (59 games)          - 2007-09
30.   1005   John Sivesind (88 games)            - 1997-01
31.   996    David Roddy (69 games)           - 2019-22
32.   995    David Evans (55 games)             - 1994-96
33.   986    Isaiah Stevens (69 games)         - 2019-22
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Shooter U
• While there are 16 other schools ranked in the top 35 nationally in at least two of the three shooting percentages (field goal, 3-point and free throw), Colorado State is the only program ranked in all three (1st in FG, 3rd in 3P FG, 6th in FT).
• There are only five others ranked in the top 35 nationally in free throw percentage and either field-goal or 3-point percentages.
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Valuing the Basketball
• The Rams have done a great job taking care of possessions and making the most of them.
• CSU is 11th nationally in fewest turnovers at 9.67 per game and 5th on assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.77.
• Junior Isaiah Stevens is 3rd in the country at 7.0 assists per game and 5th with a 5.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Over the past five games, Stevens has had 41 combined assists to just four turnovers. All this while still averaging 15.2 points and 2.2 steals per game and hitting 51.9 percent from the floor.
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Starters Get It Going
• CSU's starters getting the scoring going was big last year, as the Rams were 18-3 last year when that group scored at least 50 points.
• In the season-opening win over Oral Roberts, the starting group had 56 points, while the bench chipped in 53.
• This year CSU is 6-0 when the starters tally at least 50.
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Hitting From Deep
• Last year's squad that ranked in the top 70 in the country in 3-point field goals made features three of the most prolific 3-point shooters in school history (who are all back this year).
• In the win over Creighton Nov. 21, CSU hit a school and Paradise Jam Tournament record 20 3-pointers. The mark is tied for the second most in Mountain West history.
• Junior Isaiah Stevens and seniors Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are all in CSU's top-30 for 3-point field goal percentage.
12.      .400   A.Masinton-Bonner (100-250)       2016-19
13.      .398   Ryan Yoder         (123-309)       1990-94
14.      .397   Keith Bonds         (114-287)        1991-93
15.      .397   Tyson Maroney     (73-184)         1990-94
16.      .397   Andre Mcfarland   (144-363)        2007-11
17.      .394   Isaiah Stevens      (106-269)   2019-pres.
18.      .394   Jameel Mahmud   (117-297)        1994-98
19.      .389   David Evans         (150-386)       1994-96
20.     .388   Adam Nigon        (124-320)        2007-11
21.      .384   Adam Thistlewood (168-438)   2018-pres.
28.     .372   Kendle Moore     (147-395)   2018-pres.
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National Rankings (Team/Players)
(as of Dec. 8, 2021)
Team (Top 75 of 350 Division I teams)
Field Goal Percentage                          53.6           1st
3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage                   43.4          3rd
Assist/Turnover Ratio                           1.77           5th
Free Throw Percentage                        81.3           6th
Scoring Offense                                 85.33       10th
Turnovers (Fewest)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9.67Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 11th
Scoring Margin                                   +17.89       21st
Assists                                             17.11         26th
3-Pt. Field Goals Per Game                    9.11          60th
Free Throws Made                              130          64th
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Players (top 100 nationally)
Isaiah Stevens
Assists Per Game                                7.0            3rd
Total Assists                                      63            5th
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio                       5.25          5th
Total Steals                                       18           46th
Steals Per Game                                 2.00        66th
Free-Throw Percentage                        86.2        70th
Double-DOubles                                2          t-84th
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David Roddy
Total Field Goals Made                         68           12th
Total Points                                       185          12th
Points Per Game                                 20.6        20th
Double-Doubles                                 3          t-39th
Free Throws Made                              35            71st
Free Throw Attempts                          46            71st
Total Rebounds                                  70           74th
Total Field Goal Attempts                     118           78th
Defensive Rebounds Per Game              6.44        45th
Field Goal Percentage                          57.6        53rd
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The Cardiac Rams
• The three biggest comebacks for wins in program history have come in the past three years under head coach Niko Medved.
• The most recent was the USVI Paradise Jam championship game Nov. 22, when CSU trailed by 20 (44-24) to Northeastern with 17:15 to play. The Rams closed the game outscoring the Huskies, 47-17, to win the tournament title by 10. This was the second-most points trailed in a win.
• CSU's rally from 26 points down at No. 23 San Diego State on Jan. 2, 2021 made history as it is the largest comeback in both school and Mountain West history.
• The SDSU victory was the largest comeback win in Division I men's basketball last season and one of just five road comebacks of 26 points or more in a game between Division I opponents over the past 10 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
• The previous largest comeback in CSU history occurred under Medved last season, as the Rams rallied from 19 down at Wyoming with 14:06 to play to earn a 77-70 win on Feb. 15, 2020.
• CSU's rally from 13 down in the win over Northern Colorado ties for the 20th largest deficit overcome in a victory in program annals.
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Defense Setting A Tone
• CSU has showed an improved defensive effort, which is highlighted in the stats, despite having the 311th club in the country in terms of experience entering the 2020-21 year.
• In 2020-21, the Rams were ranked in the top 75 nationally in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and defensive rebounds.
• CSU held opponents to less than 60 points for five consecutive games. The last time CSU held opponents each to less than 60 points that many consecutive games was in 2012-13 (NCAA Tournament bid and win over Missouri season), where they held six straight opponents to less than 60.
• This year, the Rams had at least five blocks in each of the first three games. This was the first time that CSU had three-straight contests with five or more rejections since 2006-07.
• CSU has held opponents to 62 points or less in five of its past seven games, including two at the Paradise Jam.
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Double-Doubles
• The Rams have three players who have combined for 21 double-doubles in their young careers, including three via points-assists, as the program total is now 662 since 1965-66.
David Roddy                                       17 (3 in 2021-22)
Isaiah Stevens                                    5 (2 in 2021-22)
Dischon Thomas                               1 (1 in 2021-22)
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Points/Assists Double-Double Career Leaders
(19 total in history)
1.        Ryan Yoder (1990-94)                 6
2.       Isaiah Stevens (2019-pres.)         5
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DOUBLE-DOUBLE RANKINGS TOTAL
(105 Players since 1965-66)
1.        Nico Carvacho (2015-20)             49
5.       Tim Hall (1971-75)                       23
10.      David Roddy (2019-pres.)           17
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Winning The Paradise Jam
• The Rams won their first in-season tournament title since 2014 and 20th overall.
• CSU defeated its second team which was in the 2021 NCAA Sweet 16 in beating Creighton.
• The Rams hit a school-record and tournament-record 20 three-pointers in the win over Creighton. The total is also tied for the second most in Mountain West history.
• The Rams came back from a 20-point deficit in the championship game against Northeastern, the second-biggest comeback in program history.
• Junior forward David Roddy was named the tournament's MVP after, in three games, averaging 31.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 70.2 percent (33-of-47) from the floor, 53.3 percent (8-of-15) on 3s and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the charity stripe.
• Roddy set career highs with 30 points against Bradley in the first round and then 36 points (including career best 7 3s) in the semifinal victory over Creighton.
• Junior guard Isaiah Stevens was also honored on the All-Tournament Team, finishing with averages of 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game, while having a 6.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, including 19 assists to just one turnover in the final two tournament games combined.
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Tonje With Career Night To Open
• Junior John Tonje came out with a stellar performance in the opening night win over 2021 NCAA Sweet 16 team Oral Roberts Nov. 9.
• Entering the contest with a previous career high of 15, Tonje was inserted in the starting lineup to help the defensive alignment but also made a great impact on offense. He tallied a career-high 31 points (18 of which came in the first half), while shooting 10-of-14 on field goal attempts, including 3-7 on triples, and making all eight free throw attempts.
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Experience Gained=Success in '21-'22?
• In 2020-21, CSU ranked 311th in terms of experience and youth in NCAA Division I basketball, yet finished among the top 70 teams in the nation.
• This year, CSU returns all five starters and nine total letterwinners from the 2021 NIT run.
• Here is a look at what CSU returns in production, making many optimistic about what the season could hold.
2021-22 Returners Production Breakdown (Total (%))
Category      So. (4)        Jr. (5)         Sr. (2)         Total
> Points       241 (11.6)    1,211 (58.4)    539 (26.0)    1,991 (96.1)
> Rebounds  134 (15.0)    551 (61.8)    180 (20.2)    938 (97.2)
> Assists      45 (11.0)     260 (63.7)     65 (15.9)     370 (90.7)
> Steals       20 (12.2)     76 (46.3)     55 (33.5)      151 (92.1)
> Blocks      20 (26.7)     34 (45.3)     20 (26.7)      74 (98.7)
> Minutes    809 (14.4)  2,800 (50.0)  1,623 (29.0)  5,232 (93.4)
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Roddy Named To Malone Watch List
• Junior David Roddy was named to the Karl Malone Award Watch List, announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. One of 20 named to the initial watch list, this honor recognizes the top power forward in men's college basketball.
• A 2021 First-Team NABC All-District and All-Mountain West selection as well as a 2021-22 preseason All-MW pick, Roddy showed his development in his second year. As a sophomore, he increased both his scoring and rebounding averages, going from 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game to a team-bests of 15.9 points and 9.4 rebounds. Those numbers were even better in MW play at 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, ranking, fourth and second, respectively, in the league. One of the toughest matchups in the Mountain West, Roddy hit 55.3 percent of his shots from the field, also second in the Mountain West, and ranked 13th in assists at 2.83 per game. Roddy's best game was in the 22-point win over Boise State, where he recorded career bests of 27 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. He also was just shy of the program's first triple-double when he had 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the March 3 win over New Mexico. He recorded 10 double-doubles last season, nine of them coming in conference play, with the two against Fresno State and the double-double in the comeback win at SDSU earning him Mountain West Player of the Week honors.
• This year after missing part of the opener with an upper body injury, Roddy has since then set career highs in scoring twice, including 30 points in the first round of the Paradise Jam against Bradley.
• Roddy had another career night against Creighton, Nov. 21, scoring 36 points with seven three-pointers to lead CSU to the Paradise Jam championship game.
• The junior was named Paradise Jam MVP after averaging 31.0 points per game in leading CSU to the title.
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Moving On Up
• Seniors Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are looked at to help lead this team as two of the five returning starters, due to both development and durability.
• For their careers, the fourth-year roommates have played in a combined 196 of a possible 202 games (187 starts) and contributed 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and better than 37.6 percent from the 3-point arc as a duo.
• Both are now in the career top 20 for CSU in 3-pointers as Thistlewood is fourth at 168 and Moore has 147 and 13th. Moore is also tied for fourth in career steals with 128.
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Career 3-Pointers List
3.       197     Dorian Green       (130 Games)   2009-13
4.       168    Adam Thistlewood (98 games)  2019-pres.
5.       167     J.D. Paige            (124 Games)    2015-19
6.       158    Daniel Bejarano    (100 Games)    2011-15
7.       154    Mark Meredith      (59 Games)     1989-91
8.       152    Prentiss Nixon      (94 Games)     2015-18
9.       150    David Evans        (55 Games)    1994-96
         150    Joe De Ciman      (123 Games)    2012-16
11.       149    Gian Clavell         (70 Games)     2014-17
12.      148    Wes Eikmeier       (96 Games)    2009-13
13.      147     Kendle Moore      (98 games)  2019-pres.
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Career Steals
3.       141     Eddie Hughes                           1978-82
4.       128    Brian Greene                          1999-03
         128    Kendle Moore     (98 games) 2019-pres.
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Career Free-Throw Percentage
17.      .807   Adam Thistlewood (98 games)  2019-pres.
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Career 3-Point Field Goal Percentage
22.     .384   Adam Thistlewood (98 games)  2019-pres.
28.     .372   Kendle Moore (98 games)        2019-pres.
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Junior Class Continuing Impact
• The junior class of guards Isaiah Stevens and John Tonje, forward David Roddy and center Dischon Thomas are showing the continued growth in their third year of collegiate basketball.
• Last season, Roddy was first in scoring at 15.9 points per game and the top rebounder at 9.4 (2nd in MW), while Stevens was second in scoring at 15.3 points and first with 5.4 assists (No. 2 MW) per game. Roddy was a NABC First Team All-District, USBWA All-District, First Team All-MW pick while Stevens was named to the USBWA All-District squad as well as second team for the NABC All-District and Mountain West.
• In 2020-21, Tonje was fifth at 6.6 points per game (having averaged 3.6 as a freshman in 2019-20), while Thomas averaged 5.2 points and 3.1 boards a contest (up from 3.8 and 2.2 respectively).
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CSU Career Ranks
Isaiah Stevens
Assists average                                        2nd     5.2
Minutes average                                       5th    33.8
Assists                                                   7th     359
Free throw percentage                               8th    .842
3-point FG percentage                               17th   .394
Steals average                                          18th      1.1
Scoring average                                        23rd   14.3
3-point field goals attempted                       24th   269
3-point field goals made                             25th   106
Steals                                                     29th     75
Points                                                    33rd   986
Field goals made                                      34th   347
Minutes                                                  37th 2329
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David Roddy
Blocked shots                                          16th     54
Rebounding average                                  18th     7.4
Blocks average                                         18th    0.8
Scoring average                                        22nd  14.4
Rebounds                                               t-23rd 512
Free throws made                                     27th   239
Free throws attempted                               29th   312
Field goals made                                      t-29th 354
Points                                                    31st    996
Assists average                                        36th    2.2
Minutes average                                       37th  28.5
3-point field goals attempted                       39th    179
Assists                                                   41st     151
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Career Assists
1.        530    Ryan Yoder                            1990-94
4.       387    Eddie Hughes                           1978-82
5.       373    Dorian Green                            2009-13
6.       367    Micheal Morris                         2002-06
7.       359    Isaiah Stevens                       2019-pres.
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More Improvement To See
• Basketball is a game where the numbers generally tell the story. For the Rams, here are some of the categories with NCAA rankings that they have improved on from 2018-19 to 2020-21 that demonstrate why.
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CSU's Team Rankings   18-19   19-20    NCAA   20-21 NCAA
Scoring Def.              75.2   72.09    252nd   65.8   54th
Scoring Margin           -0.4   +3.44    133rd    +8.9   42nd
FG Percentage Def.     45.5    44.3     251st    41.2   60th
FT Percentage           69.4    67.9    272nd    79.2    6th
3-Pt. Percentage Def.    35.5    34.2    252nd   30.3   27th
Turnovers Forced        11.06   12.69    219th   13.68  140th
Defensive Rebounds   25.78  26.84     85th    27.40  48th
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Postseason History
• Colorado State made its 21st postseason appearance in school history last year.
• This was the 10th appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, having gone 9-11 overall.
• Last year, the Rams defeated Buffalo and NC State to advance to the Final Four. From there, CSU lost to eventual champion Memphis in the semifinals and then dropped a heartbreaker to Louisiana Tech in the third-place game.
• The most successful run was in 1988, when CSU went to the semifinals in New York City, losing to Ohio State in that game and then defeating Boston College for third.
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2020-21 Awards
• National Association of Basketball Coaches
 - David Roddy, First Team
 - Isaiah Stevens, Second Team
• US Basketball Writers Association All-District
 - Niko Medved, Coach of the Year
 - David Roddy
 - Isaiah Stevens
• All-Mountain West from the league's coaches
 - David Roddy, First Team
 - Isaiah Stevens, Second Team
 - Adam Thistlewood, Honorable Mention
• All-Mountain West from the league's media
 - Niko Medved, Coach of the Year
 - David Roddy, First Team
 - Isaiah Stevens, Second Team
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2020-21 Season Quick Hits
• CSU had back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2011-12/2012-13, when Niko Medved was an assistant coach on the staff. This was also just the fourth time that the mark has been reached in program history.
• This was also the fourth time that the Rams have won multiple postseason games in a year.
• Colorado State picked up its 14th conference win March 3, the most wins in any conference season in program history.
• The Rams were the only team in the Mountain West not to get swept in a season series and had five series sweeps.
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 Looking Ahead
• In an interesting twist, Colorado State will return to Fort Worth, Texas and Dickies Arena to take on Tulsa as part of the Hoop Hype XL | College Basketball Showcase , Sat., Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m. MT. as the first of a doubleheader day of basketball with Oklahoma State and Houston to follow.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The audio will be on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon handling the broadcast.
• CSU Sports Network broadcasts can be also accessed on mobile devices through the Varsity Network app (free on all Apple and Android devices). Fans can use the app for instant access to free gameday audio streams and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts.
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• Colorado State will make the first of two back-to-back weekend trips to Fort Worth, Texas and Dickies Arena, one of the eight 2022 NCAA Regional First & Second Round sites, to take on Mississippi State in the opener of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, Sat., Dec. 11 at 12 p.m. MT.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPNU, with Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Adrian Branch (analyst) on the broadcast.
• 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 Varsity Network app (free on all Apple and Android devices). Fans can use the app for instant access to free gameday audio streams and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts.
• The game will also have live stats on CSURams.com.
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2021-22 Rams Quick Hits
• Colorado State is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Niko Medved, who took over the helm of the Rams' program in 2018-19. In his ninth season as a head coach, Medved has a 140-127 record overall but improved on the previous season's winning percentage in each of his eight years as a head coach, including both years now at CSU.
• The 2021-22 season marks the 117th in the history of the Colorado State men's basketball program. The Rams are 1,311-1,292 (.503) in 2,603 games all-time.
• CSU concluded the 2020-21 season in the National Invitation Tournament, advancing to the final four and finishing 20-8 overall record, including 14-4 in MW play, a three-game improvement over 2019-20 and 11 games over 2018-19.
• The Rams earned their eighth invitation for postseason play in the last 11 years, though postseason events were eventually cancelled due to the CoVID-19 virus worldwide pandemic.
• CSU returns all five starters and nine letterwinners to this year's squad along with four newcomers.
• 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.
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The Leaders
• Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved (Minnesota, '97) is in his fourth season at CSU as head coach with a 61-40 mark and has an 140-127 overall record is in his ninth season as a head coach.
• Mississippi State's Head Coach Ben Howland (Weber State, 1979) is in his seventh season with the Bulldogs with a 105-84 record and 26th as a head coach with a 506-290 record.
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A Familiar Face In Fort Collins
• While he may be in just his fourth 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 who helped the Rams to four consecutive postseason appearances, the last two in the NCAA Tournament that included a win over Missouri in 2013.
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A Quick Look at Mississippi State
• Returning three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's 18-15 team that finished ninth at 8-10 in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference and placed second in the NIT while also adding four Division I transfers, Mississippi State was picked to finish eighth in the media's preseason poll.
• The Bulldogs are led by junior guard Iverson Molinar, who was a preseason All-SEC selection by both the coaches and media, as well as four other players averaging at least 9.5 points per game. Molinar leads the team in scoring, assists, free throw percentage and minutes, while redshirt-junior forward Tolu Smith is tops in rebounds and field-goal percentage.
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History Versus Mississippi State
• The two teams have only met once, with CSU winning the 1999 National Invitation Tournament matchup at Moby Arena, 69-56
• Against current Southeastern Conference teams, CSU is 10-8 all-time, including 3-1 at neutral sites, while Medved is 0-3 overall versus the SEC (0-1 at CSU).
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 MISSISSIPPI STATE - 1-0
Home: 1-0
    Date              Loc.       W/L       Score     Att.
!    3/10/1999      Home       W         69-56  5096
! National Invitation Tournament (Home Sites)
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CSU vs. Southeastern Conference
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
Alabama                  0-1           -            -        0-1
Arkansas                 0-2         0-1         0-1        -
Auburn                    2-2         1-0         0-2      1-0
Florida                     1-0          1-0          -         -
Mississippi                1-0           -            -        1-0
Mississippi State        1-0          1-0          -         -
Missouri                   2-1          1-0         0-1       1-0
South Carolina           1-1          1-0         0-1        -
Texas A&MÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -
Totals                    10-8        5-2        2-5      3-1
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Medved vs. Mississippi State - First Meeting
Medved vs. SEC Opponents - 0-3 (0-1 CSU)
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Starting 9-0 Is A New Thing
• For the first time in his head coaching career, Niko Medved has his team at 9-0 in the early part of the season. His previous best starts were 3-1 in his only season at Drake and 3-1 in each of his three previous seasons at CSU.
• The only other time CSU was 9-0 at this point in the season was in 2014-15, when the Rams were a school record 14-0 to start the season and ended up in the NIT.
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Tournament Finals
• CSU advanced to the tournament championship game of a three-game neutral site tournament for the 10th time in school history, eventually winning the 2021 Paradise Jam.
• In three-game neutral site tournaments title games, the Rams are 6-4.
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In-Season Tournament Titles-Location (Number of Games)
1964Â Â Â Â Â Mile High Classic-Denver, Colo. (2)
1965 Â Â Â Â Mile High Classic-Denver, Colo. (2)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Utah Classic-Salt Lake City, Utah (2)
1977Â Â Â Â Â Â Far West Classic-Portland, Ore. (3)
1989Â Â Â Â Â Mile High Classic-Denver, Colo.(2)
1990Â Â Â Â Â Gator Bowl Classic-Jacksonville, Fla. (2)
1994Â Â Â Â Â Foothills Dodge Classic-Moby Arena (2)
1996Â Â Â Â Â Foothills Dodge Classic-Moby Arena (2)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jam Fest Tournament-Moby Arena (2)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Pearl Harbor Classic-Honolulu, Hawai'i (3)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Phoenix Classic-Harford, Conn. (2)
2002Â Â Â Â Â CSU Tournament-Moby Arena (3)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Dr. Pepper Classic-Chattanooga, Tenn. (2)
2007Â Â Â Â Â BP Top of the World Classic-Fairbanks, Alaska (3)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Cancun Governor's Cup-Cancun, Mexico (3)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Hilltop Challenge-San Francisco, Calif. (2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invit.-El Paso, Texas (2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic (2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â GCI Great Alaska Shootout-Anchorage, Alaska (3)
2021Â Â Â Â Â USVI Paradise Jam-U.S. Virgin Islands (3)
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CSU Preseason MW Favorites
• For the first time in program history, the Colorado State men's basketball team has been picked to win the Mountain West in the annual preseason media poll, announced prior to the league's Media Days.
• As part of that, juniors David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens were named to the Preseason All-Mountain West squad.
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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 led the Rams to surpass the previous season's win totals at CSU, both overall and in Mountain West play.
• In 2019-20, the Rams had nine non-conference wins, betterring 2018-19's total of five. The squad also won 20 games overall, improving on 2018-19's total of 12.
• The five-game win streak during the 2020-21 season was the longest for CSU since the Rams won seven straight during 2016-17.
• In 2020-21, Medved led the Rams to their best conference record in program history with the 14-4 mark. The 14 wins were most CSU wins in any conference in history.
The Improvement Under Medved
Year      School            Overall  Win%  Conf.     Post
2012-13Â Â Furman**Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6-24Â Â Â Â .200Â Â Â Â 3-15
2013-14  Furman             9-21    .300    3-13       Â
2014-15  Furman             11-22    .333    5-13       Â
2015-16  Furman             19-16    .543    11-7        $
2016-17   Furman             23-11    .676    14-4        $
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2016-17Â Â Â Drake**Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7-24Â Â Â Â .226Â Â Â Â 5-13
2017-18   Drake               17-17    .500    10-8        $
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2017-18Â Â Â Colorado State**Â Â 11-21Â Â Â Â .343Â Â Â Â 4-14
2018-19  Colorado State   12-20    .375    7-11
2019-20  Colorado State   20-12   .625    11-7       $*
2020-21  Colorado State!   20-8    .714   14-4#       $
** Seasons prior to Medved taking over program
# School record for conference wins in a season
$ Postseason action for the program (2020 postseason canceled due to COVID-19)
! Season shortened due to COVID-19 protocols)
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The Road Is Unique This Year
• Because of six neutral site games in non-conference play (though Birmingham will hardly be neutral for Alabama on Dec. 21), Colorado State's first "true" road game in an opponent's home arena is not until Dec. 28 at The Pit vs New Mexico, 49 days from the start of the season.
• This is the longest time from the opening of the season until Colorado State played a true road game in the program's modern history.
• The last time CSU played its first road game of the year this late was in the 1971-72 season (which wasn't allowed to start until Dec. 1), when the Rams played Arizona in Tempe on Jan. 14, 1972 (a 78-74 UA win). CSU finished 15-9 that year.
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Challenging Schedule
• CSU has seven guaranteed opponents and two other possible opponents which played in postseason in 2020-21 on this year's schedule, combining for at least nine games, with the Rams currently at 2-0 against those teams.
• Alabama, Creighton, San Diego State, Oral Roberts and Utah State all competed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Saint Mary's and Mississippi State were in the NIT with Colorado State.
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Medved vs. 2021-22 Opponents
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
Air Force                 6-0         4-0        2-0        -
Alabama                          First Meeting
Arkansas-Pine Bluff    2-0         2-0          -         -
Boise State               2-4         1-2         1-1       0-1
Bradley                    3-1          1-0         1-0       1-1
Creighton                 1-0           -            -        1-0
Fresno State             6-1         4-0         1-1       1-0
Little Rock                1-0          1-0          -         -
Mississippi State                First Meeting
Nevada                    1-4          1-1         0-3        -
New Mexico              3-1         3-0         0-1        -
Northeastern             1-0           -            -        1-0
Northern Colorado     1-1          1-0         0-1        -
Oral Roberts             1-0          1-0          -         -
Peru State                1-0          1-0          -         -
Saint Mary's (CA)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -
San Diego State         1-4         0-2         1-2        -
San Jose State          5-0         1-0         2-0      2-0
Tulsa                       1-0           -            -        1-0
UNLVÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3-3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -
Utah State                1-6         0-2         1-3       0-1
Wyoming                 5-3         2-0        3-2      0-1
TOTALSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 46-29Â Â Â Â Â Â 27-8Â Â Â Â Â Â 12-17Â Â Â Â Â 7-4
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CSU vs. 2021-22 Opponents
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
Air Force                84-33      46-11      34-18     4-4
Alabama                  0-1           -            -        0-1
Arkansas-Pine Bluff    4-0         4-0          -         -
Boise State              12-15        9-5        2-9       1-1
Bradley                    1-0           -            -        1-0
Creighton                2-3          1-1         0-2      1-0
Fresno State           23-18       17-3       3-13      3-2
Little Rock                1-2          1-1         0-1        -
Mississippi State        1-0          1-0          -         -
Nevada                  10-16        6-4        4-11      0-1
New Mexico            49-78      36-26     12-50     1-2
Northeastern            2-0           -            -        2-0
Northern Colorado   70-36      51-12      18-24     1-0
Oral Roberts             4-1         3-0         1-1        -
Peru State                1-0          1-0          -         -
St. Mary's (Calif.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3-2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1
San Diego State       42-46      26-14      14-28     2-4
San Jose State         22-0        9-0        9-0      4-0
Tulsa                      3-3          1-1         1-2       1-0    Â
UNLVÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 19-41Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14-16Â Â Â Â Â Â 5-24Â Â Â Â Â Â 0-1
Utah State              40-60     28-20     12-37     0-3
Wyoming               98-137     53-56     42-76    3-5
TOTALSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 491-492Â Â 308-170Â Â 158-297Â 24-26
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CSU vs. 2021-22 Conference Foes (-MW)
School                 Overall    Home     Away   Neut.
American Athletic      11-19        6-4        2-10      3-5
Atlantic 10 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4-4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2-3
Big East                   3-4          1-1         0-2      2-1
Big Sky                  141-75     100-21     38-51     3-3
Colonial Ath. Assoc.   4-2          1-1           -        3-1
Ivy League               3-0         1-0         1-0       1-0
Missouri Valley         14-13        8-1         3-9      3-3
Pac-12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 124-251Â Â Â Â Â 79-90Â Â Â Â Â 36-151Â Â Â Â 9-10
Southeastern           10-8         5-2        2-5      3-1
Southwestern Athletic 10-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9-0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1-0
Sun Belt                  14-5        11-2        2-2       1-1
Summit League       107-75      69-31     36-43     2-1
West Coast             67-110      43-34     14-67    10-9
Divison II/Other       201-91     150-36    42-49    9-6
TOTALSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 713-657Â Â 483-223Â 177-390Â 52-44
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Closing In On A Historic Mark (x4)
• Barring injuries, Colorado State will have four players reach the 1,000-point career mark during this season, as only 30 have reached the mark previously for the Rams, the last being J.D. Paige during the 2018-19 season. Shown are where the four players currently are in terms of career points and ranking on CSU's all-time scoring chart.
• Junior David Roddy - 996 points (#31)
• Junior Isaiah Stevens - 986 points (#33)
• Senior Kendle Moore - 882 points (#49)
• Senior Adam Thistlewood - 866 points (#54)
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CSU CAREER SCORING CHART
21.    1058   Prentiss Nixon (94 games)           - 2015-18
22.   1051    Greg Smith (121 games)              - 2009-13
23.   1050   J.J. Avila (63 games)                   - 2013-15
       1050   Aaron Atkinson (102 games)        - 1990-94
25.   1043   Milt Palacio (88 games)              - 1996-99
26.   1035   Andy Birley (121 games)              - 1999-03
27.   1029   George Price (71 games)             - 1969-72
28.   1025   Larry Hoffner (70 games)             - 1957-60
29.   1009   Marcus Walker (59 games)          - 2007-09
30.   1005   John Sivesind (88 games)            - 1997-01
31.   996    David Roddy (69 games)           - 2019-22
32.   995    David Evans (55 games)             - 1994-96
33.   986    Isaiah Stevens (69 games)         - 2019-22
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Shooter U
• While there are 16 other schools ranked in the top 35 nationally in at least two of the three shooting percentages (field goal, 3-point and free throw), Colorado State is the only program ranked in all three (1st in FG, 3rd in 3P FG, 6th in FT).
• There are only five others ranked in the top 35 nationally in free throw percentage and either field-goal or 3-point percentages.
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Valuing the Basketball
• The Rams have done a great job taking care of possessions and making the most of them.
• CSU is 11th nationally in fewest turnovers at 9.67 per game and 5th on assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.77.
• Junior Isaiah Stevens is 3rd in the country at 7.0 assists per game and 5th with a 5.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Over the past five games, Stevens has had 41 combined assists to just four turnovers. All this while still averaging 15.2 points and 2.2 steals per game and hitting 51.9 percent from the floor.
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Starters Get It Going
• CSU's starters getting the scoring going was big last year, as the Rams were 18-3 last year when that group scored at least 50 points.
• In the season-opening win over Oral Roberts, the starting group had 56 points, while the bench chipped in 53.
• This year CSU is 6-0 when the starters tally at least 50.
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Hitting From Deep
• Last year's squad that ranked in the top 70 in the country in 3-point field goals made features three of the most prolific 3-point shooters in school history (who are all back this year).
• In the win over Creighton Nov. 21, CSU hit a school and Paradise Jam Tournament record 20 3-pointers. The mark is tied for the second most in Mountain West history.
• Junior Isaiah Stevens and seniors Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are all in CSU's top-30 for 3-point field goal percentage.
12.      .400   A.Masinton-Bonner (100-250)       2016-19
13.      .398   Ryan Yoder         (123-309)       1990-94
14.      .397   Keith Bonds         (114-287)        1991-93
15.      .397   Tyson Maroney     (73-184)         1990-94
16.      .397   Andre Mcfarland   (144-363)        2007-11
17.      .394   Isaiah Stevens      (106-269)   2019-pres.
18.      .394   Jameel Mahmud   (117-297)        1994-98
19.      .389   David Evans         (150-386)       1994-96
20.     .388   Adam Nigon        (124-320)        2007-11
21.      .384   Adam Thistlewood (168-438)   2018-pres.
28.     .372   Kendle Moore     (147-395)   2018-pres.
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National Rankings (Team/Players)
(as of Dec. 8, 2021)
Team (Top 75 of 350 Division I teams)
Field Goal Percentage                          53.6           1st
3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage                   43.4          3rd
Assist/Turnover Ratio                           1.77           5th
Free Throw Percentage                        81.3           6th
Scoring Offense                                 85.33       10th
Turnovers (Fewest)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9.67Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 11th
Scoring Margin                                   +17.89       21st
Assists                                             17.11         26th
3-Pt. Field Goals Per Game                    9.11          60th
Free Throws Made                              130          64th
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Players (top 100 nationally)
Isaiah Stevens
Assists Per Game                                7.0            3rd
Total Assists                                      63            5th
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio                       5.25          5th
Total Steals                                       18           46th
Steals Per Game                                 2.00        66th
Free-Throw Percentage                        86.2        70th
Double-DOubles                                2          t-84th
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David Roddy
Total Field Goals Made                         68           12th
Total Points                                       185          12th
Points Per Game                                 20.6        20th
Double-Doubles                                 3          t-39th
Free Throws Made                              35            71st
Free Throw Attempts                          46            71st
Total Rebounds                                  70           74th
Total Field Goal Attempts                     118           78th
Defensive Rebounds Per Game              6.44        45th
Field Goal Percentage                          57.6        53rd
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The Cardiac Rams
• The three biggest comebacks for wins in program history have come in the past three years under head coach Niko Medved.
• The most recent was the USVI Paradise Jam championship game Nov. 22, when CSU trailed by 20 (44-24) to Northeastern with 17:15 to play. The Rams closed the game outscoring the Huskies, 47-17, to win the tournament title by 10. This was the second-most points trailed in a win.
• CSU's rally from 26 points down at No. 23 San Diego State on Jan. 2, 2021 made history as it is the largest comeback in both school and Mountain West history.
• The SDSU victory was the largest comeback win in Division I men's basketball last season and one of just five road comebacks of 26 points or more in a game between Division I opponents over the past 10 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
• The previous largest comeback in CSU history occurred under Medved last season, as the Rams rallied from 19 down at Wyoming with 14:06 to play to earn a 77-70 win on Feb. 15, 2020.
• CSU's rally from 13 down in the win over Northern Colorado ties for the 20th largest deficit overcome in a victory in program annals.
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Defense Setting A Tone
• CSU has showed an improved defensive effort, which is highlighted in the stats, despite having the 311th club in the country in terms of experience entering the 2020-21 year.
• In 2020-21, the Rams were ranked in the top 75 nationally in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and defensive rebounds.
• CSU held opponents to less than 60 points for five consecutive games. The last time CSU held opponents each to less than 60 points that many consecutive games was in 2012-13 (NCAA Tournament bid and win over Missouri season), where they held six straight opponents to less than 60.
• This year, the Rams had at least five blocks in each of the first three games. This was the first time that CSU had three-straight contests with five or more rejections since 2006-07.
• CSU has held opponents to 62 points or less in five of its past seven games, including two at the Paradise Jam.
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Double-Doubles
• The Rams have three players who have combined for 21 double-doubles in their young careers, including three via points-assists, as the program total is now 662 since 1965-66.
David Roddy                                       17 (3 in 2021-22)
Isaiah Stevens                                    5 (2 in 2021-22)
Dischon Thomas                               1 (1 in 2021-22)
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Points/Assists Double-Double Career Leaders
(19 total in history)
1.        Ryan Yoder (1990-94)                 6
2.       Isaiah Stevens (2019-pres.)         5
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DOUBLE-DOUBLE RANKINGS TOTAL
(105 Players since 1965-66)
1.        Nico Carvacho (2015-20)             49
5.       Tim Hall (1971-75)                       23
10.      David Roddy (2019-pres.)           17
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Winning The Paradise Jam
• The Rams won their first in-season tournament title since 2014 and 20th overall.
• CSU defeated its second team which was in the 2021 NCAA Sweet 16 in beating Creighton.
• The Rams hit a school-record and tournament-record 20 three-pointers in the win over Creighton. The total is also tied for the second most in Mountain West history.
• The Rams came back from a 20-point deficit in the championship game against Northeastern, the second-biggest comeback in program history.
• Junior forward David Roddy was named the tournament's MVP after, in three games, averaging 31.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 70.2 percent (33-of-47) from the floor, 53.3 percent (8-of-15) on 3s and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the charity stripe.
• Roddy set career highs with 30 points against Bradley in the first round and then 36 points (including career best 7 3s) in the semifinal victory over Creighton.
• Junior guard Isaiah Stevens was also honored on the All-Tournament Team, finishing with averages of 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game, while having a 6.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, including 19 assists to just one turnover in the final two tournament games combined.
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Tonje With Career Night To Open
• Junior John Tonje came out with a stellar performance in the opening night win over 2021 NCAA Sweet 16 team Oral Roberts Nov. 9.
• Entering the contest with a previous career high of 15, Tonje was inserted in the starting lineup to help the defensive alignment but also made a great impact on offense. He tallied a career-high 31 points (18 of which came in the first half), while shooting 10-of-14 on field goal attempts, including 3-7 on triples, and making all eight free throw attempts.
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Experience Gained=Success in '21-'22?
• In 2020-21, CSU ranked 311th in terms of experience and youth in NCAA Division I basketball, yet finished among the top 70 teams in the nation.
• This year, CSU returns all five starters and nine total letterwinners from the 2021 NIT run.
• Here is a look at what CSU returns in production, making many optimistic about what the season could hold.
2021-22 Returners Production Breakdown (Total (%))
Category      So. (4)        Jr. (5)         Sr. (2)         Total
> Points       241 (11.6)    1,211 (58.4)    539 (26.0)    1,991 (96.1)
> Rebounds  134 (15.0)    551 (61.8)    180 (20.2)    938 (97.2)
> Assists      45 (11.0)     260 (63.7)     65 (15.9)     370 (90.7)
> Steals       20 (12.2)     76 (46.3)     55 (33.5)      151 (92.1)
> Blocks      20 (26.7)     34 (45.3)     20 (26.7)      74 (98.7)
> Minutes    809 (14.4)  2,800 (50.0)  1,623 (29.0)  5,232 (93.4)
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Roddy Named To Malone Watch List
• Junior David Roddy was named to the Karl Malone Award Watch List, announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. One of 20 named to the initial watch list, this honor recognizes the top power forward in men's college basketball.
• A 2021 First-Team NABC All-District and All-Mountain West selection as well as a 2021-22 preseason All-MW pick, Roddy showed his development in his second year. As a sophomore, he increased both his scoring and rebounding averages, going from 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game to a team-bests of 15.9 points and 9.4 rebounds. Those numbers were even better in MW play at 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, ranking, fourth and second, respectively, in the league. One of the toughest matchups in the Mountain West, Roddy hit 55.3 percent of his shots from the field, also second in the Mountain West, and ranked 13th in assists at 2.83 per game. Roddy's best game was in the 22-point win over Boise State, where he recorded career bests of 27 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. He also was just shy of the program's first triple-double when he had 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the March 3 win over New Mexico. He recorded 10 double-doubles last season, nine of them coming in conference play, with the two against Fresno State and the double-double in the comeback win at SDSU earning him Mountain West Player of the Week honors.
• This year after missing part of the opener with an upper body injury, Roddy has since then set career highs in scoring twice, including 30 points in the first round of the Paradise Jam against Bradley.
• Roddy had another career night against Creighton, Nov. 21, scoring 36 points with seven three-pointers to lead CSU to the Paradise Jam championship game.
• The junior was named Paradise Jam MVP after averaging 31.0 points per game in leading CSU to the title.
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Moving On Up
• Seniors Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are looked at to help lead this team as two of the five returning starters, due to both development and durability.
• For their careers, the fourth-year roommates have played in a combined 196 of a possible 202 games (187 starts) and contributed 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and better than 37.6 percent from the 3-point arc as a duo.
• Both are now in the career top 20 for CSU in 3-pointers as Thistlewood is fourth at 168 and Moore has 147 and 13th. Moore is also tied for fourth in career steals with 128.
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Career 3-Pointers List
3.       197     Dorian Green       (130 Games)   2009-13
4.       168    Adam Thistlewood (98 games)  2019-pres.
5.       167     J.D. Paige            (124 Games)    2015-19
6.       158    Daniel Bejarano    (100 Games)    2011-15
7.       154    Mark Meredith      (59 Games)     1989-91
8.       152    Prentiss Nixon      (94 Games)     2015-18
9.       150    David Evans        (55 Games)    1994-96
         150    Joe De Ciman      (123 Games)    2012-16
11.       149    Gian Clavell         (70 Games)     2014-17
12.      148    Wes Eikmeier       (96 Games)    2009-13
13.      147     Kendle Moore      (98 games)  2019-pres.
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Career Steals
3.       141     Eddie Hughes                           1978-82
4.       128    Brian Greene                          1999-03
         128    Kendle Moore     (98 games) 2019-pres.
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Career Free-Throw Percentage
17.      .807   Adam Thistlewood (98 games)  2019-pres.
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Career 3-Point Field Goal Percentage
22.     .384   Adam Thistlewood (98 games)  2019-pres.
28.     .372   Kendle Moore (98 games)        2019-pres.
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Junior Class Continuing Impact
• The junior class of guards Isaiah Stevens and John Tonje, forward David Roddy and center Dischon Thomas are showing the continued growth in their third year of collegiate basketball.
• Last season, Roddy was first in scoring at 15.9 points per game and the top rebounder at 9.4 (2nd in MW), while Stevens was second in scoring at 15.3 points and first with 5.4 assists (No. 2 MW) per game. Roddy was a NABC First Team All-District, USBWA All-District, First Team All-MW pick while Stevens was named to the USBWA All-District squad as well as second team for the NABC All-District and Mountain West.
• In 2020-21, Tonje was fifth at 6.6 points per game (having averaged 3.6 as a freshman in 2019-20), while Thomas averaged 5.2 points and 3.1 boards a contest (up from 3.8 and 2.2 respectively).
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CSU Career Ranks
Isaiah Stevens
Assists average                                        2nd     5.2
Minutes average                                       5th    33.8
Assists                                                   7th     359
Free throw percentage                               8th    .842
3-point FG percentage                               17th   .394
Steals average                                          18th      1.1
Scoring average                                        23rd   14.3
3-point field goals attempted                       24th   269
3-point field goals made                             25th   106
Steals                                                     29th     75
Points                                                    33rd   986
Field goals made                                      34th   347
Minutes                                                  37th 2329
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David Roddy
Blocked shots                                          16th     54
Rebounding average                                  18th     7.4
Blocks average                                         18th    0.8
Scoring average                                        22nd  14.4
Rebounds                                               t-23rd 512
Free throws made                                     27th   239
Free throws attempted                               29th   312
Field goals made                                      t-29th 354
Points                                                    31st    996
Assists average                                        36th    2.2
Minutes average                                       37th  28.5
3-point field goals attempted                       39th    179
Assists                                                   41st     151
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Career Assists
1.        530    Ryan Yoder                            1990-94
4.       387    Eddie Hughes                           1978-82
5.       373    Dorian Green                            2009-13
6.       367    Micheal Morris                         2002-06
7.       359    Isaiah Stevens                       2019-pres.
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More Improvement To See
• Basketball is a game where the numbers generally tell the story. For the Rams, here are some of the categories with NCAA rankings that they have improved on from 2018-19 to 2020-21 that demonstrate why.
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CSU's Team Rankings   18-19   19-20    NCAA   20-21 NCAA
Scoring Def.              75.2   72.09    252nd   65.8   54th
Scoring Margin           -0.4   +3.44    133rd    +8.9   42nd
FG Percentage Def.     45.5    44.3     251st    41.2   60th
FT Percentage           69.4    67.9    272nd    79.2    6th
3-Pt. Percentage Def.    35.5    34.2    252nd   30.3   27th
Turnovers Forced        11.06   12.69    219th   13.68  140th
Defensive Rebounds   25.78  26.84     85th    27.40  48th
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Postseason History
• Colorado State made its 21st postseason appearance in school history last year.
• This was the 10th appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, having gone 9-11 overall.
• Last year, the Rams defeated Buffalo and NC State to advance to the Final Four. From there, CSU lost to eventual champion Memphis in the semifinals and then dropped a heartbreaker to Louisiana Tech in the third-place game.
• The most successful run was in 1988, when CSU went to the semifinals in New York City, losing to Ohio State in that game and then defeating Boston College for third.
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2020-21 Awards
• National Association of Basketball Coaches
 - David Roddy, First Team
 - Isaiah Stevens, Second Team
• US Basketball Writers Association All-District
 - Niko Medved, Coach of the Year
 - David Roddy
 - Isaiah Stevens
• All-Mountain West from the league's coaches
 - David Roddy, First Team
 - Isaiah Stevens, Second Team
 - Adam Thistlewood, Honorable Mention
• All-Mountain West from the league's media
 - Niko Medved, Coach of the Year
 - David Roddy, First Team
 - Isaiah Stevens, Second Team
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2020-21 Season Quick Hits
• CSU had back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2011-12/2012-13, when Niko Medved was an assistant coach on the staff. This was also just the fourth time that the mark has been reached in program history.
• This was also the fourth time that the Rams have won multiple postseason games in a year.
• Colorado State picked up its 14th conference win March 3, the most wins in any conference season in program history.
• The Rams were the only team in the Mountain West not to get swept in a season series and had five series sweeps.
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 Looking Ahead
• In an interesting twist, Colorado State will return to Fort Worth, Texas and Dickies Arena to take on Tulsa as part of the Hoop Hype XL | College Basketball Showcase , Sat., Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m. MT. as the first of a doubleheader day of basketball with Oklahoma State and Houston to follow.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The audio will be on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon handling the broadcast.
• CSU Sports Network broadcasts can be also accessed on mobile devices through the Varsity Network app (free on all Apple and Android devices). Fans can use the app for instant access to free gameday audio streams and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballColorado State Basketball (M): Season 1 - Ep. 1
Sunday, August 10
Ramily - CSU Men's Basketball
Tuesday, August 05
Ram Line - Shoot Around with Josh Pascarelli & Darnez Slater (MBB)
Monday, August 04
Behind the White Board - Ken DeWeese
Monday, August 04