Colorado State University Athletics
The Dish: Rams' Defense Ready for March Grind
3/1/2021 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball, RamWire
CSU smothers Falcons in sweep
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – No doubt, that will play.
Not the ice-cold shooting of the first half Monday night at Moby Arena. No, the Rams will want to clean that up, because 28.6-percent shooting over 20 minutes is hard to stomach. But defensively, Colorado State coach Niko Medved will take the effort every night the Rams play.
He didn't worry much about the shooting; he knows the resume of his team. In the second half, CSU came out blistering and shot better than 55 percent the final 20 minutes, though their aim from 3-point land evaded them the entire evening (just 5-of-28 overall).
However, the fact they smothered Air Force two nights in a row – the second turning into a 74-44 runaway – was the most impressive part of his team's play coming off a three-week break. And they may be at their peak at the right time of the year.
"I hope. We'll see," Medved said. "The proof is in the pudding. The reality of it is, if you want to really play this time of the year and play at the highest level, you've got to be great on both ends. You really have to be efficient on both ends of the floor. What I do know is, sometimes shots go in, sometimes they don't, but if you defend and you take care of the ball, you're going to have a chance on almost every night.
"I hope it is. I think our mindset is very, very good. We've got a very difficult challenge here ahead of us down the stretch, but I really believe in these guys and I'm excited for the test."
In both games – the fifth sweep of the Mountain West season for the Rams who are now 16-4 overall, 13-3 in conference action – did the Falcons reach 50 points. As patient as the Falcons can be, there have only been four times this season they have failed to score at least 50 points.
Yep. That will play, especially in March, as the 13 conference victories are the most in program history in any of their conference memberships.
Over the course of the two games, the Rams urged their guests into a combined 35 turnovers. Four times the Rams forced a shot-clock violations, and on numerous other occasions, the Rams cornered Air Force to take a low-percentage shot as time was about to expire.
Playing defense for 30 seconds is hard, but the Rams did it consistently.
"It's very hard," Moore said. "That's one thing that we talked about this week going against them was being disciplined. Air Force wants to play late in the shot clock and they want you to make a shot-clock gamble or miscommunicate so they can get a wide-open shot, so we just tried to play poised and stay solid and communicate on defense so we can be successful."
Eventually, a team has to score, and Roddy helped turn the game into a breakaway dunk. He hit 20 points in a game for the third time this season, registering a double-double (his eight of the campaign) as he finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He scored 18 of them in the second half, hitting 6-of-7 shots from the field to lead the turnaround offensively.
Medved said the other night that if a defense gives his team open looks from 3, they'll eventually hit them. He almost had to eat those words after the game, but he still believes it to be true, Monday being the rare outlier.
Defense, and Roddy in the paint, was more than enough to overcome the rarity.
"I would say so, for sure," Roddy said. "We couldn't hit water if we were in a boat. We really relied on our defense. Air Force is a great and disciplined team, so we really had to lock in mentally and play throughout the whole shot clock and execute and get a rebound. We've been emphasizing defense the past few weeks, and it definitely showed today."
It took some heavy lifting, but by the end of the game, Isaiah Stevens (15) and Moore (10) had joined him in double digits. And Adam Thistlewood's nine rebounds and continuous hustle plays made sure the defense standard was being held up all evening.
That stood out to Medved. The game was over, but Thistlewood and Moore were both on the floor getting up extra shots after rough nights. Where they excelled was not letting it affect them overall, as both made vital plays defensively.
"I told them to go home, but what I love about those guys as upperclassmen, leaders, even though they weren't making shots tonight, their effort was just unbelievable," Medved said. "It was never about them and their frustration, it was about the team. And when winning becomes the most important thing on your team, you have a chance to be successful. I think those two guys set the standard for that right now. Adam's effort on the glass was phenomenal. Kendle's effort was phenomenal."
Each passing game gets bigger. The Rams have two more conference games, and it frustrates Medved there's a possibility his team win's out and be the only squad not to get swept by one of the other top four teams and still not win a regular-season title, thanks to a pair of forfeits coming San Diego State's way.
That's an argument for another day, as the Rams don't want to get ahead of themselves. But what they won't leave behind is the defensive intensity.
"It's going to be a vital part. I think probably the biggest vital part we have," Roddy said. "Defense wins championships, like they say. As long as you keep locking in and getting better day by day, I like our chances."
Because that's how teams win in March.
Not the ice-cold shooting of the first half Monday night at Moby Arena. No, the Rams will want to clean that up, because 28.6-percent shooting over 20 minutes is hard to stomach. But defensively, Colorado State coach Niko Medved will take the effort every night the Rams play.
He didn't worry much about the shooting; he knows the resume of his team. In the second half, CSU came out blistering and shot better than 55 percent the final 20 minutes, though their aim from 3-point land evaded them the entire evening (just 5-of-28 overall).
However, the fact they smothered Air Force two nights in a row – the second turning into a 74-44 runaway – was the most impressive part of his team's play coming off a three-week break. And they may be at their peak at the right time of the year.
"I hope. We'll see," Medved said. "The proof is in the pudding. The reality of it is, if you want to really play this time of the year and play at the highest level, you've got to be great on both ends. You really have to be efficient on both ends of the floor. What I do know is, sometimes shots go in, sometimes they don't, but if you defend and you take care of the ball, you're going to have a chance on almost every night.
"I hope it is. I think our mindset is very, very good. We've got a very difficult challenge here ahead of us down the stretch, but I really believe in these guys and I'm excited for the test."
In both games – the fifth sweep of the Mountain West season for the Rams who are now 16-4 overall, 13-3 in conference action – did the Falcons reach 50 points. As patient as the Falcons can be, there have only been four times this season they have failed to score at least 50 points.
Yep. That will play, especially in March, as the 13 conference victories are the most in program history in any of their conference memberships.
Over the course of the two games, the Rams urged their guests into a combined 35 turnovers. Four times the Rams forced a shot-clock violations, and on numerous other occasions, the Rams cornered Air Force to take a low-percentage shot as time was about to expire.
Playing defense for 30 seconds is hard, but the Rams did it consistently.
"It's very hard," Moore said. "That's one thing that we talked about this week going against them was being disciplined. Air Force wants to play late in the shot clock and they want you to make a shot-clock gamble or miscommunicate so they can get a wide-open shot, so we just tried to play poised and stay solid and communicate on defense so we can be successful."
Eventually, a team has to score, and Roddy helped turn the game into a breakaway dunk. He hit 20 points in a game for the third time this season, registering a double-double (his eight of the campaign) as he finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He scored 18 of them in the second half, hitting 6-of-7 shots from the field to lead the turnaround offensively.
Medved said the other night that if a defense gives his team open looks from 3, they'll eventually hit them. He almost had to eat those words after the game, but he still believes it to be true, Monday being the rare outlier.
Defense, and Roddy in the paint, was more than enough to overcome the rarity.
"I would say so, for sure," Roddy said. "We couldn't hit water if we were in a boat. We really relied on our defense. Air Force is a great and disciplined team, so we really had to lock in mentally and play throughout the whole shot clock and execute and get a rebound. We've been emphasizing defense the past few weeks, and it definitely showed today."
It took some heavy lifting, but by the end of the game, Isaiah Stevens (15) and Moore (10) had joined him in double digits. And Adam Thistlewood's nine rebounds and continuous hustle plays made sure the defense standard was being held up all evening.
That stood out to Medved. The game was over, but Thistlewood and Moore were both on the floor getting up extra shots after rough nights. Where they excelled was not letting it affect them overall, as both made vital plays defensively.
"I told them to go home, but what I love about those guys as upperclassmen, leaders, even though they weren't making shots tonight, their effort was just unbelievable," Medved said. "It was never about them and their frustration, it was about the team. And when winning becomes the most important thing on your team, you have a chance to be successful. I think those two guys set the standard for that right now. Adam's effort on the glass was phenomenal. Kendle's effort was phenomenal."
Each passing game gets bigger. The Rams have two more conference games, and it frustrates Medved there's a possibility his team win's out and be the only squad not to get swept by one of the other top four teams and still not win a regular-season title, thanks to a pair of forfeits coming San Diego State's way.
That's an argument for another day, as the Rams don't want to get ahead of themselves. But what they won't leave behind is the defensive intensity.
"It's going to be a vital part. I think probably the biggest vital part we have," Roddy said. "Defense wins championships, like they say. As long as you keep locking in and getting better day by day, I like our chances."
Because that's how teams win in March.
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