Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, December 2
Las Vegas, NV
5:00 PM
Colorado State
vs
Washington
No. 20 Colorado State Heads to Las Vegas to Face Washington
12/1/2023 10:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CSU takes part in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State men's basketball takes the show back on the road when they face their second straight Pac 12 opponent in Washington on Saturday. The Rams and Huskies will tip off at 5 pm MT inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with the game airing on CBS Sports Network.
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Opening Tip
- Colorado State defended its home court defeating rival Colorado 88-83 in front of a sold out Moby Arena on Wednesday night.
- The Rams are 7-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season when CSU opened the season with 11 straight wins.
- CSU moved into the AP and USA Today Top 25 earlier this week checking in at No. 20 and 21, respectively. It is the first time Colorado State has been in the polls since March 2022.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 99-64 as the Rams' head coach. He is one win away from becoming the fifth coach in program history to reach the 100 wins mark.
- Isaiah Stevens returns for his final year of eligibility and the nation is taking notice of the guard. Stevens was named the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, Wooden Top 50 Preseason List and one of 20 players named to the Bob Cousy Preseason Watch List.
- Stevens has three double-doubles on the year and already reset one of his own records when he posted 14 assists against Wright State. He is averaging 17.9 points, 8.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 56.8% from the field and 50.0% behind the arc.
- He is coming off a week where he was named the Hall of Fame Classic MVP after averaging 19.0 points, 7.5 assists. 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 58.6% and 60.0% from 3-point land. He had an impressive 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in the games against Boston College and Creighton. He was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for it.
- Stevens recorded his third double-double of the year against Colorado with 20 points and 11 assists.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds. He scored 15 points in the win over Colorado.
- Nique Clifford enjoyed Wednesday's game against his former team scoring 15 points to go with six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. He put the nail in the coffin for the win with a dunk in the final minute. The transfer from Colorado is shooting an impressive 61.4% from the field including 55.0% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds.
- Jalen Lake had one of the gutsiest performances in the win over Colorado. The junior played with a broken finger on his left hand coming out scoring 16 points hitting a trio of threes and going 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.09), assists per game (20.6), effective field goal percentage (61.1%), fastbreak points (15.14), field goal percentage (53.5), free throw percentage (78.9%), 3-point percentage (39.4%) and turnover margin (4.0).
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Scouting the Huskies
Colorado State and Washington have played three times before with CSU holding a 2-1 advantage. The Rams and Huskies have met one since the turn of the century when CSU went to Seattle and won 64-59 in 2012.
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What's Ahead
Colorado State returns home to start a three-game homestand against in-state foe Denver on Wednesday at 7 pm.
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Opening Tip
- Colorado State defended its home court defeating rival Colorado 88-83 in front of a sold out Moby Arena on Wednesday night.
- The Rams are 7-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season when CSU opened the season with 11 straight wins.
- CSU moved into the AP and USA Today Top 25 earlier this week checking in at No. 20 and 21, respectively. It is the first time Colorado State has been in the polls since March 2022.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 99-64 as the Rams' head coach. He is one win away from becoming the fifth coach in program history to reach the 100 wins mark.
- Isaiah Stevens returns for his final year of eligibility and the nation is taking notice of the guard. Stevens was named the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, Wooden Top 50 Preseason List and one of 20 players named to the Bob Cousy Preseason Watch List.
- Stevens has three double-doubles on the year and already reset one of his own records when he posted 14 assists against Wright State. He is averaging 17.9 points, 8.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 56.8% from the field and 50.0% behind the arc.
- He is coming off a week where he was named the Hall of Fame Classic MVP after averaging 19.0 points, 7.5 assists. 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 58.6% and 60.0% from 3-point land. He had an impressive 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in the games against Boston College and Creighton. He was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for it.
- Stevens recorded his third double-double of the year against Colorado with 20 points and 11 assists.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds. He scored 15 points in the win over Colorado.
- Nique Clifford enjoyed Wednesday's game against his former team scoring 15 points to go with six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. He put the nail in the coffin for the win with a dunk in the final minute. The transfer from Colorado is shooting an impressive 61.4% from the field including 55.0% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds.
- Jalen Lake had one of the gutsiest performances in the win over Colorado. The junior played with a broken finger on his left hand coming out scoring 16 points hitting a trio of threes and going 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.09), assists per game (20.6), effective field goal percentage (61.1%), fastbreak points (15.14), field goal percentage (53.5), free throw percentage (78.9%), 3-point percentage (39.4%) and turnover margin (4.0).
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Scouting the Huskies
Colorado State and Washington have played three times before with CSU holding a 2-1 advantage. The Rams and Huskies have met one since the turn of the century when CSU went to Seattle and won 64-59 in 2012.
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What's Ahead
Colorado State returns home to start a three-game homestand against in-state foe Denver on Wednesday at 7 pm.
Players Mentioned
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