Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, December 9
Fort Collins, CO
4:30 PM
Colorado State
vs
Saint Mary's
No. 13/12 Colorado States Faces Tough Test Saturday
12/8/2023 1:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Colorado State hosts Saint Mary’s on Saturday afternoon
FORT COLLINS – The challenging non-conference schedule continues for No. 12 Colorado State men's basketball as they host Saint Mary's at 4:30 pm Saturday. The Rams aim for the program's third-ever 10-0 start.
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Opening Tip
- Colorado State moved its record to 9-0 by protecting its home court against Denver Wednesday night 90-80.
- The Rams are 9-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season when CSU opened the season with 11 straight wins.
- CSU is looking to start the season at 10-0 for the third time in program history. The 2013-14 team and 2021-22 team also achieved that feat.
- The Rams' nine-game win streak is the fourth longest in program history. The longest is 14 by the 2014-15 team to open the season.
- Colorado State is one of 13 teams still undefeated in the nation.
- CSU's men's and women's teams are both still undefeated, making the university one of three along with Baylor and TCU.
- The Rams earned their highest-ever ranking in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 this week checking in at No. 13 and 12, respectively.
- Colorado State checked in at No. 7 in the inaugural NET rankings for the 2023-24 season released on Monday morning.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 101-64 as the Rams' head coach. The win on December 2 against Washington was the 100th for him leading the Green & Gold. Medved is now one of five coaches in the program's 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 records when he posted 14 assists against Wright State. He is averaging 17.2 points, 8.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 53.8% from the field and 40.6% behind the arc.
- Stevens just missed out on another double-double against Denver with 18 points and nine assists. Fifteen of those 18 points came in the second half.
- He earned his second straight Mountain West Player of the Week honor after averaging 16.0 points, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals in a pair of wins over Colorado and Washington.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.
- Nique Clifford has enjoyed his time in Fort Collins transferring to CSU from Colorado. He is shooting an impressive 59.4% from the field including 52.2% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. Clifford dished out a career-best seven assists in the win over DU to go with his 15 points and five rebounds.
- Patrick Cartier missed two games for Colorado State, but since returning is averaging 17.5 points on 71.4% shooting. He led the Rams with 19 points against Denver.
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.18), assists per game (20.6), effective field goal percentage (61.0%), field goal percentage (53.5%), free throw percentage (76.5%), scoring offense (85.8) and 3-pointer per game (8.7).
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Scouting the Gales
Teams coached by Randy Bennett are always tough nosed and that's no difference with this year's Saint Mary's team. The Gales have taken on a tough schedule this season entering Saturday at 4-5.
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Saturday's contest will be the Gales fourth of the year against a Mountain West opponent. Saint Mary's previously beat New Mexico while falling to San Diego State and Boise State.
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Aidan Mahaney and Mitchell Saxen are averaging double figures scoring with 15.4 and 10.4 points per game.
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Saint Mary's have become known for their defense holding opponents to just 60.6 points a game. Only two teams have reached the 70 point mark against them this season.
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What's Ahead
The Rams will be off for the week as they focus on their finals before hosting CSU-Pueblo on Sunday, December 17 at 4 pm.
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Opening Tip
- Colorado State moved its record to 9-0 by protecting its home court against Denver Wednesday night 90-80.
- The Rams are 9-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season when CSU opened the season with 11 straight wins.
- CSU is looking to start the season at 10-0 for the third time in program history. The 2013-14 team and 2021-22 team also achieved that feat.
- The Rams' nine-game win streak is the fourth longest in program history. The longest is 14 by the 2014-15 team to open the season.
- Colorado State is one of 13 teams still undefeated in the nation.
- CSU's men's and women's teams are both still undefeated, making the university one of three along with Baylor and TCU.
- The Rams earned their highest-ever ranking in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 this week checking in at No. 13 and 12, respectively.
- Colorado State checked in at No. 7 in the inaugural NET rankings for the 2023-24 season released on Monday morning.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 101-64 as the Rams' head coach. The win on December 2 against Washington was the 100th for him leading the Green & Gold. Medved is now one of five coaches in the program's 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 records when he posted 14 assists against Wright State. He is averaging 17.2 points, 8.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 53.8% from the field and 40.6% behind the arc.
- Stevens just missed out on another double-double against Denver with 18 points and nine assists. Fifteen of those 18 points came in the second half.
- He earned his second straight Mountain West Player of the Week honor after averaging 16.0 points, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals in a pair of wins over Colorado and Washington.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.
- Nique Clifford has enjoyed his time in Fort Collins transferring to CSU from Colorado. He is shooting an impressive 59.4% from the field including 52.2% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. Clifford dished out a career-best seven assists in the win over DU to go with his 15 points and five rebounds.
- Patrick Cartier missed two games for Colorado State, but since returning is averaging 17.5 points on 71.4% shooting. He led the Rams with 19 points against Denver.
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.18), assists per game (20.6), effective field goal percentage (61.0%), field goal percentage (53.5%), free throw percentage (76.5%), scoring offense (85.8) and 3-pointer per game (8.7).
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Scouting the Gales
Teams coached by Randy Bennett are always tough nosed and that's no difference with this year's Saint Mary's team. The Gales have taken on a tough schedule this season entering Saturday at 4-5.
Â
Saturday's contest will be the Gales fourth of the year against a Mountain West opponent. Saint Mary's previously beat New Mexico while falling to San Diego State and Boise State.
Â
Aidan Mahaney and Mitchell Saxen are averaging double figures scoring with 15.4 and 10.4 points per game.
Â
Saint Mary's have become known for their defense holding opponents to just 60.6 points a game. Only two teams have reached the 70 point mark against them this season.
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What's Ahead
The Rams will be off for the week as they focus on their finals before hosting CSU-Pueblo on Sunday, December 17 at 4 pm.
Players Mentioned
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