Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
San Diego State
Rams Return Home to Host San Diego State
1/29/2024 7:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tuesday night’s game is both State Pride and NIL Night
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State men's basketball returns home for State Pride and NIL Night as the Rams host San Diego State Tuesday at 7 pm. Show off your state pride and support CSU's NIL collective, The Green & Gold Guard.
Opening Tip
- Colorado State fell in overtime at rivals Wyoming on Saturday 79-76. The Rams saw a double digit lead to away in the final minute of regulation.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 107-69 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. He has added on the Wooden Midseason Top 25 and Lute Olson Midseason Watch List.
- On Monday he was named one of the 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. It's the second time in his career that he earned the honor.
- He sits in the top 5 for active players in both scoring (3rd) and assists (2nd).
- 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 16.7 points, 7.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 43.6% behind the arc.
- He became the program's all-time leading scorer against LMU (Dec. 22) when he passed Pat Durham (1985-89) and his 1,980 points.
- Stevens surpassed the 2,000 point mark with his first basket against New Mexico (Jan. 2) and currently sits at 2,108.
- He missed out on another double-double on Saturday with 17 points and nine assists.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.
- Scott was one of four Rams in double figures Saturday with 15 points and eight rebounds.
- Nique Clifford has enjoyed his time in Fort Collins transferring to Colorado State from Colorado. He is shooting an impressive 59.2% from the field including 50.9% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.
 Clifford recorded his fourth double-double of the season at Wyoming. He scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
- Patrick Cartier missed two games for Colorado State, but since returning has not missed a beat. He is averaging 12.2 points on 55.7% shooting.
- Cartier connected on a career-high four 3s against Wyoming, leading to a team-high 19 points.
- CSU is the only program across all of collegiate men's basketball with not two, but three 2,000 point scorers on their roster. The trio is Isaiah Stevens (2,108), Patrick Cartier (2,261) and Joel Scott (2,703).
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.85), assists per game (19.4), effective field goal percentage (57.4%), field goal percentage (50.1%) and free throw percentage (75.5%).
Scouting the Aztecs
A year after finishing as the national runner-up Brian Dutcher once again has his team in good position with February and March approaching. The Aztecs are 16-4 overall and 5-2 in Mountain West play.
SDSU has one of the nation's leading scorers in Jaedon Ledee. He is averaging 20.9 points to rank 16th in the nation. He is adding in a team-leading 8.7 rebounds a game.
As always with San Diego State, defense is a calling card for the team. Opponents are scoring 66.8 points per game against them and shooting 40.1%. The field goal percentage defense leads the conference and is 33rd in the country. Teams struggle shooting the 3-ball against SDSU making just 29.8% so far.
What's Ahead
The Rams hit the road seeking their first road win of conference season at Fresno State at 8 pm MT.
