Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
San Jose State
Colorado State Welcomes San Jose State to Moby Friday
2/8/2024 10:57:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CSU is 4-0 on Friday’s this season
FORT COLLINS – Friday at Moby Arena is back for one final time during the 2023-24 season as Colorado State hosts San Jose State at 7:30 pm. The Rams put their three-game win streak on the line against former head coach Tim Miles.
Opening Tip
- Colorado State stretched their win streak to three games on Tuesday controlling the game throughout in a 75-62 win over Boise State.
- The win moved the Rams' home record to 12-1 on the year. The lone loss coming to Saint Mary's in December.
- CSU is 4-0 this season when playing on Fridays, including 3-0 at home.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 110-69 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.
- Medved was an assistant coach at CSU under now San Jose State head coach Tim Miles from 2007-2012.
- 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.
- He was named one of the 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. It's the second time in his career earning the honor.
- He sits in the top 5 for active players in both scoring (3rd) and assists (1st).
- Stevens has four double-doubles on the year and already reset one of his own records when he posted 14 assists against Wright State. He is averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 49.3% from the field and 45.6% 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 2,156.
- He recorded his fourth double-double of the year against Boise State with 16 points and 11 assists in the win.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 11.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.
- Scott turned in another strong night against the Broncos with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Nique Clifford has enjoyed his time in Fort Collins transferring to Colorado State from Colorado. He is shooting an impressive 58.3% from the field including 46.2% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds.
- It is Clifford's birthday on Friday.
- Patrick Cartier missed two games for Colorado State, but since returning has not missed a beat. He is averaging 11.9 points on 55.9% shooting.
- 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 (2,156), Patrick Cartier (2,291) and Joel Scott (2,745).
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89), assists per game (19.3), effective field goal percentage (57.8%), field goal percentage (50.6%) and free throw percentage (76.5%).
Scouting the Spartans
Former CSU head coach Tim Mile's San Jose State team has hit a rough patch in conference play coming in a 1-9 in the Mountain West and dropped their last six games.
The Spartans have a four-headed monster in Myron Amey Jr, Alvaro Cardenas, Tibet Gorener and Trey Anderson averaging double figures scoring, but struggle to find production after that. Amey Jr leads the team with 15.1 points per game.
Guarding the 3-point line is key against SJSU, as they attempt a Mountain West leading 25.3 a game.
What's Ahead
Colorado State hits the road for a big test next Tuesday at San Diego State. The Rams and Aztec tip-off at 7 pm MT.
