Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Air Force
Rams Close Regular Season at Air Force
3/8/2024 11:39:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Colorado State men’s basketball ends regular season schedule at Air Force Saturday
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State men's basketball heads south on I25 to close out its regular season with a visit to Air Force on Saturday. The Rams and Falcons will tip off inside Clune Arena at 2 p.m.
Opening Tip
- Colorado State snapped its losing streak and sent the seniors out with a win over rival Wyoming 70-62 last Saturday.
- The seniors combined for 54 of CSU's 70 points in the win.
- The week break for the Rams is their first since early January as the team played 14 straight games.
- CSU has won 20 games four times in the past five years.
- Head coach Niko Medved became the first coach in program history to win 20-plus games four times.
- The Rams finished the year 15-2 inside Moby Arena this season.
- The 15 wins inside Moby this season is the second most in program history, trailing only the 16 by the 2012-13 team.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his sixth year leading Colorado State. He is 113-73 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.
- He was named one of the 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. It's the second time in his career earning the honor.
- Stevens became the second Ram in three years to earn a spot on the Naismith mid season team. He was also named one of the top 40 players in the nation by the USBWA.
- He sits in the top 5 for active players in scoring (5th) and assists (2nd).
- 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 16.4 points, 7.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 45.2% 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 2,267.
- In his final game at Moby Arena he scored 12 points to go with six rebounds and two assists in the win.
- Newcomer Joel Scott continues to be a big presence inside for CSU averaging 12.4 points and 6.0 rebounds.
- He had his second 20 point game of the season against Wyoming leading the team with 20 points and grabbing five rebounds.
- Nique Clifford has enjoyed his time in Fort Collins transferring to Colorado State from Colorado. He is shooting an impressive 53.2% from the field including 39.3% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.
- He had his seventh double-double of the year against Wyoming with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
- Patrick Cartier missed two games for Colorado State, but since returning has not missed a beat. He is averaging 11.1 points on 52.4% 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 (2,267), Patrick Cartier (2,352) and Joel Scott (2,844).
- Colorado State leads the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.85), assists per game (18.8), effective field goal percentage (55.6%) and free throw percentage (76.3%).
- The Rams 1.85 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best in the nation.
Scouting the Falcons
Air Force has struggled in conference play with a 2-15 record, but have shown they can play with anyone in the league. Their two wins have come on the road at UNLV and New Mexico.
The trio of Rytis Petraitis, Ethan Taylor and Beau Becker all average right around 14 points a game for the Falcons. Taylor and Becker have combined to make 150 3-pointers this season.Â
The Falcons average 8.9 3s a game, to lead the Mountain West.
What's Ahead
It is off to the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas next Wednesday-Saturday. The Rams will either be the No. 6 or 7 seed for it.
