Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
The Colorado State Rams and Boise State Broncos will take the floor at ExtraMile Arena on Saturday for a Mountain West Conference clash on the hardwood. Tip-off from Boise, ID, is at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Colorado State, 10-11 SU and 7-13 ATS, lost 57-56 at Wyoming in its last game. The Rams are 3-2 in their past five and 2-6 in conference competition. Boise State, 16-5 SU and 13-6-1 ATS, beat Fresno State 63-53 in its last game. The Broncos are 4-1 in their past five and 6-2 in conference competition. CSU is 2-5 SU and ATS on the road this season, while BSU is 9-1 SU and 5-4 ATS at home.
Colorado State beat Boise State twice last season. The Broncos hold a narrow 15-14 advantage in the series' history.
The Rams are fighting to stay relevant in the Mountain West after starting 2-6. Now 10-11 overall, they'll need a late-season push in their final ten regular season games to finish with a winning record.
Colorado State lost a tough one on the road at Wyoming last Saturday, falling by one point despite a second-half rally. The Rams trailed by 14 at the half but didn't give up, outscoring the Cowboys 36-23 after the break. CSU outshot Wyoming from the field and won the rebounding battle 38-29, but it wasn't enough, as its 18 turnovers were too much to overcome.
How about @IsaiahStevens7 last week!
?? The program's career assists record holder!
?? Two double-doubles (16 pts, 11 ast vs SDSU, 15 pts, 10 rebs at UW)
?? Averaged 15.5 pts, 7.5 rebs and 9.0 ast#Stalwart x #TeamTogether pic.twitter.com/oK4L6nVRzt&mda sh; Colorado State Men's Basketball (@CSUMBasketball) January 24, 2023
The Rams average 74.6 points per game (125th) on 49.1 percent shooting (12th), including 37.3 percent from three (44th). They convert 73.0 percent of their free-throw attempts (120th) and average 28.5 rebounds (334th) with a -2.8 rebounding margin. Colorado State is 72nd nationally in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Senior guard Isaiah Stevens paces the Rams in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting, including 39.7 percent from three. He also contributes 6.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds and shoots 87.0 percent from the foul line. Other players to watch are senior guard John Tonje (13.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG), senior forward Patrick Cartier (13.1 PPG, 64.3 FG%), and junior guard Isaiah Rivera (9.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG).
Colorado State surrenders 71.0 points per game (229th) on 44.1 percent shooting (232nd), including 36.7 percent from three-point range (325th). I t's 184th in schedule-adjusted defensive efficiency and 9th in assist-per-turnover ratio (1.54).