Rams prepared for MW gauntlet
As the page turns on the Colorado State men’s basketball team’s season, the Rams know what they have done so far has been historic, but what matters more is what they will do in their last 18 games of the regular season.
The No. 13-ranked Rams, coming off a 12-1 run through nonconference play, began their Mountain West Conference schedule with some high expectations Tuesday night, not only by the group in the locker room, but also prognosticators all across the country.
With quality wins over Creighton, Boston College and Pac-12 schools Colorado and Washington, the Rams climbed to their highest AP Top 25 ranking ever and are in the midst of their longest run as a ranked team in program history. Before their Mountain West opener against New Mexico late Tuesday, the Rams were also ranked No. 15 in the NET rankings and No. 30 in the Kenpom rankings.
While those rankings will eventually figure into when and where they play in March, the Rams’ goal of winning a conference championship, as well as the conference tournament, all comes down to how their last 18 games play out.
The only blemish on CSU’S run through nonconference play was a 64-61 loss to Saint Mary’s. Reflecting on the first 13 games, head coach Niko Medved said he has been most impressed with the way the team has been able to stay in the moment and the way the new and returning players have come together.
“Preparing for the games, forgetting about the last one, coming in every day and ready to just stay in the moment, and I think they have done that in the games, too,” Medved said. “Basketball is a game of runs. We’ve been in a lot of these games where a team makes a run, somebody gets thrown out of a game, whatever it is, and these guys just haven’t flinched in the moment. They’ve found a way to keep fighting and stay with it and I think that’s what you have to do.”
Coming into the season with some new players and arguably the best player in program history, the Rams already had some high expectations. A 9-0 start backed those up and the players have performed as expected, or better.
Isaiah Stevens has already become the program’s all-time leading scorer. He had 1,999 points going into the conference opener against New Mexico. He was also averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 assists per game heading into Tuesday night. Transfers Nique Clifford and Joel Scott have made their impacts felt as well, with Clifford averaging 13.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and Scott averaging 12.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Patrick Cartier was steady throughout nonconference play as well with an average of 12.8 points per game, while the Rams received contributions off the bench from a number of players, most notably Joe Palmer, Kyan Evans, Rashaan Mbemba and Javonte Johnson.
CSU hasn’t let the injury bug hit them too hard. Cartier missed a couple of games, as have Jalen Lake and Josiah Strong. Lake returned last Friday against Adams State after missing a few games and Strong is on the verge of returning as well.
In other words, the Rams are getting some muchneeded help back as the Mountain West gauntlet begins.
A quick peek at the Mountain West standings shows just how competitive the league will be this season. Going into the first games of conference play, the top five teams were a combined 60-6. The top four, CSU included, each have only one loss.
Medved believes that until a team knocks them off, defending league champion and national runnerup San Diego State is the favorite. He also knows, as the league’s lone ranked team, the Rams have a target on their backs.
“We know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot, everybody’s intensity, highest intensity level,” he said. “But there’s a lot of teams, I think, that can say that. This is going to be a gauntlet. As a competitor, I’m really, really looking forward to it. You have to be able to stay in the moment at the highest level possible. If you win a big game, you have to enjoy it because they’re hard to win.”