Unbeaten CSU men's basketball team heads into pivotal stretch chasing NCAA Tournament at-large bid
The foundational work is done.
The Colorado State men’s basketball team has raced off to the strong start it was supposed to.
The Rams are 8-0 after Wednesday’s 86-55 home blowout win over Little Rock.
CSU has a couple decent NCAA Tournament resume wins (Oral Roberts and Creighton lead the list) and no blemishes due to the perfect start.
Now it's really time to build. The Rams have four games left in nonconference play and a chance to grab everything they’re chasing, but the quality of their opponents ratchets up another level now.
It begins Saturday in what should be a madhouse at Moby Arena, a true Moby Madness game.
The Rams host Saint Mary’s (7-1) at 2 p.m. for one of the biggest basketball games in Fort Collins in years.
Saint Mary’s is a perennial mid-major power, ranked No. 35 in Division I by KenPom’s advanced metrics (CSU is No. 47). The Gaels already have wins over Notre Dame and Oregon and beat CSU soundly last season.
"I can't wait for it. They're a really good team, man, and it's going to be a battle," Isaiah Stevens said. "It's going to be a fun game, definitely excited to see how Moby looks on Saturday."
A win over Saint Mary’s would put CSU firmly in the mix to break into the top 25 in the polls.
Road to the NCAA Tournament
The Saint Mary’s game is just the start of a pivotal stretch.
The following three games for the Rams are Mississippi State (No. 40 in KenPom), Tulsa (No. 148 in KenPom) and Alabama (16 in KenPom). All three are neutral-site games (although Alabama is in Birmingham, so it's a de-facto road game).
This is where a resume can be made or broken. Three or four wins out of those four games and CSU enters Mountain West play in prime position to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, albeit with work to do in league play.
CSU was left out of the Big Dance last season because the Rams had no good wins outside of Mountain West play (partially due to COVID-19 impacts on the schedule). That led coach Niko Medved and staff to schedule aggressively this season.
Win or lose in this stretch, the Rams have ownership of what happens.
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About CSU’s eighth win
Wednesday’s game was always likely to be lopsided (CSU entered as a 20.5-point favorite) and then Little Rock (4-4) was only able to dress nine players for the game.
It went as expected. At one point in the first half, the Rams held the visitors more than 7 minutes without a point as CSU went on a 16-0 run that was part of a larger 22-2 run.
The Rams were up 43-20 at halftime, and the game was never a contest.
Isaiah Stevens produced another Mr. Clean game at point guard, with a double-double of 12 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers as he continues to lead the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio.
"What can you say about Isaiah Stevens? Just a phenomenal performance," coach Niko Medved said. "I would love to see who is doing it better than him."
The Rams dished out 24 assists on 33 field goals. At one point in the first half, Little Rock had 12 shot attempts and 11 turnovers.
"We talked about urgency, offensively and defensively," Kendle Moore said. "Mainly, defensively we try and get after the ball early, put a little pressure on them and see how they handle it."
The 8-0 record is the second-best start in program history, trailing only the 2014-15 team that started 14-0.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: CSU basketball team now 8-0 heading into Saint Mary's showdown
