Entering their home tilt on Tuesday night, the CSU Rams were on an extended streak best defined by the term “collapse.” After their 9-2 finish in non-conference play, the Rams opened up their MWC slate
with a 2-5 record, only winning on the road against GCU and at home against UNLV, while falling to Utah State, Nevada, New Mexico, Fresno State, and Boise State.
Notably, that list of the Rams’ conference opening slate features the teams currently ranked 2nd through 8th in the MWC standings. It was overdue for the Rams to be rewarded for their struggles in their brutal gauntlet of a slate with a nice, easy win. Luckily for them, such a game exists for every team in the conference in the form of the Rams’ in-state rivals, the Air Force Falcons.
Calling the Falcons an “easy win” may be a bit too generous. Air Force is not just the worst team in the MWC by a country mile, they are one of the worst teams currently playing at the Division I level. The Falcons (3-16, 0-8 MWC) are currently ranked 342nd in KenPom and 337th in NET rankings, both out of a list of 364 teams. They had lost just one conference game by a single-digit margin entering their game in Moby Arena against CSU, and had just lost their head coach to a university suspension for misconduct and abuse towards cadet-athletes prior to the Falcons’ previous game against Nevada.
Naturally, the Rams (12-7, 3-5 MWC) had little trouble with the hapless Falcons, easily defeating them by a final score of 81-52. Only one Ram starter played more than half the game, and CSU sat in cruise control for the entire second half while their lead continued to grow. This was exactly what the doctor ordered for a Colorado State team that could not catch a break for the first month of conference play.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
Air Force 21 – Colorado State 38
2nd Half
Air Force 31 – Colorado State 43
Final: Air Force 52 – Colorado State 81
Game Recap
Air Force scored first, but immediately allowed the Rams to go on a 10-0 run following their initial bucket, and never led after that. The Falcons feigned keeping the game close, trailing by just three at one point, but the Rams quickly got back on the gas to take a 17-point lead into the halftime break. CSU kept pouring it on in the second half, growing the lead to 28 before pulling their remaining starters and coasting home to a 29-point win, their third of MWC play.
Despite the massive win, the Rams’ problems that have showed up time and time again this season did indeed show up here, namely their issues down low. Despite the blowout win, the Rams only led the Falcons 37-30 in rebounds and 30-26 in points in the paint, showing that they were largely unable to contain the Falcons under the basket. If those problems do not disappear against Air Force, the conference’s worst team, I can’t see them going away at all this season.
Nine players scored for the Rams during the game, and all nine scored somewhere between 7 and 11 points. Josh Pascarelli, Jase Butler, and Brandon Rechsteiner each scored 11 points to lead the Rams in scoring, while adding 13 rebounds and 6 assists between them. The Falcons had two players score in double-figures, led by guard Kam Sanders’ 11 points on 5/11 shooting.
Overall, the Rams shot 52% from the field (28-54), 42% from three (10-24), and had just 6 turnovers. Air Force, on the other hand, shot just 36% from the field (19-53), a pitiful 17% from three (5-30), and had 14 turnovers. The Falcons also failed to block a single one of CSU’s shots, while the Rams did so four times.
CSU rose up to 96th in NET after the Quad-4 home win, surpassing Wyoming for 7th place in the conference in the rankings. They also rose to 91st in KenPom, also 7th in the conference. Air Force simply fell even further into the basement of both rankings with no end in sight.
The Rams are now tied with Boise State for 8th place in the conference at 3-9. As the Broncos beat the Rams head to head, CSU officially resides in 9th place.
Up Next
The Rams have a quick turnaround to another home game on Friday night, but this one will be no cakewalk, as CSU will play in their rematch with the 15-3 Utah State Aggies and Coach Jerrod Calhoun.
The Aggies were once the undisputed best team in the conference, as evidence by their conference-opening 100-58 decimation of the Rams in Logan back in December, the game that started the Rams’ extended slump. However, after starting their conference slate 6-0, and being ranked 23rd in the AP Poll, the Aggies have stumbled for the first time all season, being upset by 10 points in back-to-back games on the road against GCU and at home against UNLV.
The Aggies are slumping, though they are still not to be taken lightly or underestimated in any way. USU leads the conference in points, assists, and steals per game, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage. The Aggies are led by the conference’s leading scorer, MJ Collins Jr. (19.6 PPG).
To win this game, the Rams will have to miraculously overcome each of their season-spanning problems, since each of them came together to create the absolute drubbing they took in their conference opener against the Aggies. They will need to avoid getting out-muscled in the paint, have the lateral quickness to defend guards, and avoid careless turnovers and falling behind early. This will be a tough task, but perhaps Moby Magic can make a triumphant return in a must-have game for the Rams.
Tipoff is scheduled for Friday, January 23, at 8:00 p.m. MT. Coverage will be provided by FS1.
