When Utah State woke up for their game against the CSU Rams Saturday morning, they must have gotten confused, thinking that they were about to play the other Colorado-based MWC team: Air Force. Otherwise, I have no rational explanation for the absolute thrashing that took place at the Spectrum.
In a much-hyped matchup between the Mountain West’s top two teams, Utah State completely embarrassed Colorado State by a final score of 100-58, in a game that wasn’t even as close as what the final score would
suggest.
It was an absolutely crushing affair for the Rams (9-3, 0-1 MWC), who were dominated in every single statistical category, and whose flaws were plainly exposed by a lethal Utah State defense. This game really says quite a bit about both teams, obviously in different ways.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
Colorado State 24 – Utah State 45
2nd Half
Colorado State 34 – Utah State 55
Final: Colorado State 58 – Utah State 100
Game Recap
The Rams never led in this contest, and the only tie was at 0. Utah State set the tone of the contest early by racing out to a 12-0 lead. 10 of those points came from USU guard Mason Falsev, making each of his first four shots. It took until over five minutes of game time had passed until Jevin Muniz got the Rams on the board with a layup, which was immediately overshadowed by Falsev adding another layup to his tally, sitting at 5/5 with 12 points and 3 rebounds just under six minutes in.
Josh Pascarelli cut the lead to 16-5 with a three-pointer, but the Aggies went on another prolonged run of 21-6 to essentially put the game outt of reach midway through the first half. Utah State even let off the gas going into halftime, with the Rams entering the break on a 13-11 run, trailing 45-24.
Any hope of a comeback just kept fading more and more as the game went on. After keeping the gap at 24 for the first five minutes of the second half, the Rams allowed the Aggies to go on another long 19-5 run to all but put the game out of reach. All of USU’s starters were out of the game for good by the midway point of the second half, with the backups coming in to finish off the dominant 100-58 win.
Colorado State was simply outmatched for the entirety of this matchup. All of the problems from their previous close wins and losses showed up here, namely in USU’s 48-20 lead in points in the paint. The major issue, however, was that the taller Utah State lineup also dominated 40-20 in rebounds.
Falsev was the Aggies’ leading scorer, going 7/9 for 18 points in just 22 minutes, adding 4 rebounds and 2 assists as well. A further five Aggies scored in double-figures, three of them being guards. MWC leading scorer MJ Collins Jr. had 15 points in 22 minutes, while forward Adlan Elamin had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Senior bench guard Kolby King had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists in his 30-minute night.
Carey Booth and Brandon Rechsteiner were the only Rams to do much of anything. Booth was rather efficient with 14 points in his 22 minutes, though even the Rams’ leading rebounder couldn’t snag one off the glass, tallying just 2 rebounds, by far his season-low in that category. Rechsteiner had 11 points in 25 minutes, adding a single rebound and assist. Outside of those two, nobody else topped 8 points or 4 rebounds, both by the off-the-bench Jase Butler. The remainder of the Rams’ usual starters: Pascarelli, Jorgenson, and Muniz, combined for just 13 points on a dreadful 5/20 shooting, just 2/10 from three.
Overall, CSU shot 37% from the field (18-49), 30% from three (7-23), and had 15 turnovers. USU shot an amazing 64% from the field (37-58), 57% from three (12-21), and had 10 turnovers. Utah State held massive leads in points in the paint (48-20), points off turnovers (27-11), and fast break points (17-0).
Utah State shot up to 29th in KenPom rankings with their dominant win over the top-70 Rams. The Aggies solidified their lead utop the Mountain West Conference, holding the overall record tiebreaker over New Mexico, Nevada, Grand Canyon, San Diego State, and UNLV.
Colorado State dropped to 78th in KenPom rankings with the 42-point drubbing. The Rams are tied for 7th in the MWC with Wyoming, leading over fellow 0-1 teams Boise State, Fresno State, San Jose State, and Air Force.
Up Next
The Rams will have a few days around Christmas to regain their confidence before facing their first conference test in the comfort of Moby Arena on December 30, facing off against the 9-3 Nevada Wolf Pack, led by Head Coach Steve Alford. The Wolf Pack, infamous for going 0-10 against the conference’s top five teams a year ago, immediately vanquished their demons in their first conference game, dominating Boise State 81-66 without leading scorer Corey Camper Jr.
The Wolf Pack rank 85th in KenPom, are 4th in the conference in offensive rating, 7th in defensive rating, and have done so against the 3rd-hardest strength of schedule in the conference. Pack forward Elijah Price is top-5 in the conference in rebounds and blocks, while Camper, along with recent breakout star Tayshawn Comer, are in the top 10 in points per game.
The Wolf Pack’s offense has had all this success in spite of their offensive efficiency, ranking dead last in the conference in field goal percentage, while also ranking 4th in the conference in three-point percentage. The Pack are also ranked 2nd in the conference in blocks, and turn the ball over far less than any other team in the Mountain West.
For the Rams to win this bout, they need to follow the Wolf Pack’s lead in not turning the ball over, while also taking away the three-point shots Nevada are so good at. With Camper likely back from injury for this contest, that will just add yet another wrinkle to a Pack offense that has found its stride without him.
Under Alford, the Wolf Pack and Rams have split the series 5-5. The teams have swept each other each of the last two seasons, with both of last season’s contests going the way of the Rams. Each of the last three matchups have been decided by eight points or less.
Tipoff time is yet to be determined. Coverage will be provided via the Mountain West Network.
