First-year head coach Ali Farokhmanesh and the CSU Rams men’s basketball team have wrapped up their non-conference slate, finishing with a record of an impressive 9-2, ranking 61st in KenPom.
Farokhmanesh, the longtime CSU assistant coach, appears to have his men playing in top form in his first season as the head man after Niko Medved left to take a job at Minnesota.
It has been a bumpy season for the Mountain West this year, with each team taking at least one bad loss in their non-conference slates,
that of course headlined by Boise State’s nightmare opening-night loss to D-II school Hawaii Pacific. The Rams were no exception to this rule, yet even still, it was an encouraging start to the season for the reigning conference champions, a team that came an uncalled travel away from the Sweet 16 nine months ago.
Heading into the Rams’ conference slate, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at how the season has gone up to this point, and see where the Rams sit among the contenders in their final season of Mountain West basketball.
Week 1: Fast Start
The Rams opened their season with back-to-back home games at Moby Arena, taking on the Incarnate Word Cardinals of the Southland Conference and the Omaha Mavericks of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Both games resulted in dominant Ram victories, defeating the Cardinals 98-64, then the Mavericks 97-74.
Incarnate Word kept the match close at first, closing their deficit to 15-13 with 11:03 left in the first half. With that being said, they never held a lead, and the game quickly got out of hand from that point onwards. The Rams were leading by 14 at halftime, then scored 57 points in a second-half barrage to nearly top the century mark.
If there was any concern to take from this performance, the Rams showed a bit of weakness towards guards, as UIW’s Tahj Staveskie and Davion Bailey gave the Rams fits all night, combining for 47 points on 16-34 shooting. However, no other Cardinal had more than 5 points, the rest of the team combining for 7-25 shooting. The Rams also had a bit of difficulty holding on to the ball, combining for 10 turnovers to the Cardinals’ 5.
On the CSU side, each of the Rams’ starters broke into double-digits. Virginia Tech transfer Brandon Rechsteiner led the way with 19. Marist transfer Josh Pascarelli followed closely with 18 points, while sophomore holdover Kyle Jorgensen had 15 points while adding 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. Florida Gulf Coast transfer Jevin Muniz had 13, and Illinois transfer Carey Booth had 11 points and added 6 rebounds.
The Rams shot 60% from the field on the game, with an especially impressive 52% from three, also snagging 43 rebounds to the Cardinals’ 20. They held UIW to 39% shooting and just 23% from three.
UIW is currently 5-5 on the season, ranked 197th in KenPom, at the time of writing this.
Against Omaha, it was a lot tougher at first. At the 12:40 mark, the Rams led by a score of just 19-18, and the largest lead either team had at any point was when the Rams led 3-0. The Rams then pulled away to lead by 10 at half, but the Mavericks weren’t done just yet. Omaha chipped away at their deficit until another made three-pointer pulled the gap to 57-52 with over 14 minutes left to play. Thankfully for concerned Ram fans, CSU locked in after that, pulling away to win by a comfortable 23-point margin.
The defensive problems against guards continued here, as Omaha’s Lance Waddles and Tony Osburn combined for 42 points on 16-33 shooting. The issues turning the ball over also continued, this time with 11 total to the Mavs’ 7.
Jorgenson broke out here, following up his 15-point outing with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. Pascarelli was next with 15, while Booth had 13 points and 11 rebounds. This time, VMI transfer Augustinas Kiudulas came off the bench to join the starters in double-figures with 13 points of his own.
The Rams shot well once again, going 55% from the field and a slightly less impressive 38% from three. They out-rebounded their opponent again, this time by a margin of 43-21. Omaha was 42% from the field and 36% from three.
Omaha is currently 5-7 on the season, ranked 248th in KenPom. Notably, three of their five wins have come against non-Division 1 opponents.
Week 2: Stumbling Slightly
In Week 2, the Rams first stayed home to take on the Cal Poly Mustangs of the Big West Conference, then would take their first road trip of the season to take on the consistent MWC thorn that is the Loyola Chicago Ramblers of the A-10 conference.
Cal Poly kept the first game uncomfortably close, but eventually CSU pulled away in the second half to prevail 93-79. The Rams then rebounded with a dominant win over the Ramblers by a score of 80-67 in a game that never really felt that close.
The Mustangs made things difficult for the Rams throughout their match. After trailing by 10 at half, Cal Poly used a 7-0 run to cut the Ram lead to 3 near the start of the second half. The Rams then proceeded to go on a 8-0 run of their own to build a margin they would keep for the rest of the game, pulling out the 14-point home win.
The stuggles against guards continued in this contest, as all three of Cal Poly’s double-digit scorers—Hamad Mousa (18 points), Peter Bandelj (14), and Cayden Ward (12) were guards. Cal Poly clearly recognized this as the Rams’ weakness, as they had made the decision to have all five starters be guards, something they had not done in any of their three previous games. The turnover problems had yet to be solved, either, since the Rams had double-digit turnovers for the third straight game. This time, they improved in regards to forcing turnovers, as the Mustangs had 13 to the Rams’ 11.
Pascarelli, Booth, and Rechsteiner were the Ram starters who hit double figures; Pascarelli leading the way with 22 points, while Booth earned his first double-double as a Ram by adding 10 rebounds. Kiudulas again hit double-digits off the bench, though he was joined in this accomplishment by Washington transfer Jase Butler, who added 13 points in his 20 minutes, though he was essentially a pseudo-starter with Jorgenson stuck in foul trouble for most of the game.
Nearly all of the teams’ stats were similar. The Rams had the edge in field goal percentage (48% to 43%), three-point percentage (44% to 39%), and rebounds (38-35).
Cal Poly is currently 5-6, ranked 237th in KenPom.
On the road against the Ramblers, the Rams outright dominated throughout the majority of the proceedings. The Ramblers never held a lead, only being tied twice at 5-5 and 11-11. From the latter point on, the Rams completely pulled away. The Rams entered half up 12, and the Ramblers never brought the gap to any less than the 13-point margin of victory the Rams ended up with throughout the entire second half.
Loyola had only two players in double-figures. Of course, both were guards, but this defensive performance shows a great deal of improvement overall, also leading the Ramblers 9-13 in turnovers.
The usual suspects for the Rams were all in double figures; Jorgenson and Rechsteiner with 15 apiece, and Booth and Pascarelli with 11 each. Booth came one rebound away from his second straight double-double.
The Ramblers actually had a slightly higher shot percentage than the Rams on the night (47% to 46%), though that was because the Rams out-shot the Ramblers 54-45. The Rams had a higher three-point percentage (47% to 37%) and out-rebounded their opponent for the fourth game in a row (32-26).
The Ramblers are off to a very rough start to the year, currently sitting at 3-7, ranked 292nd in KenPom, featuring a loss to the next-to-worst team in the MWC, San Jose State.
Week 3: DU Disaster
To this point in the season, the Rams, along with the undefeated Utah State Aggies, were the only MWC teams that had avoided at least one horrible home non-conference loss. That all changed in the Rams’ lone game of Week 3, an in-state rivalry matchup against the Denver Pioneers of the Summit League, who limped into this game with a 1-3 record, though failing to lose a single game by more than 14 points in that span.
Despite the continued excellence of Jorgenson, who had a season-high 29 points on 7-11 shooting, the Rams could not get out of their own way all night, as a missed layup with 6 seconds to play doomed CSU to an embarrassing 83-81 loss to one of the worst teams in college basketball. The Rams led 54-51 with 12 minutes left in the second half, but after Denver tied it up, they took the lead and never relinquished it.
Four Pioneers scored 11 or more points, and unsurprisingly, three were guards. Forward Logan Kinsey became the first non-guard starter to score double-digits on the Rams, joining his guard teammates Carson Johnson and Julius Rollins in that figure. Most problematic, however, was the Rams’ performance against senior guard Zane Nelson, who was coming off the bench, and who tore the Rams’ defense apart to the tune of 22 points.
Booth had another double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Rechsteiner added 11 points of his own. However, that was it for the Rams who scored double-figures, with Pascarelli no-showing with a 1-5, 4-point outing, Muniz coming close with 9 points, and the Rams’ bench failing to produce more than 10 points total. Again, Nelson had more than double that number by himself.
The Rams again dominated their opponent on the glass, with 33 rebounds to Denver’s 22. However, they shot worse overall (49% to 51%), worse from three (44% to 48%), and had more turnovers (11 to 4) than Denver did.
This loss has aged even worse in hindsight, as the Pioneers went on to win just two of their following five games, and are now 5-7 overall, ranking 301st in KenPom, even after their win on the road against the Top 70-ranked Rams. This loss will no doubt impact the Rams if they are anywhere near the bubble come Selection Sunday. At least this loss wasn’t as bad as Boise State’s, but that really is not saying much.
Week 4: Battle 4 Atlantis
The Rams would next travel to Nassau, Bahamas for their MTE, the Marriott Bonvoy Battle 4 Atlantis. Here, they would face the Virginia Tech Hokies of the ACC, the Wichita State Shockers of the American, and the South Florida Bulls, also of the American.
In the first game, the Rams had a competitive, surprisingly defensive-minded game against the thus-far-undefeated Hokies. The Rams went down by 12 at one point, but showed resilience in clawing back in the second half, trailing by as little as 1 point with just over two minutes to play. Ultimately, however, the Hokies pulled it out, 66-64, when Pascarelli missed a 3-pointer with 0:03 left on the clock, sending the Rams to their second straight loss and into the losers’ bracket.
Three Hokies topped 10 points, led by guard Jailen Bedford’s 17. Booth led the Rams with 15, while the usually-dominant Rams starting attack only sent Jorgenson to join him in the double-digit club. They were joined in this feat by off-the-bench Medved holdover Rashaan Mbemba, who topped 10 points for the first time since February 18, 2025 against Nevada.
The Rams shot a pitiful 4-19 (21%) from three, whereas the Hokies shot a not great 32%. CSU out-rebounded the Hokies 35-28, but yet again turned the ball over more than their opponent (11-8). The two teams shot 46% and 45% from the field, respectively.
VT would go on to finish in 4th place at the B4A, taking losses to eventual runnerup Saint Mary’s and to VCU in the 3rd-place game. The Hokies are currently 10-2, sitting 60th in KenPom.
The Rams would go on to win their next two games in the loser’s bracket against American Conference foes Wichita State and South Florida. Against the Shockers, Wichita State never led, but the Rams came dangerously close to blowing a 20-point lead in the final 14 minutes of the game. Wichita State cut their deficit to 5 with just under 5 minutes to go, but the Rams were able to hang on from there for an important 76-70 win to avoid their third straight loss.
The Shockers, being a rather tall team overall, were the first team to out-rebound the Rams, sensibly so as they were starting a 6’6” forward, Karon Boyd, and a 7’2” center, Will Berg. They also had 6’10” forward Emmanuel Okorafor coming off the bench. Those three players combined for 32 points and 27 rebounds, contributing to their team’s dominance in the paint, to the tune of outscoring the Rams 40-26 in that area.
For the first time all season, multiple guards did not reach double-digits against the Rams, though Kenyon Giles, the only one who did, led the Shockers with 18 points. Three Rams scored 14 or more points; Rechsteiner leading the way with 21, Jorgenson with 16, and Booth with 14. Their advantages down low are really the only reason the Shockers came close to winning, as the Rams shot an impressive 56% from the field and hit 12 three-pointers on 40% accuracy.
Wichita State would go on to lose to Western Kentucky in their next game, finishing the B4A in 8th place. The Shockers currently sit at 6-5, ranked 96th in KenPom.
Finally, the Rams wrapped up the week by defeating the South Florida Bulls 83-68. The Rams led throughout most of the proceedings, and despite the Bulls keeping things close in the second half, the Rams’ absurdly hot shooting finally caught up to the Bulls’ defense, and CSU quickly turned the close contest into a complete blowout. This came against a Bulls team averaging over 94 points per game entering the contest.
Despite again scoring fewer points in the paint than their opponent, the Rams got back to winning the rebounding battle, winning it 35-32. While the Bulls shot 36% from the field on their 69 shots, just 26% from three, the Rams simply could not miss, shooting a season-high 61% from the field and an absurd 73% from three. This included the incredible shooting of Pascarelli, who made 10 of his 11 shots, including a perfect 8-of-8 from three, tallying 28 points overall.
Booth joined in the double-digits club with 16, along with Butler piling in 11 points while coming off the bench. Three Bulls topped double-digits as well, led by Wes Enis’ 17.
South Florida is currently 6-4, ranked 86th in KenPom.
Week 5: Rivalry Statement
Week 5 only gave CSU one contest, but it was inarguably the biggest of their non-conference slate. This match would be a home game against the undefeated, 8-0, in-state rival Colorado Buffaloes. If there was ever a time for the Rams to state their case for legitimacy, it was in this game.
In a thrilling contest, the Rams used their continued shooting excellence to propel themselves to an emotional statement win over the Buffs by a final score of 91-86. The Rams had pulled out a lead at half, and led by as many as 13 points midway through the second half. Colorado immediately went on a 16-0 run to snag the lead back. While it would have been easy to continue collapsing from there, Coach Farokhmanesh rallied the troops to keep the game in reach, as neither team would lead by more than five points for the remainder of the contest.
The Rams were again led by the red-hot Pascarelli, who scored on nine of his 13 shots, going 8/10 from three, for 26 total points. Jorgenson joined his teammate in the over-20 club with 21 of his own, while Muniz, Rechsteiner and Butler added to the double-digit club with 12, 11, and 10, respectively.
For the first time all season, the Rams did not allow a starting guard to score double digits, as forwards Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik were the only starters to go above 10 points. The Buffs were led on the night by their bench, as fellow forward Alon Michaeli was the overall leader in scoring with 19, and the lone guard that went off was freshman Isaiah Johnson, who scored 17. In total, the Buffs’ bench scored more points than the starting lineup did (44 to 42).
Both teams had 26 rebounds, but Colorado obliterated CSU down low, outscoring the Rams in the paint 56-20, ending up with a field goal accuracy of 62% to the Rams’ 54%. It was the differential from three—where the Rams had 52% accuracy to the Buffs’ 37%—that ended up being the difference here.
Colorado is currently 9-1, ranked 62nd in KenPom, directly behind the Rams. This was the biggest non-conference game for the Rams, and they turned it into their biggest win of the season.
Week 6: Ending on a High
After their huge win against the Buffaloes, the final week of conference play was mostly a victory lap, as they faced the Dartmouth Big Green of the Ivy League and the NAIA’s Northern New Mexico Eagles.
In the first match, the Rams took down Dartmouth by a final score of 76-55. The Big Green had kept the gane surprisingly close by halftime, and trailed by as few as four points near the start of the second half, but the Rams used a long 18-5 run to build a gap that they would not relinquish.
The hot shooting slowed down against the Big Green, as the Rams only shot 39% from three. However, that was because they had clearly been working in the paint during the week, outscoring the Big Green 46-20 in that area, while scoring on an ultra-efficient 61% of their total shots. Rechsteiner led the team in scoring with 14, joined in the double-digit club by Jorgenson (12), Muniz (11), Pascarelli (10), and Butler (10). Two of Dartmouth’s three double-digit players were guards, but no one was allowed to top Kareem Thomas’ mark of 12.
Dartmouth is currently 4-5, ranked 256th in KenPom rankings.
Finally, the Rams got to play their lone non-Division 1 game of the season against the Northern New Mexico Eagles of the NAIA. Of course, as Boise State found out the hard way at the beginning of the season, you can never count out these teams, and the Rams clearly took that fact to heart, nearly doubling up their opponent by a final score of 104-54, scoring a staggering 60 points in the first half.
Six Rams scored double-digits, led by freshman Darnez Slater’s garbage-time tally of 17. Bench starter Marquise Delahaye was the leading scorer for the Eagles.
Most stats are not really worth talking about here, though it is worth noting that the Rams again dominated in the paint, 48-24, though to a slightly lesser extent than against Dartmouth since none of the Rams’ regular starters played more than 22 minutes.
This was nothing more than a confidence-boost game for the Rams heading into conference play, and scoring over 100 points is certainly a good one at that.
Overall Outlook
While not without its hiccups, it was certainly a good non-conference journey for the Rams, as they finish with a 9-2 record, currently sitting 61st in KenPom rankings. The Denver loss will certainly hurt come Selection Sunday if they are near the bubble, as Mountain West teams often are, but that can easily be weighed against a win and a close loss against the two teams currently behind them in KenPom.
Offensively, the Rams are more of a sharpshooting team, following in the lead of their March Madness-legend coach. They were dominated down low throughout the majority of the season, and their play against guards has been more than a little suspect at times. On the other hand, the Rams enter conference play leading the Mountain West in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, and have the fewest fouls against per game. In the always-competitive Mountain West, those things are crucial to any sort of success.
Defensively, the Rams are nowhere near as efficient, though they also rank as the team giving their opponents the least free throw attempts. They also give up the fewest rebounds per game of any Mountain West team.
Individually, Josh Pascarelli leads the conference in both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage, as well as joining Jorgenson inside the top 10 in points per game. Jorgenson also ranks only behind Air Force’s Caleb Walker in field goal percentage. He also ranks in the top 10 in rebounds alongside Carey Booth, along with being top 10 in free throw percentage, joined in that honor by Booth and Augustinas Kiudulas. In addition, Jevin Muniz is currently third in assists per game.
Coming Up
The Rams begin conference play on Saturday, December 20, when they travel to Logan, Utah, to take on the Utah State Aggies. The Aggies are the only team that finished their non-conference slate with a better record than the Rams, as they will enter the game with a record of 9-1 off the back of a thrilling victory over a good Illinois State team.
The Aggies are led by the conference’s leading scorer (MJ Collins Jr.) the conference’s leader in assists (Drake Allen), and the conference’s leader in steals (Mason Falsev). The Aggies rank 3rd in three-point percentage, 2nd in points per game and field goal percentage, and 1st in steals and points per game allowed. This is as tough of a first test for this Rams team as there could possibly be.
Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Coverage will be provided by CBS Sports Net.
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