FORT COLLINS, CO. — This team is different.
Just two days after getting absolutely beaten down by Neemias Queta and the Utah State Aggies, the Rams, in front of a national TV audience and a reduced arena crowd of roughly 1,300 people, picked up a gritty 84-76 win in Logan, UT., to keep pace with the top two teams in the Mountain West on Thursday night.
The Quad 1 road win is the second of the season for the Green & Gold, and one that very well could be extremely important for CSU’s at-large chances this spring. Of course, after now splitting with San Diego State (9-4, 3-3) and Utah State (12-4, 9-1) in a pair of road series, the Rams (11-3, 8-2) have a chance to really set themselves a part down the stretch.
A sweep of Boise State (13-1, 9-0) next week would essentially put CSU in the driver’s seat to win the league — assuming the Rams still took care of business in deceptively tricky trips to Wyoming and Nevada. But even a split would give CSU a fighting chance considering the Broncos still have to play SDSU and Nevada on the road. Their home series against UNLV isn’t a walk in the park either with the way that the Rebels can score. Obviously, it would also take another loss or two from Aggies but nothing is impossible in this wonky Covid-19 season.
Regardless of whether the Rams finish at the top of what has proved to be an extremely deep Mountain West or not, with what we’ve already seen from this group, it’s clear that the program has arrived.
For much of the preseason and early stages of the regular season, the narrative around CSU was that they are talented but inexperienced. Most expected the Rams to be competitive on a nightly basis but very few believed they were truly a contender.
Now, honestly, it’s tough to fault the logic. The Aztecs and Aggies have been the proven groups over the last two years, and both returned quite a few talented players. Most projected Boise State to be lethal as well with their P5 transfers becoming eligible, and the return of Derrick Alston to boot.
What everyone underestimated about CSU, though, aside from those that bleed Green & Gold, is that the Rams are not just a talented collective of young individuals. This Rams team is a perfectly constructed group of players — all of which understand, and have bought into the system. In an era synonymous with selfishness, the Rams have embraced selflessness, and a “do whatever it takes” mentality.
Whether it’s David Roddy being a living, breathing Swiss Army Knife on the floor for Niko Medved, or Kendle Moore sacrificing his body to secure a loose ball on a key possession, this squad just wants to win and they’ll do what’s necessary to make it happen.
Following a 19 point loss in which you weren’t really even competitive, most teams would just try to survive a second matchup with Utah State. They’re big, they’re physical, and they wear you down with a relentless pressure on defense that makes it hard to breathe while operating out of the half-court offense. Factor in the fans — something that’s extremely rare in college basketball this season — and it’s a wrap.
Prior to losing to the Rams on Thursday night, the Aggies had won their second games against MW teams by an average of 21 points. The only team that had even stayed within single digits was SDSU. Again, this Rams team is different.
Ultimately the selection process for the NCAA Tournament can be a bit frustrating for some of the leagues like the Mountain West. What should likely be a four-bid conference this year will probably be a two or three-bid one at best. Because of this, it’s important to remember that qualifying for March Madness is not the only thing that makes a season successful — particularly if a MW Tournament doesn’t take place and the Rams don’t get an opportunity to take advantage of an auto bid.
That said, after watching the Rams take down a pair of teams that are easily considered NCAA Tournament material, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t starting to get excited about the prospects of CSU getting a chance to return to the big dance.
The future is extremely bright for this program but at some point it’s time to stop knocking on the door and kick the damn thing down. Why not now?
