First Four takeaways: Joel Scott, Nique Clifford ball out in blowout win over Virginia

DAYTON, Ohio — Colorado State gave Virginia a little taste of Mountain West basketball on Tuesday night. 

The 67-42 victory over the Cavaliers was CSU’s biggest blowout of a D1 opponent since beating Wright State by 28 in the second game of the year. 42 points allowed is also a season-low for the Rams on the defensive side. 

“Just a terrific performance, really, on both ends of the floor, from the opening tip,” Niko Medved said postgame. 

“Our guys came with a great edge, great focus, and did a great job of playing together on both ends of the floor. And I thought as the game continued to go on, we just continued to be fundamentally sound and tough-minded.”

On a national stage with not only their own reputations on the line but really the entire Mountain West, CSU proved without a doubt that they had no business being placed in a play-in game. They absolutely beat down UVA for 35 straight minutes and left no questions about who was the superior side in this one. 

Here are some takeaways from the win. 

CSU dictated the tone 

Going up against UVA’s unique pack line defense, the question was whether or not the Rams would be able to establish a presence in the paint and consistently knock down open jump shots. 

For about the first 5 minutes on Tuesday night, things looked a little dicey. Or at the very least it appeared like we would be in a rock fight between two teams that defend at a high level. 

Once the Rams slowed things down, though, and stopped trying to rush things around the rim, UVA had no answers for CSU. Joel Scott kicked their butts up and down the floor, bullying his way to the hoop essentially whenever he wanted to. And after starting the game 1-of-4 from the floor with a couple of missed layups, Scott finished by making eight straight to finish the win with a season-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. 

“I think all year we’ve been talking about setting the tone physically, whether that be in the paint, whatever we’re doing defensively, offensively. I think tonight that really showed up,” Scott said postgame. 

“I think it needs to carry on for the rest of the tournament or on to the next game at least. I think we just need to keep setting the tone, and keep going, doing our thing.”

Nique Clifford was a Swiss Army Knife 

Along with Scott, his longtime friend, Nique Clifford, flirted with a triple-double in the win and showed off his unique versatility. 

Clifford put the ball on the floor and blew past UVA defenders with ease before finishing over them with great touch. He knocked down open jump shots when given too much space along the perimeter. He owned the glass and dished out six assists. He was like CSU’s Swiss Army Knife. 

When the final buzzer sounded, Clifford’s stat line was 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also had 10 rebounds to round out his ninth double-double of the 2023-24 campaign. His six assists accounted for close to half of CSU’s team total. He recorded CSU’s only block in the game and consistently made things hard for his defensive assignments, too. 

When Clifford plays the way he did against UVA, it completely changes CSU’s ceiling on both ends of the floor. He has the type of effortless athleticism that very few individuals are blessed to possess, and he showed off every aspect of it in the biggest game of the season. 

Pat got his groove back 

Patrick Cartier’s doctors did not exactly recommend for him to play without the face mask. With CSU’s season on the line, though, he elected to ditch the protective covering and lay it all on the line for his teammates. 

Without the mask on, Cartier looked much more comfortable than he had in recent weeks, finishing the win with 12 points on 5-of-7 from the floor. 

What was especially encouraging was his shooting from deep. The former DII star made multiple threes for only the fourth time since the start of conference play. He did it five times in November and December alone, so getting a few more of those performances would be a big boost for CSU moving forward. 

Isaiah Stevens played the game the right way 

Isaiah Stevens did not have the biggest scoring night but he did not need to. With how easily the Rams were able to get good looks for other guys around the rim, Stevens simply played within the flow of the game and allowed his teammates to shine. 

Among many things, what makes Stevens special is that he doesn’t necessarily need to put up 15 shots in order to positively impact the floor. 

He did hit a big three to spark CSU’s offense in the first half. Really, though, he was completely content doing the little things like playing good defense, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out four assists. 

“Isaiah draws a ton of attention,” Medved said. “But he didn’t panic at all. He just played the right way, like he does. And obviously Joel Scott got it going inside. Just a tremendous job by our guys, just playing the way we wanted to play.”

There will be a moment in this tournament where the Rams need Stevens to go into “Zay mode” in order to survive. Unlike so many talented yet selfish players, though, Stevens’ ego doesn’t force him to unnecessarily be a ball hog. If you are critical of his performance in this one, I’d suggest going back and watching things again. 

Next up

CSU (10) will face Texas (7) in the official first round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte on Thursday.

It’s going to be another quick turnaround after playing a late-night game in a completely different part of the country less than 48 hours earlier. We’ll see if the Rams can continue to be cockroaches and find a way to survive and advance.