Colorado State seemingly secures an at-large bid with a 66-55 victory at Utah State

DENVER — Let’s go dancing. 

Colorado State moved to 23-4, (13-4) with Saturday’s 66-55 victory at Utah State (16-14, 7-10). With another Quad 1 win added to their resume and the added benefit of the Saint Mary’s win looking even better after the Gaels’ upset of No. 1 Gonzaga, it now feels safe to say that the Rams will be in the field on Selection Sunday. 

Obviously beating Boise State would still be beneficial, as would making a run in the Mountain West Tournament, CSU can still improve its seeding with more quality wins. Plus, technically nothing is official until we hear the Rams get their name called on the unnecessarily dramatic reveal show, so it’s not as if CSU should coast until March Madness. Having said all of that, though, these moments are special. Win or loss, if they haven’t already been, from here on out Ram fans should try to soak up every last minute of this campaign. 

Whether CSU wins the Mountain West or not, ultimately what this group has done is already remarkable. With one regular season game still to go, as well as the conference tournament and beyond, the 2021-22 Rams have already tied the 1988-89 team with the fourth-most wins in any season in program history. One more win would tie the present team with the 2016-17 squad that reached the title game in Las Vegas and won a home game in the NIT. And any type of deep postseason run this year would give Niko Medved’s group a chance to potentially become the winningest Rams team in any season ever. As it currently stands, the 2012-13 team is second all-time (26 wins) and the 2014-15 team is first (27 wins); though we all remember the 27-win year with a grain of salt as they were snubbed from the NCAA Tournament in a flukey process. 

With the quality non-conference schedule that CSU played earlier this winter and a really deep Mountain West Conference, arguably the deepest it’s been in roughly a decade, the fact that the Rams are already a top-5 group in terms of wins in a single season really says something about their toughness. As does their ability to respond through adversity, like COVID-19 pauses and blowout losses. In a league with this much talent, and road trips that are challenging across the board, it takes a composed roster to contend for the crown. It’s every bit as much about mental fortitude as it is the abilities on the court. Night after night, though, this Rams team has stepped up and delivered for its fan base, just like they did against Utah State on Saturday night. 

Leading the way for CSU in the road victory was Kendle Moore. The senior guard scored a season-high 23 points, which ties for the second-most in any game of his career. It’s the most points he’s scored since Jan. 01, 2019, and just 3 points shy of his career-high. 

While it has not been the type of year that most Ram fans would have expected from Moore, especially after being a consistent piece in the offense for the last three seasons, CSU is 14-0 when he makes a 3-pointer, so his impact is quietly very important. Not to mention that when Moore has made two or more threes, the Rams have pulled out four of their more impressive wins in 2021-22. Those wins now include a neutral site game versus Mississippi State, as well as road games at Boise State, Nevada and Utah State. 

Even when defenses key in on David Roddy like the Aggies did in this one, the clear choice for MW Player of the Year is still going to make an impact. On Saturday Roddy had 13 points and 10 rebounds despite consistently going up against two guys, both in the paint and on the glass. Even so, just like the Rams needed a big night from Chander Jacobs against Wyoming earlier this week, they still needed someone else to really shine against Utah State and this time it was Moore. 

Here are the other takeaways from the 66-55 win. 

The Rams have found their identity on defense 

It might be too soon to label this group as an elite defensive team. Holding back-to-back opponents below 60 points is definitely noteworthy though. I’d also argue that this has been the best 80-minute stretch of defensive basketball that the Rams have played all year. In two straight must-win games CSU has buckled down, adjusted to how things were being officiated and then found a way to produce enough on the other end to finish on top. 

CSU has a multitude of guys that can beat you with offense. This team’s ceiling was always going to be dictated by how much they bought in on defense. So with that in mind, it’s encouraging to see the Rams establishing a consistent identity on that side of the ball. They don’t necessarily need to hold every opponent to 55 points like they have in the past two, but the Rams are now 20-1 when opponents finish with less than 75. 

As a team CSU owned the glass 

David Roddy paced the team with 10 boards to go along with his 13 points in what was his sixth double-double this season. Seven different Rams finished the win with at least three rebounds though. 

Kendle Moore had six, Adam Thistlewood pulled down five, and Dischon Thomas, James Moors and Chandler Jacobs each pulled down four apiece. Going up against an experienced Utah State team that features seven upperclassmen, including two extremely gifted forwards, the Rams put together a really complete team performance on the glass as CSU out-rebounded USU 43-26 on Saturday. 

Too many turnovers

Winning by 11 at Utah State is significant, so while we don’t need to spend a ton of time on this, it should be noted that the Aggies had 10 steals. Playing in front of a rowdy crowd on Senior Night, USU deserves credit for the intense pressure they applied defensively. That said, the Rams still have to value their possessions better moving forward. 

As a team CSU recorded 15 turnovers, which resulted in 16 points the other way for Utah State. It’s a big reason why the Aggies only went into halftime down two possessions. The giveaways played a factor in the Aggies taking the lead in the second half as well. 

Again, the Rams did more than enough to earn a victory in this one. It’s just an instance where they could afford to clean a few things up. 

Next Up

The Rams will look to close out the season 14-1 at home with a victory over Boise State on Senior Night next Saturday (March 5).