CSU Men's Basketball Preview: 21 predictions for the 2021-22 season

DENVER — The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here.

On Tuesday night Colorado State men’s basketball will take on Oral Roberts in a showdown between a pair of extremely talented mid-major teams. Max Abmas versus David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens is about as electric as it gets.  It’s expected to be close to a sellout crowd in Moby Arena as well, so the atmosphere should be terrific.

As exciting as an opportunity to face an All-American in the season opener is — and it really is a big deal — the excitement for the season extends far beyond this week. CSU is playing an enticing non-conference schedule that includes multiple SEC teams, talented mid-majors and more. Not to mention that for the first time in program history the Rams were picked to win the Mountain West and had two preseason all-conference selections, so expectations really could not be higher. And with that in mind, here are 21 predictions for the 2021-22 season.

Isaiah Stevens will be the best guard in the Mountain West

There’s a ton of preseason hype for Grant Sherfield (Nevada) and Matt Bradley (SDSU) and justifiably so — both of those guys are elite scorers — Stevens is the most complete point guard in the conference though. We already saw him build off of a terrific freshman season during his sophomore campaign. Now in his third season in the program, I fully expect Stevens to take the country by storm in 2021-22. There’s nothing he can’t do. A clutch shooter, an elite driver and a phenomenal distributor, Stevens is everything you want in a point guard. It’s going to be a big year for the best guard in the conference. 

Isaiah Stevens appreciation post pic.twitter.com/RvvcfoNTLO

— DNVR Rams (@DNVR_Rams) March 3, 2020

Adam Thistlewood will lead the team in 3-point shooting

Adam Thistlewood is one of the more underrated players in the Mountain West. For one thing, he’s developed into an extremely solid wing defender. After allowing roughly 114 points per 100 possessions as a freshman, ‘AT’ cut it to 105.8 as a sophomore, and then 98.8 this past season. But obviously what he’s most known for is not playing defense, it’s cashing threes. He’s a 38 percent shooter from beyond the arc over the past three seasons, I actually expect him to finish this season north of 40 percent from 3-point land though. The Rams have more talent than they’ve ever had during his career, which will hopefully allow the staff to reduce Thistlewood’s time on the floor by just a couple minutes a night. In turn it will allow Thistlewood to keep his legs a little fresher over the course of the season and allow him to make the type of impact on offense that he’s capable of. His jumper is wet. It just feels like he wore down last spring. 

The addition of Chandler Jacobs will benefit everyone 

Chandler Jacobs was an extremely decorated player at the Division II level. To give you an idea of his abilities, Jacobs, playing for Dallas Baptist University, was recognized by the NABC, D2SIDA and was named a National Collegiate Christian Athletic Association All-American. He averaged 20.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game on his way to earning Lone Star Conference (LSC) Defensive Player of the Year, Academic Player of the Year and First Team All-Lone Star Conference honors. The dude is a baller and his addition to the program is massive as it gives the Rams another guard that can both score and defend at a high level. He’s a guy that can run the offense if necessary, he’s also solid if he gets a chance to catch and shoot. What’s been really encouraging is he hasn’t come in with any expectations. Jacobs has worked his butt off and he’s been a tremendous teammate. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was in the conversation for newcomer of the year when it’s all said and done. 

.@chandler_jacobs wanted to say hi to #RamNation as he is excited to be in FoCo!#TeamTogether pic.twitter.com/IQOmIWdr8H

— Colorado State Men’s Basketball (@CSUMBasketball) May 28, 2021

CSU will beat Saint Mary’s this season

The non-conference slate is going to be an extremely difficult test for the Green & Gold. With the amount of quality teams that the Rams are playing in November and December, we’re going to learn a lot about how this veteran team deals with the challenges of playing elite competition. That said, one of the matchups I’m most intrigued by is the Saint Mary’s game on Dec. 4. CSU will have already played Oral Roberts and Northern Colorado, plus they’ll have participated in the Paradise Jam Event, so they should be in the swing of things by that point of the season. Most importantly it’s a chance to pick up a respectable win against a consistently solid mid-major and fine tune some final things before the Rams play their final three non-conference games at neutral sites. Last year’s game between the two schools was one of the ugliest offensive showings I’ve ever seen but I anticipate a much better showing in a more traditional season. 

CSU will represent well against the SEC 

Alabama and Mississippi State are two talented teams that will both finish in the top half of their league. The Crimson Tide might even be good enough to be considered national title contenders. So looking at the situation realistically, it will be tough to expect CSU to win one, let alone both of these games. That said, it would be nice to at least go .500 and come away with a victory. The selection committee is always watching and any time you can beat a power five team it’s significant. Regardless, I anticipate that the Rams will hold their own against the SEC and Ram Nation will be able to hold their heads high as CSU enters conference play. 

Dischon Thomas will be an ‘x factor’ for the Rams

It would have been easy for Thomas to sulk after losing his starting role to James Moors last season. Instead he kept working on his game and by the end of the year he was playing some really solid basketball. Ultimately no matter who starts at the five for CSU, Niko Medved is going to need consistent play from both of his big men. They’ll assumingly play close to the same amount of minutes this season. But I just have a feeling that it’s going to be a breakout year for Thomas, especially if he can continue to grow as a post defender. With his ability to knock down shots along the perimeter and drive to the hoop on thicker defenders, we all know ‘DT’ can be a threat on offense. Consistency on the defensive end will be paramount for him to be the impactful big man that the Rams need though. We’ll see if he can do it. 

David Roddy will win the Mountain West Player of the Year award

David Roddy is already one of the most popular players in program history. He’s 6-foot-6, 255 pounds of pure muscle and there’s nothing he doesn’t do for this team. Need Roddy to run the offense in transition? No problem. Need him to guard someone five inches taller? He’ll figure it out. He’s a modern Charles Barkley and an absolute pleasure to watch on a nightly basis. This season he’ll get the recognition he deserves. 

David Roddy’s athleticism allows him to make these crazy plays look so easy pic.twitter.com/QacvKvEdzB

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) January 11, 2020

CSU will have a pair of all-conference selections

Based on what we’ve already covered, you probably already knew this one was coming. It’s still worth mentioning though. Stevens and Roddy were each named to the preseason All-Mountain West team. They’ll both be on the actual team at the end of the season as well. 

CSU will win the regular season Mountain West championship

For the first time ever CSU was tabbed the preseason favorite in the league. After winning 20 games in each of the past two campaigns, a veteran roster that’s stacked with talent is going to find a way to live up to the hype and win the Mountain West regular season title. 

John Tonje will score 20 points in a game 

Tonje is good enough to start for the majority of the teams in the conference. But over the last two years he’s been a key sixth man for CSU and I don’t expect that to change this season. We always knew he was an explosive athlete. He’s shown that he can be a clutch shooter in key moments as well; the 4-point play to complete the comeback at Viejas Arena was one of the most exciting moments in recent memory. It would not be shocking at all to see Tonje drop 20 off the bench in a game this season, especially with the way he can get hot from deep. 

John Tonje earned a spot in every CSU Hoops hype video for the rest of time with this shot today.
pic.twitter.com/BXvaDV7Z3h

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) January 3, 2021

CSU will split against Wyoming 

It’s never easy to beat a rival twice in the same season. Having to do it three times is damn near impossible, as CSU found out the hard way in the 2020 Mountain West Tournament. While I do think the Rams have a significantly deeper roster than the Cowboys, Jeff Linder has quietly put together a really solid team up in Laramie. The ‘Pokes’ are gonna be tricky for everyone they play this season. And the context of the rivalry will only motivate them more. 

The Rams won’t lose more than two games in a row at any point this season 

Over the course of a college basketball season there are always going to be highs and lows. Some nights the jump shots just don’t fall. Other times the opposing team can’t seem to miss regardless of how well you defend. It’s important to remember that you can’t get too high or too low until we have a large enough sample size to really judge a team. But I will go out on a limb and say that while I do expect CSU to stumble every now and then, I don’t foresee them dropping more than two games in a row. This roster is too talented and more importantly they’re too mature to play losing basketball consistently. 

CSU will have multiple winning streaks of 5+ games

Again, there will be good games and bad games. But when it’s all said and done I fully expect the Rams to win much more than they lose. When this group gets hot it’s going to be a whole of fun to watch. Look for the Rams to rattle off a couple of significant winning streaks this season. 

The Rams will have six players average at least 8 points per game

One of the greatest strengths of the roster is how many different individuals can beat you on any given night. While Roddy and Stevens are definitely the leading men, Kendle Moore, Adam Thistlewood and John Tonje are all proven scorers too. And that’s not even getting into what Dischon Thomas or James Moors can do for you around the hoop, or the potential of Chandler Jacobs, Isaiah Rivera, Baylor Hebb or the most recent signees either. CSU had four players average at least 8 points per game in 2020-21. I think we will see that number jump to six this season. 

CSU will crack the top 25 by conference play 

As it currently stands the Rams are 36th in the preseason AP Poll based on the amount of votes they received. It may take longer than the Ram faithful would hope for but the Green & Gold will be a top 25 team at some point this season. CSU is playing enough competitive teams to earn national respect and they have the talent to get it done. The Rams have not been ranked since they were No. 24 at one point in the 2014-15 season. 

The Rams will beat a ranked team 

CSU is 0-5 against ranked teams in the Medved era. Between the non-conference slate and the Mountain West portion of the schedule the Rams should face at least a couple of teams in the AP top 25 this year. I’d be surprised if they didn’t win at least one. 

CSU will win 23+ games & reach the NCAA Tournament

The Rams have a challenging schedule but assuming they play to their potential CSU should be able to really put together a memorable year. The Rams have only won 23 or more games in four other seasons so doing so would be a massive accomplishment. No matter how many wins they end up recording, though, it’s NCAA Tournament or bust for this team this season. 

David Roddy or Isaiah Stevens will record a triple-double 

They’re pretty rare in college basketball. In fact nobody has ever recorded a triple-double in the history of the CSU men’s basketball program. But with the way Roddy and Stevens can score, contribute on the boards and facilitate, either guy could easily be the first to do so. Roddy finished one assist shy of making history against New Mexico last season with a final line of 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Stevens finished one rebound shy of doing it against San Diego State when he had 10 points, 10 assists and nine boards. It would be really cool to see one of them accomplish the feat at some point this year. I think one if, if not both of them will. 

The Rams will lose a game by double digits 

I’m as high on this team as you can be and fully expect this to be one of the most exciting basketball seasons of my lifetime. I’ve tried to make it abundantly clear that weird things happen in a long season though. Between the general quirkiness of college basketball as a whole and CSU’s difficult schedule, you’ve gotta assume that at some point this season there will be a night where the Rams just don’t have it and end up getting blown out. It won’t be the end of the world. It’s just part of the growing pains of a season. 

The Rams will beat Tim Miles and the San Jose State Spartans

Even if it will be a little weird seeing him on an opposing sideline, it’s absolutely awesome that Tim Miles is back in the Mountain West. He’s truly one of the good dudes in college basketball and with all of his ties to coaches around the conference it’s going to make for some really unique storylines. I still don’t understand why the league didn’t make sure Miles got an opportunity to return to Moby Arena this season. I guess that would have made too much sense. Nonetheless the Green & Gold will find a way to get it done on the road against SJSU. 

The fans will storm the court at Moby this season 

There’s nothing more electric in sports than when the home team wins and the crowd storms the field or court in celebration. We’ve had one court storming in the Medved era so far. With the way the students have been engaged with athletics, and just the general excitement levels surrounding the team being at peak levels, I think we’ll get one of those magical moments in 2021-22.