Heat Check CBB Simulation: Rams win the Sacramento Classic

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Like many of you, I’m still disappointed that COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of roughly six weeks worth of college basketball.

Conference tournaments, March Madness, and even smaller events like the NIT, are all part of what normally makes spring one of the best times to be a sports fan. As corny as it may sound to the outside world, losing all of these, along with just about every other form of athletic competition, has created a massive void in my life that still hasn’t been filled.

As things currently stand, the last sporting event that I got to actually cover in person was the CSU Football Pro Day in early March. Prior to that? A disappointing performance by CSU men’s basketball in Sin City. Funny enough, right now I’d kill to cover anything in person —  even if it was as deflating as the Rams’ performance against Wyoming in the Mountain West Tournament.

Alas, with more free time on my hands than usual and plenty of time to reflect, the one positive that’s come out of this situation is that it’s really forced me to get creative from a content perspective.

Projects like the DNVR Rams All-Time Team, DNVR Watches, and some of the historical pieces like the article on the 2003 Purdue upset, have all allowed me to dive into some of the more exciting moments in school history. Even with all of these distractions, I still have found myself wishing there would have been more college basketball in 2020, though, and that’s why I am participating in the Heat Check College Basketball Simulation.

No, there won’t be actual games to watch; and no, the heartbreak of losing the 2020 NCAA Tournament won’t heal anytime soon. But the opportunity to manage Colorado State and interact with 300+ fellow college hoops obsessed individuals is a decent tradeoff.

So, without any further ramblings, let’s get into it.

How It works

As far as the actual simulation goes, there’s a lot of math and much of it goes way over my head. If you are interested in hearing more about the process, Eli Boettger, the founder of HeatCheckCBB.com, recently joined the DNVR Rams Podcast to explain the complicated process.

But for those that are curious about how this whole thing works, here is some information directly from the Heat Check CBB Simulation instruction manual:

Users will control their team by periodically submitting Google Form surveys via their email. These surveys will focus on things like roster management, press conferences, player development, and other aspects. 

Teams ——— There are 352 teams and 32 conferences in total. Teams represent one of four regions: West (W), Midwest (MW), Southeast (SE) and Northeast (NE).

Season ——— Each team will play a total of 28 regular-season games, including 12 nonconference games and 16 conference games. Three of the 12 nonconference games will come from an early-season tournament and the remaining nine will be home or away games. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams from each conference will participate in a conference tournament. After the conference tournaments, qualified teams will participate in March Madness.

Roster ——— Each team will consist of eight players, including at least one point guard (PG), shooting guard (SG), small forward (SF), power forward (PF) and center (C), as well as three bench players. Each player is rated on a 0-10 basis on both offense and defense, with 10 being the strongest and 0 being the weakest. Players also have a loyalty rating (LOY) and development rating (DEV) and have their home state or home country (for international players) also listed.

Team prestige ——— Each team has a prestige rating from 1 to 6 with 1 being the strongest and 6 being the weakest. Prestige impacts recruiting, attendance, player development, nonconference scheduling and roster management. A team’s prestige rating will never change but teams can consistently outperform or underperform against a prestige’s expectations.

Colorado State Roster

 Schedule

Preseason Projections

Projected order of finish 

1 — San Diego St.
2 — New Mexico
3 — UNLV
4 — Colorado St.
5 — Boise St.
6 — Wyoming
7 — Nevada
8 — San Jose St.
9 — Utah St.
10 – Air Force
11 — Fresno St.

Projected all-conference team

SF J.R. Crawford (JR) — New Mexico
C Fernando Fernandez (SO) — San Diego St.
C Lamar Carter (SR) — Boise St.
PF Delon Stewart (SR) — Colorado St.
C Beno Novak (JR) — Colorado St.

Simulation Results (CSU 3-0)

* = Leading Scorer

Preseason Exhibition

CSU (77) Loyola Marymount (68) | *Delon Stewart (18 points)

Sacramento Classic

Game 1: CSU (74) Grambling State (70) | *John Schweitz (24 points)

Semifinal: CSU (83) Toledo (69) | *Delon Stewart (24 points)

Title Game: CSU (72) St. John’s (71) | *John Schweitz (17 points)

Press Conference:

• Reporter: Can you talk a little bit about the first recruiting cycle? What’s your perspective on your targeted prospects and how do you plan to build next season’s roster?
• Coach’s Response: We placed a really heavy emphasis on a few guys who can be program-changing players. There are a few holes on next season’s roster and we’re looking to fill those over the next couple weeks.

• Reporter: Do you have any key takeaways about the first weekend of the regular season? How do you evaluate your team’s performance thus far?
• Coach’s Response: First off, getting the opportunity to participate in these early-season tournaments is great for our program. Going up against top-notch talent helps us prep for December and then getting into conference play. I think we handled the business trip well.

• Reporter: There are obviously plenty of contrasting styles across the nation. What’s your team’s perspective on tempo and how does it factor into the style of play we’ll see from your group this season?
• Coach’s Response: Our style is definitely up-tempo. Endurance was a huge point of emphasis during the offseason and we can take advantage of fast-break opportunities or fatigued teams to get easy buckets and wear out the opponent.

What’s Next

It was a great start to the season for the Rams. After taking down Loyola Marymount in a preseason exhibition, they kept the momentum rolling with three straight victories and a first-place finish in the Sacramento Classic.

CSU will now return to Moby Arena for four consecutive home games before hitting the road for a matchup with a top 25 Utah team.