Rams struggle to score in a tough loss to Utah State

FORT COLLINS, CO. — It came down to the wire in Sin City Friday night. In a late-night showdown between two of the best that the Mountain West has to offer, Utah State defeated Colorado State 62-50 to advance to the Mountain West Championship Game. 

Here’s how it all went down. 

The Rams started slow on offense as the Aggies’ aggressive man defense gave CSU troubles in their half court offense. In the opening minutes of the game CSU primarily settled for contested jump shots and started 0-of-7 from the floor as a result. 

As the game progressed, CSU began to get a slightly better feel for the flow of the game and started attacking Utah State more aggressively in the paint. At one point the Rams were even able to convert or draw a foul on four consecutive drives to the hoop. Not only did it open things up for the Rams, who made just a single shot from the perimeter in the first 20 minutes of action, but it also allowed Niko Medved to keep his smaller lineup on the floor for roughly 50 percent of the first half — a big reason why the Green & Gold kept things tight despite the up-and-down shooting. 

While the smaller lineup did allow the Rams to create better chances for themselves on offense, the problem was that the lack of size allowed the Aggies to really dominate the glass. Utah State had nine offensive rebounds resulting in 15 second chance points in the first half alone, and that’s why the Aggies ended up taking a 32-28 lead into halftime despite a fairly underwhelming offensive showing early.

Coming out of the break, CSU once again struggled to get in a flow offensively, which allowed Utah State to extend its lead to double digits within a matter of minutes. By the 11:09 mark the Aggies were able to increase their lead all the way to 16 (53-37) as CSU failed to find any kind of consistency in the half court. 

Even in spite of the frustration on offense, with a chance to reach the title game on the line, the Rams never stopped fighting in this one. CSU held USU scoreless for four consecutive minutes during crunch time. Unfortunately, though, CSU just couldn’t buy enough buckets against Utah State’s relentless defense.   

Leading the way for the Aggies was Neemias Queta. The Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year was an absolute monster with 18 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high nine blocks on the night. Shoot, even on the plays where he didn’t get statistical credit, his presence on the floor was disrupting. 

On CSU’s end, Isaiah Stevens (15 points) and David Roddy (12 points) each finished with double-digit scoring figures. But with the Rams shooting 26 percent from the floor as a team (17-of-63), there just wasn’t enough offensive production to survive and advance.

It’s been a memorable season for the Rams. Even with the disappointing outcome against Utah State, the Rams will finish the regular season and conference tournament unblemished outside of Quad 2 games. We’ll see if the committee gives them the benefit of the doubt on Selection Sunday.