Rams takeaways: Colorado State was humbled by UNLV in a rough trip to Sin City

DENVER — Colorado State got the full Las Vegas experience this weekend and not in a good way. 

The Rams entered Saturday’s game at UNLV with a five-game winning streak and a ton of confidence after taking down Boise State and New Mexico on the road. A win over the Rebels in this one would have been massive, especially with two of CSU’s final three games being at home. Much like a bachelor party gone wrong though, CSU’s experience in Sin City was nothing like it was hoped to be. 

CSU and UNLV traded scores for roughly the first 15 minutes of play on Saturday. The Rebels were in the lead but things were relatively tight considering it was a 4-point game at the 5:34 mark of the first half (21-17).

Unfortunately, after basically breaking even early on, the final 35 minutes of play for CSU were like going bankrupt in an old smokey casino as the Rams were humbled hand by hand in a 72-51 loss at the Thomas and Mack Center. 

Here are the takeaways from the loss. 

The offense was stagnant 

You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run when you’re sitting at the card table. 

Well, you’ve got to know when to shoot it, know when to dish it, know when to drive in the paint, and know when to settle when you’re trying to run an offense in a basketball game. On Saturday there was a whole lot of settling happening by CSU and the result was the second-worst offensive showing by the Rams in any game this season, both in terms of field goal percentage and points scored. 

It wasn’t quite as ugly as the beatdown the Rams suffered at Viejas Arena but it was just a night where CSU didn’t seem to play with the same type of assertiveness that they typically do on the offensive end. As a team they recorded less than 10 assists for just the second time in 25 games. And their 18 points in the paint was indicative of a less-aggressive offensive approach from the Rams players. 

UNLV’s defense does deserve a lot of credit for holding the Rams to 51 points and not giving CSU easy driving lanes to get things going down low. They deserve even more credit for containing David Roddy and not allowing him to get in any type of rhythm. He finished 4-of-14 from the floor, with 11 points and two rebounds. But in general it just did not look like the same hyper-aggressive Rams team that we see on most nights. 

UNLV owned the glass 

CSU got wrecked in the rebounding department by UNLV as the Rebels finished with a 45-24 advantage in total rebounds. They were extremely active on the offensive glass, finishing +8 in offensive rebounds (13 vs. 5) and had a little bit more than two times as many second-chance points (11 vs. 5) as CSU as well. Just like they were on offense, the Rebels were the much more tenacious group on the boards all game long and it showed in the final score. 

Producing 11 second-chance points was significant for UNLV, what their rebounding also did, though, was limit the transition opportunities CSU had. And that was important because it really made it difficult for the Rams to get easy baskets and make any type of dent into the deficit. One of CSU’s greatest strengths as a team is the speed that they can throw at an opponent but that component was largely neutralized by UNLV’s board dominance. 

The Rams are 17-1 this season when they record 28+ total rebounds in a game. They’re now just 4-3 when they finish with 27 or less rebounds. Outside of points scored, there’s not many statistical categories that can basically single handedly illustrate how the game went. Finishing -21 on the glass pretty much tells the whole story though. 

A brutal travel schedule likely caught up to CSU 

The Rams are not the type of team that makes excuses when things go wrong, it’s just not in their nature. Having to play five games in five different cities over a 12-day period is not something that happens in college basketball very often though. Maybe in the non-conference slate, depending on how aggressive a team has scheduled in November/December, but typically not at this stage of the year. 

It’s extremely challenging to win three consecutive league games on the road. These matchups are taxing from both a mental and physical standpoint. And even if the team is taking charter planes, the travel process in the Mountain West is not as luxurious or comfortable as it is in the NBA.

To me, it just looked like the Rams were playing with heavy legs on Saturday. That doesn’t mean that they were not as hungry as their opponent, or that they didn’t care about winning. It just means that they’re human and the schedule caught up to them. 

Was the outcome disappointing? Of course it was. As fans it’s important to keep perspective though. The Rams are 21-4, (11-4) and have an impressive NCAA Tournament resume that presently includes a 9-3 record in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. So long as CSU doesn’t lose out, they’ve essentially locked up an at-large bid at this point.

I know Ram fans have been hurt by the process before, so uneasy feelings are natural, but the big difference between this season and some of the years where the Rams were snubbed is the fact that the 2021-22 Rams went out and picked up quality wins outside of their Mountain West slate. The national respect that the league is getting won’t hurt their cause either. 

Next up: 

CSU (21-4, 11-4) hosts Wyoming (22-4, 11-2) on Wednesday night in a must-win matchup for the Rams at home. While their NCAA Tournament hopes don’t necessarily hinge on a Border War victory, if CSU wants to hold on to the hope of winning the Mountain West for the first time, they’ve gotta find a way to split the season series with the Pokes.