Bet on it: In Las Vegas late Thursday night, the Boise State Broncos will be hungry for revenge on your Colorado State Rams.
All we have to do is rewind exactly one month from Thursday, to Feb. 10, and the buzzer-beater which was waved off in what we’re now deeming “stopwatchgate.”
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40 minutes wasn’t enough to decide the Rams – Broncos second matchup of the year, not even close. With 0.8 seconds left in the first overtime, James Webb III caught the ball, turned and shot, draining a 3-pointer for the win.
But, no. The Mountain West officials replayed the footage and it was deemed no good. Here’s the catch, the technology the refs were using malfunctioned, in a way, as the time and video speed didn’t line up. While it seems clear the shot is off in .5-.6 seconds, the refs waived it off. Considering the malfunction, one can’t blame the refs. Refs, who have been blame-worthy consistently throughout the season.
Still, following the win Eustachy said his team lost the game. And tonight, following his Rams’ 80-61 victory over San Jose State, he said it again.
“We lost the second game too, because of that whole clock controversy,” Eustachy said to Jessie Kurtz. Boise won the first match-up 84-80 when the Rams started terribly in Idaho, but CSU won the second game due to the clock snafu. “So, we’ve got a lot to prove. They were picked as co-favorites to win the league. So we know they’re very capable. They’re extremely well-coached and talented. We’ve got our hands full.”
Boy, that’s got to sting like salt in a wound; knowing your team won yet it says a big, fat “L” on where it matters most, in the win-loss column.
Not only are the Boise State Broncos talented, with first-team All-MW forward Webb on the roster along with many others, but they’ve got something else going they’re way. That extra intangible of emotion will be in Boise’s favor when the game tips off, at 9:30 p.m. MT Thursday night (on CBS Sports Network).
What’s going in the Rams favor? The fact that Colorado State was victorious during their season finale versus Air Force, and now they’ve won two in a row with the commanding win over San Jose State Wednesday night.
Larry Eustachy has said over and over again he’s not a motivational speaker, but whatever he and his coaching staff did to prepare the green and gold for their game on Wednesday worked incredibly well.
Eustachy’s Rams were more focused — with that missing killer instinct — than they have been in months. Maybe, the entire season.
When Colorado State jumped out to a 17-4 lead, and then John Gillon went wild, pushing them to a 43-24 halftime advantage, it was a thing of beauty. This was the confidence CSU’s been lacking, the “win at all costs” mentality, the swagger of knowing they truly are “0-0” as Tiel Daniels put it following the regular season finale.
Now, these Rams — who have been struck by the Emmanuel Omogbo tragedy, the Antwan Scott tragedy and the Gian Clavell injury — are 1-0. Three more wins and the Rams are in the NCAA Tournament.
Those hopes and dreams rest on Thursday night’s game, though, which the Rams know.
One other factor which may play in the Rams favor is this: While Colorado State played and dominated SJSU in every facet of the game, Boise rested. The Broncos haven’t played a game since last Saturday and the CSU – Boise game is the last one of the day Thursday, tipping at 9:30 p.m. MT. If the Broncos come out tight and the Rams are on fire like Wednesday night, Colorado State could again jump out to a giant lead.
We’ll see.
What it all makes for is a great match-up. We can’t wait.
