Colorado State Rams men's basketball

The Colorado State Rams men's basketball team represents Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, in the U.S. state of Colorado, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at the Moby Arena and are members of the Mountain West Conference. They are led by head coach Niko Medved [2] who was hired to replace interim head coach Jase Herl after a 2017–18 season that saw both regular head coach Larry Eustachy and interim head coach Steve Barnes placed on administrative leave due to issues regarding their treatment of players.[3][4] Becky Hammon, assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs, was originally the top candidate to replace Jase Herl as the head coach.[5]

Colorado State Rams
2020–21 Colorado State Rams men's basketball team
University	Colorado State University
Head coach	Niko Medved (2nd season)
Conference	Mountain West
Location	Fort Collins, Colorado
Arena	Moby Arena (Capacity: 8,745)
Nickname	Rams
Colors	Green and Gold[1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1969
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1954, 1969
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1954, 1969, 1989, 2013
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1954, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1989, 1990, 2003, 2012, 2013
Conference Tournament Champions
2003
Conference Regular Season Champions
1954, 1961 (Skyline) 1989, 1990 (WAC)

History

The men's basketball team at Colorado State University—then called Colorado Agricultural College—began competing in the 1901–02 season.[6] The school became a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the 1910–11 season, and followed most of the larger schools in that conference into the Mountain States Conference in the 1938–39 season and stayed in the conference until 1961–62. Colorado State then joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1969–70. After 20 seasons in the WAC, Colorado State moved to its current MWC in 1999–00.[6] Colorado State was an inaugural member of the MWC.[7]

Postseason

NCAA Tournament results

The Rams have appeared in ten NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 4–11.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1954		Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place	Santa Clara Idaho State	L 50–73 L 57–62
1963		Round of 25	Oklahoma City	L 67–70
1965		Round of 23	Oklahoma City	L 68–70
1966		Round of 22	Houston	L 76–82
1969		Round of 25 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Dayton #18 Colorado #11 Drake	W 52–50 W 64–56 L 77–84
1989	10 M	Round of 64 Round of 32	(7) Florida (2) #7 Syracuse	W 68–46 L 50–65
1990	10 W	Round of 64	(7) Alabama	L 54–71
2003	14 W	Round of 64	(3) #7 Duke	L 57–67
2012	11 W	Round of 64	(6) Murray State	L 41–58
2013	8 M	Round of 64 Round of 32	(9) Missouri (1) #2 Louisville	W 84–72 L 56–82

NIT results

The Rams have appeared in nine National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), with a combined record of 7–9.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1961	Quarterfinals	Saint Louis	L 53–59
1962	First Round	Holy Cross	L 71–72
1988	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	New Orleans Houston Arkansas State Ohio State Boston College	W 63–54 W 71–61 W 69–49 L 62–64 W 58–57
1996	First Round	Nebraska	L 83–91
1998	First Round	Minnesota	L 65–77
1999	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Mississippi State Colorado California	W 69–56 W 86–76 L 62–71
2011	First Round	Fairfield	L 60–62
2015	First Round	South Dakota State	L 76–86
2017	First Round Second Round	Charleston Cal State Bakersfield	W 81–74 L 63–81

CBI results

The Rams have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and lost the opener.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2010	First Round	Morehead State	L 60–74

Notable games

• March 13, 1969 in the "Sweet 16" round of the NCAA Tournament: Colorado State beat in-state rival and AP #18[8] Colorado 64–56.[9]
• January 19, 1984 at Moby Arena: Colorado State beat AP #5 UTEP 63–51.[10]
• December 29, 1989 at McNichols Sports Arena: Colorado State beat AP #24 North Carolina 78–67 in the Mile High Classic, a four-team tournament in Denver also featuring Colorado and Massachusetts. Colorado State beat Massachusetts the next night to win the tournament.[11]
• December 22, 1999 at the Cannon Activities Center at Laie, Hawaii: In a Pearl Harbor Classic tournament game, Colorado State upset AP #18 UCLA 55–54. John Ford made a free throw with 23 seconds left that turned out to be the winning margin.[12]
• December 30, 2003 at Moby Arena: Colorado State hosted AP #22[13] Purdue. Down 4 points with 7 seconds left, Colorado State committed a foul. In the double bonus, Purdue missed both free throws. CSU scored a three pointer with 0.7 seconds left. The ensuing Purdue inbound pass was tipped. The ball fell into the hands of Michael Moris who shot the game winning three pointer at the buzzer. The game was not televised. Being that the ball was tipped, the three pointer should not have counted based on 0.7 seconds. However, CSU was awarded the points and won the game by two points.[14][15]

Rivalries

Within the Mountain West Conference, Colorado State has notable rivalries with these schools:

• Air Force: Colorado State has an in-state rivalry with the Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. As of the 2019–20 season, Colorado State leads the series 81–32.[16][17]
• Utah State: Colorado State and the Aggies of Utah State University were rivals in the Mountain States Conference from the 1939–40 to 1961–62 seasons. Beginning in the 2013–14 season, the two schools again competed in the same conference, the Mountain West. Utah State has a 46–35 lead in the series as of the 2013–14 season.[18][19] However, in between those years, the two schools continued to play each other regularly.
• Wyoming: In a rivalry dubbed the "Border War",[20] the Cowboys of the University of Wyoming have a 132–92 series lead over Colorado State as of the start of the 2017 conference season.[21][22]

Outside the MW, these are noted rivalries:

• Colorado: The in-state basketball rivalry pits Colorado State, the only land-grant university in Colorado,[23] against the Buffaloes of the University of Colorado Boulder, the state flagship university[24] and member of the Pac-12 Conference. As of 2013–14, Colorado leads the series 85–37.[25][26]
• Denver: Also in-state, this rivalry is against the Pioneers of the University of Denver, a member of The Summit League. Colorado State leads the all-time series 92–68.[27][28]
• Northern Colorado: This rivalry pits Colorado State against the Bears of the University of Northern Colorado, a member of the Big Sky Conference in Greeley, another city in the Northern Colorado region. Colorado State leads the series 66–35 as of 2014–15, and the two schools have played each other annually since the 2003–04 season.[29][30][31]

References

1. Colorado State Rams Athletics Brand Standards (PDF). February 14, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
2. Fredrickson, Kyle (March 22, 2018). "Source: Colorado State selects Niko Medved as new men's basketball coach". denverpost.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
3. Schlabach, Mark (February 9, 2018). "Source: CSU officials don't intend for Larry Eustachy to return as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
4. "Interim coach Steve Barnes suspended before game; assistant Jase Herl guides Rams to victory". ESPN.com. February 11, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
5. Garcia, Adrian (March 7, 2018). "Report: Spurs' Becky Hammon top candidate for Colorado State men's basketball job". ksat.com.
6. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/colorado-state/
7. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/mwc/2000.html
8. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/colorado/1969-schedule.html
9. 2012 Colorado State Men's Basketball Postseason Information. p. 56.
10. "Texas-El Paso is upset, 63-51". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 20, 1984. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
11. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/colorado-state/1990-schedule.html
12. Howard-Cooper, Scott (December 23, 1999). "Bruin Loss Is Only Half the Problem". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
13. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/purdue/2004-schedule.html
14. "Morris Hits Buzzer Beater To Defeat Purdue". Colorado State Rams. December 30, 2003. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
15. Mossman, John (December 31, 2003). "Colorado St. Beats No. 21 Purdue 71-69". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 4, 2004.
16. "Game notes: Rams travel to Air Force for Saturday afternoon matchup". Colorado State Rams. February 7, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The game marks the 103rd in the series between the Rams and Falcons. Colorado State leads 71-31, including a 29-19 mark in games played in Colorado Springs.
17. "Men's basketball recap: Rams score comeback win at Air Force, 68-56". Colorado State Rams. February 8, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
18. "Game notes: Rams open MW tourney Wednesday vs. Utah State". March 11, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The game marks the 81st in the series between the Rams and Aggies. CSU is 35-45 in the series, but the two programs have never met on a neutral court.
19. "Men's basketball recap: Late Utah State rally trips Rams in opening round of MW tourney". Colorado State Rams. March 12, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
20. "Men's basketball recap: CSU comeback falls short, 83-75, at Wyoming". Colorado State Rams. March 8, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
21. "Border War: Pokes Visit Rams for Marquee MW Matchup". University of Wyoming. January 5, 2015. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015. ...the Cowboys own a 129-92 advantage in the all-time series with Rams.
22. "McManamen Shoots Wyoming Past Colorado State, 60-54". University of Wyoming. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
23. "Celebrating the Morril Act of 1862". Colorado State University. January 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014. CSU, the only land-grant institution in Colorado...
24. "University Strategic Plan". University of Colorado Boulder. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. As the flagship university of the state of Colorado, CU-Boulder has become a true community of learners...
25. "Game notes: Rams, Buffs renew rivalry Tuesday night at Moby Arena". Colorado State Rams. December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The matchup will mark the 122nd between the Rams and Buffs, with Colorado holding an 84-37 advantage.
26. "Men's basketball recap: Rams lose late to rival Buffs". Colorado State Rams. December 3, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
27. "Game notes: CSU renews long-time rivalry with DU Wednesday at Moby". Colorado State Rams. December 9, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014. CSU holds a 92-67 advantage, including a 54-28 record in Fort Collins.
28. "Men's basketball recap: Rams drop home game to Denver". Colorado State Rams. December 11, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
29. "Game notes: Rams open historic home stand Friday vs. Northern Colorado". Colorado State Rams. November 21, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The matchup will mark the 100th between the Rams and the Bears, with Colorado State holding a 64-35 advantage in the all-time series.
30. "Men's basketball recap: Rams outlast Bears". Colorado State Rams. November 22, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
31. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400585950

External links

• Official website