Colorado State Basketball

Winning is contagious. Unfortunately, so is losing. For the Colorado State Rams basketball team, they've caught the losing bug.

It was a hot start for the Rams, but things have turned south, as CSU has lost three consecutive Mountain West Conference games, two of which they lost by 18 points or more.

The road ahead for Colorado State is a little unclear, but playing at home has new found benefits.

Winning on the road in the MWC is a tough task to achieve, but they have done it once at Wyoming, a team that was able to take out San Diego State inside the “Dome of Doom.”

CSU’s two conference victories have been over the worst two teams in the league, but when inside Moby Arena, the Rams are as good as anyone (as evidenced in the loss to UNLV last Wednesday. It was a win CSU let slip away).

Adam Nigon said it best after the loss to UNLV. The last two seasons, home games felt like they were played on neutral courts since the road teams had louder crowds than the Rams.

That’s no longer the case. Moby Magic is back and the students should be proud. With consistent student support with crowds as large as they have been against UNLV and CU-Boulder, anything is possible.

If the Rams want to regain positioning in the MWC standings, Wednesday’s game is a must win. Yes, it is one CSU should win, but it’s definitely a must win against the TCU Horned Frogs.

With Dorian Green’s play at the point; with Greg Smith’s spark ability off the bench; with the strong post play of Andy Ogide and with the continued and ever-growing support from student and alumni inside Moby Arena at game day, there’s no reason the Rams shouldn’t win at least four more conference games at home.

And you know who the most pivotal player on this team has been all season, the man I still call my MVP? Travis Franklin. Don’t blame him for the loss against the Runnin’ Rebels. Sure, his free throw struggles were an easy scapegoat, but his 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists kept the hope for victory alive.

With all of the focus being placed on Ogide and Green as this team’s marquee players, Franklin has been the biggest difference.

Still, it’s a team effort. But team isn’t limited to those who suit up in the green and gold, it’s also the coaches, trainers, administration, students and Fort Collins community. For the Rams to be successful, it takes a complete team effort. Be ready to suit up.

Free throws are harder than they look.

No, not necessarily a difficult shot, but from a mental standpoint, they can be the most difficult shot in basketball.

This was apparent in Colorado State's 80-72 loss to UNLV on Wednesday night. The Rams struggled from the free-throw line, where they shot only 57 percent (16 of 28). The most painful part was forward Travis Franklin's shooting from the charity stripe—he went three for 14 including an air ball on the front end of a one-and-one.

It hurts.

While it would be really easy to point fingers and say the Rams' loss was all Franklin's fault, it's not true. Just look at the other numbers.

Colorado State was well below its average on offensive rebounds, shot below 40 percent from the field, and while their turnover count was low (11), a costly, unforced back court violation might have also been the biggest difference in the end.

And how about UNLV? The Runnin' Rebels, who aren't known for their three-point shooting ability, shot 41 percent from behind the arc, 54 percent from the field, and sophomore Chace Stanback scored a career-high 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

Travis Franklin did not lose this game for CSU. If anything, Franklin is the reason, along with Dorian Green's three-point shooting, the Rams were able to stay in it for so long. Did everyone forget Franklin was the team's second leading scorer on the night with 17 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists?

Franklin is a stud, and his performance on Wednesday moved him up to the team's second-leading scorer on the year.

In my opinion, T-Frank has been this team's MVP thus far. With so many expectations placed on Andy Ogide, Franklin is the one who has really shined in some of the biggest games.

Now, I know I am supposed to stand by as the objective journalist, but the fan side of me was a little frustrated last night after the loss.

I waited a day to reevaluate the game, and nothing in me can point my finger at Franklin for being the only reason the Rams lost. Was his free-throw shooting one of the reasons? Sure, but not the only one.

I will say Colorado State gave this one away, but it was a team effort.

Get off of Franklin's back. He's still this team's MVP.

In the first two seasons of the Tim Miles era at CSU, Ram fans didn't have much to cheer about other than hope for a brighter tomorrow.

The Rams couldn't beat Wyoming or CU-Boulder during the regular season, players were constantly being suspended or dismissed from the team, and the late season injury to Jesse Carr in 2009 made it seem as if CSU would be doomed for another year.

Well, another year is here, and CSU is looking miles ahead (pun definitely intended) of where they were last year.

Now, just over halfway through his third season as the head coach of the CSU men's basketball team, Miles seems to have changed his recruiting approach by focusing more on high school players rather than JUCO kids, and it's paying off.

Obviously, there was Carr at point guard and his ability to shoot the three-pointer last season. Now the trio of Dorian Green, Greg Smith, and Pierce Hornung this year all have their unique ways of sparking the Rams both offensively and defensively.

As of today, CSU is 11-6 overall with a Mountain West Conference mark of 2-1. Compare this to last season when the Rams won nine games total, four against MWC foes. The Rams are currently tied for second place in the conference with Utah and have a great chance to stand alone at that spot should they beat UNLV on Wednesday and the Utes fall to San Diego State tonight (two outcomes that are incredibly likely).

The truth is, college basketball west of the Mississippi is down this season. If I were to rank the top four conferences in the west in order, it would go Big 12, Mountain West, West Coast, Pac-10. Yes, the Arizona, ASU, Stanford, UCLA and Washington-filled Pac-10 takes a back seat to Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. Crazy, eh?

As cool as it is to see the MWC looking so strong, with three schools making it "in" in ESPN's latest Bracketology on Monday, aside from BYU at the top and Air Force at the bottom, the league is incredibly balanced.

This means it's going to be giant cluster (you know what) in the middle for the rest of the conference to push for at least one, maybe two more NCAA Tournament spots come March (for sake of argument, we're assuming BYU wins both the regular season and MWC tournament championships).

Right now, aside from BYU, ESPN is predicting that both New Mexico and UNLV make the Big Dance. While I will agree that the Lobos and Rebels are the next two best teams in the MWC, I don't see both of them making the Tournament.

New Mexico has been the biggest disappointment in the league thus far, and UNLV has seemed to struggle while touring the other eight MWC cities the past few seasons. That's leaving a door open for Utah, SDSU, TCU, Wyoming, and believe it or not, CSU.

2003 was the last time Colorado State made a visit to the NCAA Tournament; only Wyoming (2002) and TCU (1998) have longer droughts amongst conference opponents. In fact, TCU was still in the WAC when they made it last. This could be the year one of these three schools finally breaks through, and for the majority of you reading this column, you're hoping it's the Rams.

Well, if Colorado State is going to make an NCAA Tournament, or even NIT, appearance in 2010, the Rams are going to need a more loyal fanbase. A Moby Arena filled with students can be one of the toughest environments to play at in the MWC. Just take the game against CU-Boulder back in December.

Moby is a relatively small facility, seating only 8,745. That number is roughly 34 percent of the current student body at CSU. Roughly 2,300 seats are allotted to students, which means if a measly nine percent of students show up to each home game, it could greatly influence the Rams' chance of winning (CSU is undefeated at home this year).

With conference play already under way, a postseason appearance for Colorado State looks more and more like a reality. Just need to keep winning. Plain and simple.

Author's Note: This post was featured in Tuesday's Rocky Mountain Collegian.

After being picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West Conference to start the season, the Colorado State Rams find themselves tied atop the standings with a 2-0 mark in league play. While this is progress, celebration might be a bit premature.

The Rams are currently 11-5 overall, undefeated at home and on neutral sites, but an atrocious 1-5 on the road, including an embarrassment at Fresno State where CSU only managed to score 13 points in the first half.

With a couple of lucky escapes against San Francisco and Denver at home inside Moby Arena, it wasn't until the Rams earned their first road victory of the season, and only the second win in conference away from home during head coach Tim Miles' tenure, to open MWC play against Wyoming when things appeared they might be looking up.

It was the first time Miles had defeated the Cowboys during the regular season and junior Andy Ogide finally started to look like the player everyone has expected him to be, as he led all scorers with 22 points and was perfect from the free throw line.

During the Rams' next contest, they hosted Air Force and Ogide was once again the high scorer with 13 points, as Colorado State went on to route Air Force 70-48 and move to 2-0 in MWC play for the first time since 2003. Coincidentally, 2003 was the last time CSU went to the NCAA Tournament.

For his efforts last week, Ogide earned Co-Player of the Week honors in the Mountain West Conference.

What CSU has done thus far is fantastic, especially compared where the Rams have been the past few years. Still, celebrating too much could get Ram fans into trouble given the fact the teams they've beaten aren't exactly the best in the conference. Heck, Air Force might even be worse than some D-II RMAC schools scattered across the Centennial State.

Colorado State's next game will be the one to judge how much progress CSU has made as the Rams travel to Provo, Utah to face BYU at the Marriott Center. The Cougars are led by the MWC's leading scorer, Jimmer Fredette, and forward Jonathan Tavernari can always be a threat, especially from the outside. Tavernari shared MWC Player of the Week honors with Ogide last week.

Win or lose, CSU vs. BYU will be a game for the Rams to really gauge where they are as a team playing in a tough environment against a Top 25 opponent. Colorado State just better make sure that if they do fall to the Cougars, they don't let it tailspin their season like the football team did.

Last week I wrote about how Colorado State’s home court, Moby Arena, needs to be transformed into the tough environment it has been known for in the past.

Over the past two games, it’s been transformed—into a heartbreaker.

An overtime loss to a Utah team currently ranked 10th in the nation on the RPI scale and a missed shot to tie the game in a key rivalry game against Wyoming have resulted in consecutive close home losses.

A venue that averages barely over 3,000 fans caused the athletic and marketing departments last week to discuss ways of getting student fans to attend the games.

Wednesday night’s rivalry match-up was marketed as a “Hostile Student Takeover” with several promotions including a free “Border War” T-shirt to the first 500 students and dollar hot dogs for all students in attendance.

Tickets were distributed on the center of campus Wednesday afternoon while cheerleaders promoted the game.

Despite the outcome, the marketing scheme seemed to work. The students came out and created a hostile environment inside Moby Arena.

The student sections, which are located on each end of the court behind the baskets, were filled to the brim. So full in fact that students stood in the upper tier of the arena above the concourse, normally reserved for general admission rather than students.

There were 5,556 fans in attendance Wednesday night—good for second highest on the season, but it definitely ranked first among volume and energy.

The attendance figure outnumbered Moby Arena’s past two games combined (TCU and Utah) by over 600 fans.

Throughout the season, I have heard glimpses of noise out of the crowd, but Wednesday night I felt like I was actually in a college basketball environment.

Chants of “de-fense" and the usual jumping while the opposing team has the ball were in full effect, and lasted most of the 40 minutes of play.

After multiple calls against the home team early in the first half, Colorado State called a timeout. With fans infuriated with the calls, the student section began a “C-S-U” chant that boomed through the arena and gave me chills.

It gave me a sense of unity for this team. The type of bond of a big brother standing up for his younger sister. The feeling that the fans had these players’ backs and were going to stand up for them when something wasn’t right.

I saw passion and enthusiasm among the students that I haven’t seen before in my time at the school.

It may be too late for the Rams this year, but head coach Tim Miles is taking this program in the right direction.

If the students could continue what was seen Wednesday night and hop on board with Miles’ train, I think the Rams have a bright future ahead.

Wednesday night gives a new meaning to the chant, “I’m proud to be a CSU Ram.”

Down a dark, endless hallway inside Moby Arena, head coach Tim Miles sat in a crouched position against a wall with his head down. His suit jacket on the ground and his tie undone around his neck, Miles ran his hands through his hair and let out a deep sigh.

“We beat ourselves tonight, there’s no question about that,” Miles said. “I didn’t think we showed enough heart in our chests or enough will in our loins to play defense when we were supposed to.”

For the second week in a row, opposing teams have come into Moby Arena and stole the Rams’ hearts.

Last week it was conference-leading Utah who edged the Rams in overtime.

This week it came down to a last-second shot that wasn’t meant to be. Wyoming 82, Colorado State 79.

Two Wyoming free throws put the Cowboys up three points (80-77) with 20.2 seconds left  before senior Willis Gardner answered right back with a layup and foul with 13.3 seconds to go.  Gardner would miss the free throw (the story of the game Wednesday night) and the Rams were forced to foul Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing.  The senior guard knocked down both attempts with 8.1 seconds left to give the Cowboys an 82-79 lead.

Gardner dribbled the ball up the court and took a tough three-pointer at the buzzer that fell short.

“It wasn’t the shot we were looking for, “Miles said. “We were looking to get (Marcus) Walker on the run and (A), we didn’t get a screen from him when we expected to and (B), we didn’t deliver to him when we could have.”

They say that free throws win games, and in the end, it’s what lost the game for the Rams Wednesday night.

The Rams shot a pitiful 59.3% (16-27) from the charity stripe, including missing four of their last five attempts in the final 3:32.

“We had great opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of, such as making free throws,” Miles said.

Gardner, a career 85.3% free throw shooter and the team’s leader, had the final two attempts, missing both. On the night he was 5-of-10 from the line.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Gardner said. “I was 5-of-10. They just didn’t go in tonight.”

The Rams got off to a quick start, taking a 3-0 lead on a Harvey Perry field goal on their first possession and led by as many as 11 (28-17).

The Cowboys would use a 14-5 run to cut the Rams’ lead to just two and trailed at half 35-33.

The second half of play featured back-and-forth action, three ties, five lead changes, a margin no larger than six, and Wyoming’s first lead on a Tyson Johnson dunk with 10:23 to play to give the Cowboys a 56-55 lead.

As a team, the Rams had four players score in double figures: Andy Ogide (19), Andre McFarland (16), Gardner (15), and Marcus Walker (15).

The Rams shot 45.8% from the floor compared to the Cowboys’ 56.9%, including 72.0% in the second half.

Wyoming was led by Ewing with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. The senior played all 40 minutes, dishing out nine assists.

“Players make plays,” Walker said of Ewing, two of the MWC’s best guards. “All that we do is worry about ourselves. If he makes it, we have to have something to counteract it.”

Prior to the game Walker said that he didn’t care if he doesn’t score another point in his career, but that a win over rival Wyoming would make all of the hard times at Colorado State worth it.

“I would have taken this win over any win,” Walker said. “It hurts more because they’re jumping around and celebrating. It’s a good game for them to win but we’re basically in the same boat. That’s what hurt the most. You know it’s a rivalry game and we got beat in our own house. It’s a disappointment.”

Walker was referring to Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer failing to shake each player and coaches’ hand after the conclusion of the game and instead circling the court several times with both hands in the air, holding up the No. 1 sign.

With the loss, Colorado State is almost guaranteed the eighth seed in the MWC, meaning having to play in the play-in game against Air Force. With two games remaining, the Rams trail TCU by 1 ½ games for the seventh seed.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Ogide said after the game. “They don’t like us too much ad we don’t care for them too much either. It definitely hurt, probably more than any game. This is the hardest loss since I’ve been at CSU.”

This is saying a lot considering what the team has been through over the past two seasons.

“Well yeah,” Miles paused. “I’m mad. This won’t go away soon. It’s a tough loss. It’s winnable. It’s Wyoming. It’s the play-in game. It’s a lot of stuff.”

The 211th Border War between rivals the Wyoming Cowboys and Colorado State Rams comes to Fort Collins, Colo. tonight.

The Border War, which features two teams separated by just 57 miles, is the longest series of any of Colorado State’s opponents.

The Rams (9-18, 4-9) lost in Wyoming earlier this year 83-74. After leading much of the first half, Wyoming (16-10, 5-7) took over as the intermission approached, leading by 14 at the break. Colorado State rallied from 17 down to get within one point late in the second half, but a 9-0 run by the Cowboys proved to be too much.

Freshman Jesse Carr tallied a career high with 21 points, while sophomore Travis Franklin added 17.

Carr’s status for tonight, as he has sat out the past two games with a strained groin, remains uncertain.

Senior guard Marcus Walker, who missed the last meeting against the Cowboys because of academic issues, has averaged 19.8 points per game in his last five outings. He has scored at least 18 points in all five games. His 16.1 points per game on the year ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference.

Last time out, Colorado State ended its 19-game Mountain West road losing streak with a 71-66 win at Air Force. The win gave the Rams their first win at Air Force since 2002, as the Rams swept the Falcons on the season.

Walker scored 20 points in the win, while sophomore Andre McFarland tied his career high with four three-pointers. Sophomore Adam Nigon came off the bench to hit a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for nine points, while senior Willis Gardner had a solid all-around game with eight points, six assists, six rebounds, and three steals in 37 minutes.

Colorado State led by 14 points in the first half but then fell behind by six in the second half before rallying back. Junior Arin Dunn hit two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

The Cowboys have won two straight games after dropping four in a row. Wyoming knocked off UNLV (Feb. 18) and TCU (Saturday) on its home court, where the Cowboys are 12-1 this season.

Away from Laramie, Wyoming is 1-9, having lost eight straight road games. Senior guard Brandon Ewing leads the MWC in scoring (18.5) and assists (5.0) and is on the verge of becoming the first player in league history to finish the season ranked first in both categories.

In addition, Afam Muojeke (14.3), Sean Ogirri (14.3), and Tyson Johnson (14.2) all average over 14 points per game.

The winner of tonight’s matchup could determine the seventh seed in the MWC. Currently, Wyoming ranks sixth in the conference (1/2 game up on TCU and 1 1/2 games ahead of Colorado State) with five wins compared to Colorado State’s four, which ranks eighth in the conference. Air Force, still winless in conference play this season, is locked in the ninth seed.

The eighth and ninth seeds will battle in a few weeks in the play-in game at the MWC championship tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.

Last year, the Rams and Cowboys faced off in that game, with Colorado State defeating Wyoming 68-63.

In an effort to improve student attendance at the games, the athletic department is sponsoring a “Hostile Student Takeover” tonight with several promotions, including a free “Border War” T-shirt to the first 500 students and dollar hot dogs for all students in attendance.

Tickets, which are already free to students, were made easier to obtain this afternoon.

Members of the marketing department along with cheerleaders stood on the plaza this afternoon, handing out free tickets to students, hoping the Green Machine (Colorado State’s official student cheering section, or lack thereof) shows up for the rivalry.

The Rams are averaging just 3,098 fans a game this season and 535 students, their lowest attendance figures in school history.

The Rams are 3-3 at home in conference play and with a win on Wednesday would guarantee at least a .500 (4-4) finish at home in MWC action. Four home conference wins would tie for the most in one season since the 2000-01season, when Colorado State picked up five home conference wins.

Prediction

This is a winnable game for the Rams.

The Rams played the Cowboys close on Wyoming’s tough home court, and I think the Rams have improved in the month since that game. In addition, Wyoming has struggled on the road this season.

Colorado State needs to turn Moby Arena into a loud venue for tonight’s matchup, just like the athletic department is anticipating. In the last home game against conference-leading Utah, the fans showed glimpses of interest in the final moments when the score remained tied.

Head coach Tim Miles and his team need the crowd to be full of energy and become a force against Wyoming in this game. Playing for seventh place may not seem like much, but the Rams have a lot riding on this game.

I’m going to be bold and predict a crowd close to 4,000, a number that has been eclipsed just twice this season, and a four-point Rams victory.

Colorado State’s Moby Arena has been referred to as hostile, electric, and a tough environment to play in by opposing coaches in prior years.

Before last season, the Rams had a winning record on their home court for 24 straight seasons dating back to 1983.

Overall, since its construction, the team is 431-146 on their home floor. The .747 winning percentage ranks among the top in their conference.

As of late, however, Moby Arena has been anything but hostile, electric, and a tough environment.

Last season’s attendance was the lowest in school history, averaging just 3,353 fans per game. After Wednesday night’s game, which drew a crowd of 2,246, the Rams have two home games remaining on the season and are averaging even fewer fans per game (3,098) than last year’s record low.

The campus of 27,273 is averaging just 535 students per game, less than two percent of their population. Admission for students is free.

Part of the low attendance could be blamed on the economy, but the Rams haven’t had an average of 5,000 fans since the 1998 season.

This was a number that was common during seasons in the past, including 14 of 16 seasons from 1983 through 1998, and multiple averages above the 8,000 (Moby Arena seats 8,750) mark in the early 1990s.

Keep in mind that all of those years, the Rams had winning records at Moby Arena.

The average crowd of Rams’ opponents this season is 7,326. Several conference foes, including UNLV and New Mexico, average crowds between 12,000 and 16,000.

Wednesday night’s contest in which the Rams led most of the way and forced overtime before eventually falling to the Utes—a team that is ranked first in the Mountain West Conference, is receiving votes in the AP and ESPN/USA Today top 25, and is ranked 11th in RPI ratings—showed glimpses of hope from the fans in attendance.

Fans were brought to their feet during the final minute as the Rams played defense with the score knotted at 73. Chants of “defense” were heard for the first time in a several years, and the light-up Ram located on the south end of the arena was lit to the tip—the louder the crowd is, the more the Ram lights up.

Yet for the majority of the contest, the crowd was overshadowed by a small group of Utah fans chanting, “Let’s go Utah.” Sad indeed.

The Rams are 6-7 at their home court on the year. Not great, but keep in mind that four of those seven losses have been by 10 points or less, including a six-point loss to preseason NCAA candidate Nevada, an overtime loss to Utah, and a last-second missed jumper loss to Minnesota, a team that has been consistently ranked this season.

The 6-7 record looks respectable considering the team is 2-11 on the road or a neutral court this season and has won just a single game on an opponent’s court in over two years.

This is a young, inconsistent team, but nonetheless is headed in the right direction. The team lost all 16 conference games last season compared to three wins this year with four to play—at least two of them should be winnable games.

It’s time for Colorado State fans to bring the magic back to Moby Arena. The difference between the Rams losing close contests at home and pulling out the victory is in the sixth man.

Colorado State head coach Tim Miles said before the game that the Rams needed to play 40 minutes of solid basketball in order to upset Mountain West Conference leading Utah Utes. The Rams did just that.

Unfortunately, Wednesday night’s game lasted 45 minutes after the score was knotted at 73 at the end of regulation. The Rams didn’t seem to show up after the end of regulation, losing 89-79.

The Utes (19-7, 10-2) took an early six point lead in the overtime period and never trailed. The Rams (8-18, 3-9) shot just one of seven, with its lone field goal, a Travis Franklin layup, coming with 1:08 to play. The Utes shot three of six from the floor in the extended period and a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line.

“We can go out and play hard against anybody, but if you lose, then it's nothing but a moral victory and that's not what we're out here for,” said senior Marcus Walker.

Despite trailing by four points before connecting with its first basket of the evening, Colorado State chipped away early and took its first lead, 14-13, on an inside jumper by Walker with 12:52 remaining in the first half. Over the next 1:41, the Rams extended its lead to six, capping a 10-0 run to take a 19-13 lead. Walker scored eight of the team’s points turning the stretch, adding to his 15 in the first half.

“I loved our passion and our energy,” Miles said. “They played the way that I expect them to play every night. I think that we've proven that when we play with that energy we can play with anybody.”

The Rams led by as many as 10 in the first half, but the Utes used an 8-2 run over the final 1:53 to cut the deficit to four at the break.

With 6:40 remaining in the contest, Utah took its first lead since the first seven minutes with a Tyler Kepkay three-point basket. Kepkay led all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 9-16 shooting, including 24 points after the end of the first half.

“He (Kepkay) hurt us in transition,” Miles said. “He just ran it down our throats. I credit him. When Kepkay went on that run that was a real hurtful time for us.”

Utah led by as many as six late in regulation, but a jumper by sophomore Andy Ogide tied the game at 71 with 1:31 to play. A Carlon Brown dunk on Utah’s next possession briefly quieted the crowd to help Utah regain the lead.

Rams’ senior Willis Gardner drew a foul with 46 seconds to play, making both free throws to knot the score at 73.

Tough defense and two missed shots by Kepkay, the second one a three-pointer after a Utah offensive rebound gave the Rams the final possession of regulation. The loose ball rolled across the court, past diving Utes and out of bounds to allow Colorado State to set up its final play with 14.5 seconds to play and the chance to seal the upset.

But Walker’s drive to the basket was unsuccessful and led to 7-foot-2 Luke Nevill’s sixth (of seven on the night) blocked shot and the end of regulation.

“It's just obviously disappointing,” Miles said. “We didn't execute enough things in the end and we can’t do that to a team like Utah.”

The Rams, who were playing without freshman Jesse Carr who was out with a strained groin, were led by Walker (22 points), Gardner (18) and Ogide (15), who combined for 55 of the Rams’ 79 points.

Nevill scored 23 points on 8-11 shooting for the Utes, including eight points in overtime. The senior also collected 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

As fans left the stadium Wednesday night, an unidentified student commented, “Tonight just reminds me that I go to Colorado State University.”

A statement that signifies the Rams’ season. Missed game-winning shots against Minnesota and San Francisco have been two of several close losses for the Rams this season.

Close but no cigar. Almost but not quite. Better luck next time.

“The sun is going to come up tomorrow,” Miles said. “The thing that the kids need to think about is how we can get better from (Wednesday) night. How we can find a way to compete better so that next time we're in a situation like this we come out on top.”

As the Mountain West Conference front-runner Utah Utes (18-7, 9-2) come to Colorado State this evening, they will match up against an improving but inconsistent Rams team.

I have outlined below three keys for Colorado State’s (8-17, 3-8) success tonight:

1.   The Rams need to stop Utah’s inside force in 7-foot-2 center Luke Nevill. The senior is pacing the Utes’ offense this season with 17.1 points per game while also leading the conference with 8.1 rebounds a contest.

     Last meeting between Nevill and the Rams, the seven-footer tallied 19 points while also pulling down seven boards. Teams have been known to double- or even triple-team Nevill this season.

     Utah has just one other player averaging double figures, Lawrence Borha (11.8), so using an extra man down low to prevent Nevill is a key component.

2.   The Rams need to focus on long-range shots. The Rams are a .351 shooting team from beyond the arc on the season, but have multiple facets that can contribute big numbers when hot.

     Last meeting at Utah, junior Harvey Perry put up a career-high 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.

     However, the Rams’ biggest offensive components lay in the hands of the freshman Jesse Carr and senior Marcus Walker. The players are averaging 8.8 and 15.6 points per game, respectively.

     Carr has gotten hot as of late, averaging 13.7 points per contest during a six-game stretch starting in Utah last month and lasting through Feb. 7.

     The Rams’ inside game is inconsistent, with center Dan Vandervieren missing eight of the past 10 games due to back spasms and Colorado State’s other center, Mame Bocar Ba, averaging just 1.8 points in 11 minutes on the season. Nevill blocked six Colorado State shots in the schools' last meeting.

3.   The Rams need to start the scoring early, play consistently for 40 minutes and limit the turnovers. It sounds basic, but it is something that Rams fans haven’t seen often this year, but when it does happen, there is a quality product on the court.

     Last home game, the Rams beat TCU 71-65 thanks to a combined 36 points from the duo of Carr and Walker. Colorado State turned the ball over just three times in the win.

     The Rams played Utah tough in Salt Lake City last month despite the final score, 82-66. The teams were tied at the break, and the deficit was just five midway through the second half.

Overall, it won’t be easy for the inconsistent Rams to pull off a win against a Utah team that is receiving votes in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.