Bovine Blog: Utah State Hosts No. 13 Colorado State Rams
Jan 4, 2024, 2:27 PM | Updated: 2:50 pm
LOGAN, Utah –ย Utah State doesn’t have much time to celebrate its first Mountain West win as it prepares to face its first top-25 opponent in No. 13 Colorado State. Such is the nature of a challenging mid-major conference that has five teams ranked in the top 44 of the current KenPom rankings.
USU (13-1, 1-0) opens the home portion of its MW schedule against the Rams (13-1, 1-0) on Saturday, January 6.ย Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MT) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โผ๏ธ
๐ #13 Colorado State
โก๏ธ 7:00 PM | The Spectrum#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/J609jbU6a0— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 4, 2024
“It’s why you play in the Mountain West,” head coach Danny Sprinkle said after the win in Colorado Springs earlier in the week. “It’s a high major league. That Spectrum is going to be rocking. We’re gonna have to play our best game… Our guys? They’ll be ready to compete.”
USU is 61-43 all-time against CSU.
CSU Equal Highest Ranking In Program History
Colorado State enters as the No. 13 team in the AP Top 25 for the second time. CSU reached No. 13 earlier this season after starting 9-0. Five days later, the Rams suffered their only season setback, a 64-61 loss to Saint Mary’s on December 9.
This season marks the first time Colorado State has been ranked in the teens since 1954 when CSU rose to its previous program record of No. 18.
The Rams check in at No. 13/14 in this week's polls ๐๐#AtThePEAK | #MWMBB | #Stalwart pic.twitter.com/8ZIGDiSL91
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) January 2, 2024
The Rams come in leading the MW in scoring at 84.7 points per game while allowing 68.2 (seventh). The Rams (.532) and Aggies (.497) are the top two shooting teams in the conference through 13 games.
Graduate senior guard Isaiah Stevens leads the team with 17.3 points and 7.4 assists per game. The matchup between Stevens and USU PG Darius Brown II will be one to keep an eye on. Stevens is the seventh-leading scorer and second-leading assist man, behind only Brown II, in the MW.
Patrick Cartier (13.5), Nique Clifford (13.1), and Joel Scott round out the Rams double-digit scorers.
Mountain West KenPom Rankings
No. 21 San Diego State
No. 28 Colorado State
No. 38 New Mexico
No. 39 Nevada
No. 44 Utah State
No. 65 Boise State
No. 94 UNLV
No. 170 San Jose State
No. 196 Fresno State
No. 199 Wyoming
No. 222 Air Force
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Utah State will host theย No. 13ย Colorado State Rams (12-1, 0-0) on Saturday, January 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MT).
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Brian Preece is a KSLsports.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brianโs coverage of the Bees, Big League Utah, and Aggie athleticsย here.
