The Cards just completely overwhelmed their first opponent in the NCAA tournament Thursday night in Rupp Arena. The match-up was just the perfect fit for the Cards up and down style of play. On Saturday the competition starts to get a little tougher as they will face the 8 seeded Colorado St Rams. They beat Missouri 84-72 to advance to the round of 32. The Rams had a great season with a 25-7 record and a second place finish in the Mountain West conference. They made their way to a 22nd ranking and it was the first time this team had been ranked since 1954. This is the second straight NCAA tournament appearance by the Rams, which hasn’t happened since the mid 1960s.
Thanks to the fine work of former coach Tim Miles, who parlayed it into the top job at Nebraska, Larry Eustachy took over a Colorado State program that was very good. The Rams return three starters and five seniors. Eustachy previous head-coaching jobs were at Southern Miss, Iowa State, Utah State and Idaho. He says this is the best job he’s ever had. They have a pretty good offensive and do a great job of spreading the court to execute their inside out game. They have some solid shooters and players that use good fundamentals. They take very good care of the ball. Their defense is not great but they are a scrappy bunch and are very active on that end of the floor. They are the best rebounding team in the country with a +12 average margin. They do struggle with their perimeter defense allowing opponents to shoot well from the 3 point shot. They rank 157th in that category.
Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 117.5 Rank 7
ADJ Efficience- Defense 96.7 Rank 96
Kenpom Overall Rank: 24
Their National Statistics:
-POINTS PER GAME
73.1
50th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
40.4
4th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.1
145th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.448
94th
OVERALL
Colorado State season averages on offense:
3pt-33.7%, 2pt-44.8%, FT-71.3%
Colorado State season averages on defense:
Turnovers Forced- 17, Blocks- 2, Steals- 5
Projected Starters:
F/C Colton Iverson SR: He started his career at Minnesota. He is the teams leading scorer with 14.6 points a game. He is a great rebounder and will alter some shots. He had 13 blocks in their win against Missouri. This guy is the tallest and best player on this team.
F Pierce Hornung SR: Any coach in the Mountain West will say a big factor in the Rams’ recent success is due to the play of this 6-5 senior. He is considered the Rams’ glue guy, and despite his lack of size, he leads the team in rebounding with 9.2 per game.
F Greg Smith SR: He is solid, and what he lacks in height at 6-6 he makes up for with speed and athleticism. He averages 11.3 points a game.
G Wes Eikmeier SR: An Iowa State transfer who is a three-year starter, was a first-team All-Mountain West selection. He is one of this teams better shooters. He averages 12.5 points a game.
G Dorian Green SR: This guy has been a starter for his entire career and is the 19th player in school history to score more than 1,000 points. He is very good on both ends of the floor. He averages 13.1 points a game.
Key Reserves:
G Daniel Bejarano SOPH: Sat out last season after transferring from Arizona, where he played sparingly as a freshman. He was ranked as the 40th-best high school prospect in the nation by one recruiting analyst, and the 13th-best shooting guard in the country by another. Averages 6.1 points a game.
G Jon Octeus SOPH: Has the coolest name in the NCAA tournament. He provides some good shooting off the bench. He averages 43% from the field. He scored 12 points against Missouri.
F Gerson Santo JR: Is another reliable big guy for this team who will come in and provide quality minutes. He had 3 rebounds and 4 points against Missouri.
In the NCAA tournament you have to bring your game and not rely on your name. That statement will never be more true than when our Cards face the Rams on Saturday. These guys won’t care about the fact that they are playing the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. In fact it will probably encourage them to play harder. This will be the most veteran squad the Cards have played all year and one of the most inspired basketball teams they have played all season. We will really need our perimeter shooters to take advantage of the Rams poor perimeter defense. Hopefully Hancock and Blackshear can get it going from deep. Kevin Ware and Russ Smith should also be able to get open looks from the three. Another advantage our Cards will have is their length and athleticism. Their tallest player is 6-10 and they are a undersized team. They also don’t have that much versatility. Gorgui and Chane should be able to bully their way inside and will need to be aggressive on the glass. This is also a game where Stephan Van Treese will be good to have. It’s funny but a lot of their guys are blue collar players like SVT. Peyton’s speed will also be a huge advantage. He should have no problem getting into the lane and the free-throw line.
The NCAA tournament gets real on Saturday folks. This Colorado group of Seniors are in it to win it. And they have a great head man leading their charge. I don’t think you’ll see a cake walk here but we will survive and advance in this one.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 69 Colorado St 57