Colorado State University Athletics
Game Notes: Rams travel to Fargo
12/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2007
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GAME NO. 10 COLORADO STATE (5-4/0-0) at North Dakota State (5-5/1-1) Saturday, dec 15, 2007 | Fargo, N.D. | Bison Sports Arena (6,000) | Noon MT
THE MATCHUP Colorado State continues its icy road tour with the second-consecutive game in below freezing temperatures as it travels to Fargo, N.D., to face North Dakota State.
Look at the Rams The Rams return to the road in search of their first win on an opponent's court. CSU has dropped three of the last five with the wins coming in the friendly confines of Moby Arena. CSU is shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
About North Dakota State The Bison are 5-5 overall including a 1-1 record in the Summit Conference thus far this season. North Dakota State holds a 14-game home winning streak coming into the matchup with the Rams. The Bison pulled off a 102-99 victory over Centenary on the road in their last game. Forward Brett Winkelman scored a career-high 39 points in the win. Winkelman averages 22.3 points per game while guard Ben Woodside leads the team with 23.1 points per game. Winkelman is the rebounding leader with 8.1 per game.
Series with North Dakota State The Rams have faced off with North Dakota State twice and have won both meetings. The last meeting between the teams was an 82-80 win by CSU on Dec. 18, 2006. This will be the first meeting between the teams in Fargo.
Memorable series moment Former Ram Jason Smith notched a double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds), but it was current center Stuart Creason who shot 8-for-11 from the field to finish with 22 points that helped CSU pull away with a two-point victory last season in Moby Arena.
Local connections Current Ram Head Coach Tim Miles coached the Bison to a 99-71 record from 2001-2007. His efforts garnered him Division 1 Independent Coach of the Year by CBS Sportsline during the 2005-06 campaign. Miles' Bison is best known for knocking off No. 8 Marquette and No. 15 Wisconsin, both on the road, in consecutive seasons during his tenure at NDSU. Former NDSU assistant Saul Phillips, who coached under Miles for three seasons, now leads the program. Doing color commentary for TV is Scott Majkrzak who played under Miles.
Colorado State at Minnesota The Golden Gophers of Minnesota got a career night from Blake Hoffarber, who hit a career-high six three-pointers on his way to 21 points, as they put Colorado State out in the cold with a 91-74 victory Dec. 8. Willis Gardner led the Rams with 19 points as CSU dropped its fourth straight road contest. CSU outscored Minnesota by six points in the second half. Learning to never give up even in a game that seemed out of reach, the Rams reduced a 23-point halftime deficit to 17 in the second half. The Rams shot 58.1 percent in the second half compared to the Gophers' 52.9. CSU also rebounded well but had 11 fewer shots as a result of turnovers. One of the key play makers for CSU was Gardner who led the team with 19 points. Despite a nagging shoulder issue, he was 3-of-5 in the second half with two three-pointers and a pair of free throws. His stability combined with the play of Marcus Walker made the difference in the second half. Walker finished with 18 points and a team-high six assists. The Rams shot well throughout the game and led in three-point percentage at 47.1 percent. Also in double-figures for the Rams was Andre McFarland with 10 points, while Stuart Creason paced CSU on the boards with 11.
YOUTHFUL OFFENSE This season the Rams field their youngest squad in the last 30 years and the freshmen have really come through. The five CSU freshmen are averaging a combined 16.9 points per game with Josh Simmons and Andre McFarland assuming starting roles.
DOUBLE DIGITS Marcus Walker, Stuart Creason and Willis Gardner each average double figures for the season in scoring. The Rams' leading scorer has come from the trio in every game this season. Together they account for 65 percent of CSU's total points.
Soft touch CSU guards Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner account for half of the teams' free throw attempts. Combined they are 52-60 for 86.7 percent from the line. Gardner has not missed from the line since Stanford where he went 4-of-5 and Walker's last miss came against Northern Colorado.
Gardnering some Attention Willis Gardner leads the team in free throw percentage, dishes out a team-high 3.1 assists per game, ranks second on the team with 4.6 rebounds a game and leads the team averaging 34.4 minutes per game.
Championship Colorado State won its first Top of the World Classic championship in Fairbanks Nov. 18. Stuart Creason was named the tournament MVP and Marcus Walker, who set the record for most points in a game with 43 against TSU, joined him on the squad.
POINTS ON THE BOARD Marcus Walker had CSU's best scoring outing in more than 30 years as he scored 43 points against Tennessee State at the BP Top of the World Classic. Walker shot the lights out hitting on 15-of-18 from the field, 83.3 percent.
IRON MAN GARDNER Gardner became the first player since Micheal Morris on Nov. 19, 2005, to play the full minutes in a game on Nov. 9 at Montana. He is the first Ram in two decades to play all 40 minutes in his Colorado State debut. Gardner is averaging 34.4 minutes a game this season.
ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD Colorado State holds an all-time record of 427-169 (.716) in Moby Arena.
HOME WIN STREAK Colorado State has won 24 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents, a streak which ranks 13th nationally.