Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Head to Boulder Saturday
12/6/2024 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Colorado State looks for first win at Colorado since 2016
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State men's basketball makes the short trip to Boulder on Saturday to face rival Colorado at 6 p.m. inside the CU Event Center. The Rams and Buffs renew their rivalry for the third straight season.
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Opening Tip
- Colorado State rained in 3-pointers in the first half to run away from LMU 83-54 on Wednesday night.
- The Rams made a season-high 14 3-pointers in the win, 11 of them came in the first half.
- Nique Clifford had a double-double by halftime and finished with 19 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and six assists.
- He was the first Ram since Nico Carvacho to grab 15+ rebounds in 2020.
- Clifford has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding all eight games and reached double figures in each game.
- Clifford is averaging 18.9 points and 11.0 rebounds per game to lead Colorado State.
- He was selected to the preseason All-Mountain West team after earning third team honors last season.
- Clifford played for Colorado from 2020-23 before transferring to Colorado State.
- Jalen Lake has increased his scoring during his senior season averaging 15.0 points. He has scored in double figures the past seven games. Lake had 14 in the win against LMU, knocking down four 3s.
- Freshman Kyle Jorgensen picked up Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in his first two games. He scored seven straight points for the Rams in overtime to lift them past TSU.
- The freshman started a trio of games, averaging 7.1 points and 3.1 rebounds.
- This is the third straight season CSU and LMU will face off. The teams have split their past two meetings defending their home courts.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his seventh year leading Colorado State. He is 122-77 as the Rams' head coach. He has the second most wins in program history trailing only Jim Williams (1955-80) and his 352.
- He became the fifth coach in program history to reach 100 wins in Fort Collins last year.
- Medved is the only coach in program history to win 20-plus games four times.
- He picked up his 200th career win in November with the Rams' overtime win over TCU.
- The Rams welcome 10 new faces to the program in 2024-25. Six are transfers, and four are true freshmen.
- The program's all-time leading scorer and assists leader, Isaiah Stevens has moved on to professional basketball after exhausting his eligibility. He is currently with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the G League affiliate of the Miami Heat.
- Stevens helped the Heat to a 2024 Summer League Championship.
- CSU has two players currently in the NBA or G League with David Roddy (Atlanta Hawks) and Isaiah Stevens (Miami Heat/Sioux Falls Skyforce).
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Scouting the Buffaloes
Coach Tad Boyle had to remake his roster after seeing three players from last season's team drafted in the NBA in the summer.
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The Buffaloes enter Saturday 6-2 after making a trip to Maui last week for the Maui Invitational. CU picked up a win on the island over two-time defending national champion UConn while falling to Michigan State and Iowa State.
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Colorado has a trio of players scoring double figures led by Andrej Jakimovski's 13.5 per game.
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What's Ahead
Colorado State will be off for a week to focus on finals, before heading to Henderson, Nevada to take on VCU on December 7 at 5:30 p.m.
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The Rams return to Moby Arena on December 17 hosting Radford at 7 p.m.
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Opening Tip
- Colorado State rained in 3-pointers in the first half to run away from LMU 83-54 on Wednesday night.
- The Rams made a season-high 14 3-pointers in the win, 11 of them came in the first half.
- Nique Clifford had a double-double by halftime and finished with 19 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and six assists.
- He was the first Ram since Nico Carvacho to grab 15+ rebounds in 2020.
- Clifford has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding all eight games and reached double figures in each game.
- Clifford is averaging 18.9 points and 11.0 rebounds per game to lead Colorado State.
- He was selected to the preseason All-Mountain West team after earning third team honors last season.
- Clifford played for Colorado from 2020-23 before transferring to Colorado State.
- Jalen Lake has increased his scoring during his senior season averaging 15.0 points. He has scored in double figures the past seven games. Lake had 14 in the win against LMU, knocking down four 3s.
- Freshman Kyle Jorgensen picked up Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in his first two games. He scored seven straight points for the Rams in overtime to lift them past TSU.
- The freshman started a trio of games, averaging 7.1 points and 3.1 rebounds.
- This is the third straight season CSU and LMU will face off. The teams have split their past two meetings defending their home courts.
- Head coach Niko Medved is in his seventh year leading Colorado State. He is 122-77 as the Rams' head coach. He has the second most wins in program history trailing only Jim Williams (1955-80) and his 352.
- He became the fifth coach in program history to reach 100 wins in Fort Collins last year.
- Medved is the only coach in program history to win 20-plus games four times.
- He picked up his 200th career win in November with the Rams' overtime win over TCU.
- The Rams welcome 10 new faces to the program in 2024-25. Six are transfers, and four are true freshmen.
- The program's all-time leading scorer and assists leader, Isaiah Stevens has moved on to professional basketball after exhausting his eligibility. He is currently with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the G League affiliate of the Miami Heat.
- Stevens helped the Heat to a 2024 Summer League Championship.
- CSU has two players currently in the NBA or G League with David Roddy (Atlanta Hawks) and Isaiah Stevens (Miami Heat/Sioux Falls Skyforce).
Â
Scouting the Buffaloes
Coach Tad Boyle had to remake his roster after seeing three players from last season's team drafted in the NBA in the summer.
Â
The Buffaloes enter Saturday 6-2 after making a trip to Maui last week for the Maui Invitational. CU picked up a win on the island over two-time defending national champion UConn while falling to Michigan State and Iowa State.
Â
Colorado has a trio of players scoring double figures led by Andrej Jakimovski's 13.5 per game.
Â
What's Ahead
Colorado State will be off for a week to focus on finals, before heading to Henderson, Nevada to take on VCU on December 7 at 5:30 p.m.
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The Rams return to Moby Arena on December 17 hosting Radford at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Colorado State Basketball (M): Season 1 - Ep. 1
Sunday, August 10
Ramily - CSU Men's Basketball
Tuesday, August 05
Ram Line - Shoot Around with Josh Pascarelli & Darnez Slater (MBB)
Monday, August 04
Behind the White Board - Ken DeWeese
Monday, August 04