Oct. 30, 2006
PRESEASON GAME NO. 1
COLORADO STATE (0-0/0-0) vs.
REGIS (0-0/0-0)
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena (8,745) | 7:05 p.m. MT
CSU vs. Regis Game Notes in PDF Format
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THE MATCHUP
Colorado State begins its exhibition slate for the 2006-07 season Tuesday night against the Regis Rangers. The Rams wrapped up a 16-15 season a year ago and will welcome back four starters and five letterwinners to this season's squad. Preseason all-Mountain West pick Jason Smith returns as the Ram's leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker while MWC assists leader Cory Lewis will resume his role as the team's point guard. Senior Freddy Robinson and sophomore Stephan Gilling round out the Ram returners.
ABOUT REGIS
The Rangers of Regis University completed their season with a 12-15 overall mark in the 2005-06 season and will return three letterwinners to this year's team. Brandon Butler, who led the Rangers averaging over 14 points per game last season, returns for his senior season. The New Orleans native was also the team's top rebounder a year ago grabbing six per night. Junior Nick Winder and senior Chris Brever will also return for head coach Lonnie Porter who is currently entering his 30th season at Regis.
MOBY UNDER LAYER
Colorado State holds a 59-28 overall record in home games during Dale Layer's six seasons.
Season Games Record
2005-06 15 9-6
2004-05 15 11-4
2003-04 12 8-4
2002-03 18 14-4
2001-02 14 7-7
2000-01 13 10-3
Totals 87 59-28 (.678)
EXCELLENT IN EXHIBITION
Colorado State is 11-1 in exhibition games under head coach Dale Layer. During that time, the Rams have scored 80 or more points in each exhibition tilt. The following is a list of CSU's exhibition games since 2000-01:
2005-06 CSU-Pueblo W 85-56
2005-06 Regis W 87-51
2004-05 CSU-Pueblo W 90-66
2004-05 Northern State W 80-77
2003-04 Northern Colorado W 88-73
2003-04 EA Sports L 80-82
2002-03 Seattle Stars W 95-82
2002-03 Athletes in Action W 97-79
2001-02 Kilsyth Club W 87-63
2001-02 Athletes in Action W 83-63
2000-01 Nantucket National W 91-79
2000-01 K. Marijampole W 95-62
ALL-TIME MOBY RECORD
Colorado State holds an all-time record of 415-165 (.716) in Moby Arena.
THE RAMS IN OCTOBER
CSU has never played a regular season game in the month of October.
SINCE 1902
Colorado State is in the school's 103rd season of intercollegiate competition in 2006-07. Colorado State has a cumulative record of 1,041-1,069 in 2,110 previous games dating back to 1902.
ON TUESDAYS
The Rams hold a 12-2 record in Tuesday games during the Dale Layer era. CSU's last loss on a Tuesday came on Nov. 30, 2004 in an overtime loss at Auburn.
PRESEASON PICK
Colorado State junior forward Jason Smith was tabbed as one of five players on the preseason all-Mountain West Conference team. Smith was CSU's leader in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots a year ago.
WOODEN WATCH LIST
Colorado State forward Jason Smith was named as one of 50 preseason candidates for the Men's 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American Team. The list is composed of 50 student athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates are comprised of returning players, although transfers, freshmen, medical redshirts and other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for both the Midseason Top 30 list and the National Ballot. Players not on the preseason list are eligible for the midseason Top 30 and ballot.
SMITH NAMED ALL-DISTRICT
Junior forward Jason Smith was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-district second team following the 2005-06 season. It marked the second-straight year that a CSU player had secured a spot on the second team after Matt Nelson's appearance in 2005.
FIRST TEAM...FIRST TIME
CSU junior Jason Smith was a first team all-MWC selection in the 2005-06 season. He is Colorado State's first ever selcetion to the first team in Mountain West Conference history.
MOBY THREES
Colorado State hit 103-of-239 three-pointers (.431) in Moby Arena last year. In contrast, the Rams were 82-of-234 (.350) from behind the arc away from home.
S.W.A.T. TEAM
Colorado State finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in blocked shots per game averaging 6.52 blocks every time out. The Rams boasted three of the top four shot blockers in the Mountain West Conference in Jason Smith (t-2nd), Michael Harrison (t-2nd) and Stuart Creason (4th). Smith and Harrison ranked tied for 38th in the nation on the year as well. Three times last year, against Auburn, Pepperdine and Wyoming, CSU posted a school record with 12 blocked shots.
SINCE 2002...
As a team, Colorado State has blocked at least one shot in every game since its Jan. 28, 2002 matchup with New Mexico, a span that encompasses 99-straight contests.
Tyler Smith SUSPENDED
CSU men's basketball coach Dale Layer announced Oct. 26 that guard Tyler Smith will not play in either of the team's first two games following an off-court incident last July. Layer said Smith would not play against Regis (Oct. 31) or Concordia of Montreal (Nov. 3) as a result of the incident. Both are exhibition games.
SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT
Colorado State ranked sixth in the nation in field goal percentage (.491) while leading the Mountain West Conference in the category. It was CSU's best shooting year, in terms of percentage, since 1995-96 when they hit at a .506 clip.
POINTS IN THE PAINT
Colorado State was outscored in the paint just seven times last season with five of those seven games coming against Mountain West opponents: Wyoming (40-22), Air Force (24-12), TCU (30-22), Wyoming (42-40) and San Diego State (24-22).
16-WIN SEASONS
With CSU's 16-win season in 2005-06, the Rams tied for 19th in single-season victories in the history of the program.
LOOKING AHEAD
Colorado State will host Concordia-Montreal in its second and final exhibition game of the season on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 5:05 p.m. MT in Moby Arena.
PLAYER TIDBITS
#4 Cory Lewis
• Lewis has had an assist in 29 of 30 games coming into the 2006-07 season including 25 multi-assist games last year.
• Led CSU in assists 23 times during the season.
• Has registered 23 assists in his last three games including a career-high nine assits versus TCU in the MWC Tournament.
• Played 30-plus minutes in 18 of 30 games.
#14 Jason Smith
• Scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games last season and in 41 of 57 games in his collegiate career.
• Had six or more rebounds in 22 of 31 games last season.
• Has recorded at least one assist in 21 straight games.
#30 Stuart Creason
• Creason is 26-of-40 (.650) from the field in his last 11 games.
#33 Stephan Gilling
• Hit a three-pointer in 24 of 31 games and had multiple three-pointers in 18 games last year.
• Ranks third in the CSU freshman record books in games started (24).
THEY COME FROM ALL OVER
Colorado State's roster, in 2006-07, is comprised of players from nine different states. The CSU roster broken down by state is: California (6), Colorado (2), Arizona (1), Louisiana (1), Maryland (1), Mississippi (1), Oklahoma (1), Texas (1) and West Virginia (1).
SOLID DOWN THE STRETCH
Colorado State hit 148-of-190 (.779) free throws in the final five minutes of games plus overtime last year.
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 70
Over the past two seasons, Colorado State is 4-18 when scoring less than 70 points in a game. In contrast the Rams are 23-13 when hitting 70 and 13-4 when reaching the 80-point plateau.
FOES UNDER 40
Colorado State was 10-2 last season when holding an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor including the following games:
Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 18 Northern Colorado (W) 20-65 .308
Nov. 23 North Dakota State (W) 18-58 .310
Nov. 26 Denver (W) 17-50 .340
Nov. 28 Auburn (W) 26-70 .371
Dec. 3 IUPUI (W) 21-56 .375
Dec. 7 Kansas State (L) 20-56 .357
Dec. 10 Pepperdine (W) 19-65 .292
Dec. 22 Hawai'i (W) 18-52 .346
Dec. 30 Arkansas Tech (W) 23-64 .359
Feb. 15 Utah (W) 19-49 .388
Mar. 7 TCU (W) 20-57 .351
Mar. 9 San Diego State (L) 23-68 .338
RAMS PLUS 50
Colorado State was 10-3 when shooting better than 50 percent from the floor last year. Those games include:
Date Game FG-A Pct.
Nov. 21 Colorado (W) 26-50 .520
Nov. 28 Auburn (W) 25-50 .500
Dec. 3 IUPUI (W) 25-44 .568
Dec. 20 Western Michigan (W) 33-54 .611
Dec. 28 UCCS (W) 37-56 .661
Dec. 30 Arkansas Tech (W) 31-57 .544
Jan. 14 Utah (W) 32-50 .640
Jan. 28 BYU (L) 28-48 .583
Feb. 4 San Diego State (L) 30-57 .526
Feb. 8 New Mexico (L) 27-47 .574
Feb. 15 Utah (W) 24-47 .511
Feb. 22 TCU (W) 23-43 .535
Feb. 25 Wyoming (W) 27-48 .563
CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS
Following is a list of consecutive free throws made by current Colorado State players along with their all-time longest streak at CSU:
Player Current All-Time
Cory Lewis 2 20
Jason Smith 0 19
Stuart Creason 1 11
Freddy Robinson 1 11
Stephan Gilling 1 6
THE GREEN MACHINE
Following a vote by the student body at Colorado State, the CSU student section will be referred to as "The Green Machine" in all 2006-07 home basketball contests.
TRICK OR TREAT
Tricks and treats will be the order of the night when Colorado State University's men's basketball team faces Regis University Tuesday night. Kids attending the game in a costume receive free admission with a paying adult. CSU athletic department officials will be handing out candy treats at the game.
CSU BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to all home games are available by calling 1-800-491-RAMS or online at CSURAMS.com, or at any King Soopers or City Market grocery store location throughout the state of Colorado.
PEPSI SIX-PACK
Colorado State University basketball fans can take advantage of two ticket promotions being offered by the school for the 2006-07 season. The "Pepsi 6-Pack" features tickets to six games at a reduced price. Ram fans can purchase tickets to six games (Boise State, Kansas State, Northern Colorado, Air Force, New Mexico and TCU) for $60, and $10 savings. For information, call the CSU Ticket Office, 1-800-491-RAMS, or visit online, CSU RAMS.com.
LIVE STATS
Live statistics for all Colorado State home games may be obtained by going to CSURams.com and going to the men's basketball schedule/results page. Live statistics are tracked through College Sports Online's Gametracker.
