Nov. 14, 2012

MBB Game Notes 2 - 11-14-12 (PDF)

• Schedule/Results
• 2012-13 Statistics
• Buy Tickets

Opening tip
• The Colorado State men’s basketball team looks to extend its Moby Arena win streak to a school-record 15 games on Thursday night, hosting Chadron State.
• Tipoff between the Rams and the Eagles is set for 7 p.m. MT at Moby Arena.
• Brian Roth will have the call on the Colorado State Sports Network, 560 AM KLZ (Denver), 600 AM KCOL (Fort Collins), 1010 AM KSIR (Fort Morgan) and 1100 AM KNZZ (Grand Junction).
• Streaming audio and video are available via Rams All-Access and live statistics can be viewed on GameTracker at CSURams.com.

Rams quick hits
• Colorado State enters the 2012-13 men’s basketball season under the direction of new head coach Larry Eustachy, in his 22nd season as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level.
• The Colorado State basketball program is looking for its fourth-consecutive postseason appearance, and its second straight NCAA Tournament berth, in 2012-13.
•  The Rams return an experienced roster in 2012-13, as seven letterwinners from the Rams’ 2011-12 squad are back in the Green and Gold this season.
• The Rams will welcome a host of talented newcomers to the court this season, including Division I transfers Colton Iverson (Minnesota) and Daniel Bejarano (Arizona) who sat out 2011-12 per NCAA transfer rules.
• Other Rams’ newcomers are: Junior F Gerson Santo, sophomore guards Jon Octeus and Josh Morgan, and freshman guards Jordan Mason and Joe De Ciman. 
• Colorado State posted a 14-1 mark at Moby Arena in 2012-13, the program’s best home win percentage (.933) since the Arena opened in 1966.
• Entering Thursday’s contest vs. Chadron State, the Rams are receiving four votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top-25 rankings. 
• Colorado State has been selected to finish fourth in the Mountain West preseason media poll for the fourth consecutive season.  In 2011-12, CSU finished in fourth place, but notched victories over each of the programs - San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico - that finished ahead of them in the league standings.  
• In early August, the CSU basketball program spent five days together at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. Per NCAA rules, the team was allotted 10 days of practice leading up to the trip, and then played an exhibition contest against the Bahamas All-Stars, winning 95-80 behind a double-double effort (18 points, 14 rebounds) from Colton Iverson. 
• Colorado State enters Thursday’s contest against Chadron State riding a 14-game home winning streak, which ties the program record at Moby Arena, the team’s home since 1966.  The Rams’ home win streak is the ninth-longest streak in the nation.
• Colorado State closed the 2011-12 season ranking as one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country.  The Rams led the Mountain in field-goal percentage (.471), three-point percentage (.400) and free-throw percentage (.768).
• The 2011-12 season marks the 109th in the history of the Colorado State men’s basketball program. The Rams are 1,129-1,170 (.491) in 2,299 games all-time.

About Chadron State
• Head Coach Brent Bargen enters his seventh season at Chadron State. Entering Thursday’s matchup he owns a 50-111 all-time record.
• The Eagles lost their season opener, 96-75, at home against the University of Nebraska-Kearney Monday, despite shooting 50 percent from the field.
• Chadron State had five players score in double digits in the game, including junior Zac Bargen who led the team with 15 points.
• The Eagles were outrebounded 37-22 against UNK, including just seven offensive rebounds.
• Chadron State turned the ball over 17 times in its first game, compared to CSU’s nine in its opener last Friday.
• The Eagles return two starters from last year’s squad, which finished 13-14. Senior Sammy Hines averaged 8.7 points per contest last year, while sophomore Kyle Vinich recorded 2.3 rebounds per game. Neither Hines nor Vinich played in Chadron State’s game Monday.
• Chadron State led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) last season in three point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 29.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Series vs. Chadron State
• Friday marks the first meeting between the two schools.
• CSU is a combined 8-10 against schools from the state of Nebraska (Creighton, Doane College, Hastings College, Nebraska, and Nebraska-Omaha)
• The Rams are 13-1 against Division II teams over the last decade.

A win over Chadron State will...
• Extend CSU’s Moby Arena win streak to 15 games, establishing a new program record in the venue. Currently the Rams hold the ninth-longest home win streak in the nation at 14 games.
• Set a new win streak record at Moby Arena of 15 games. The Rams’ previous record of 14 straight games was set twice before during the 1989-90 season and between the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
• Mark the fifth straight year the Rams have started out 2-0. The last time CSU didn’t begin the season 2-0 was in 2007, when the Rams dropped their season opener at Montana.
• Mark the first over the Eagles, a program that Colorado State has never faced.