It’s another year of the Rocky Mountain Showdown on the hardwood — this time, however, Colorado State is seeking a chance to answer back.

Just under a year ago on Dec. 7, 2024, the Rams stumbled into the CU Events Center with high hopes but came out with a 72-55 loss against Colorado as the team had one of their poorest performances in what turned out to be a stellar season.

The Rams don’t want a sour taste in their mouths much longer when they think about their game against the Buffs. And this season, with a retooled roster and new coach, they have the chance to do so on their home court.

CU will drive up the I-25 highway to face CSU at 3 p.m. on Saturday in what has been announced as a sold-out Moby Arena. 

CSU approaches this matchup after a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, where the Rams came out of that trip 2-1 with wins against Wichita State and South Florida and a loss to Virginia Tech.

“It was cool being in a different environment,” guard Jevin Muniz said. “Playing in a ballroom was a little different, but it was fun just being around every team there, just being in a cool environment.”

After their trip to the Bahamas, CSU approaches the Rocky Mountain Showdown with a 6-2 record, a better record through eight games than the 2024-25 team. With both last year and this year’s matchup being the Rams’ ninth game of the season, they understand the importance of a nonconference game like this — especially against a big rival.

“We’ve been talking about (the CU game) for a while, just because that’s what you live for,” head coach Ali Farokhmanesh said. “The in-state rivalries and the rival games in general, it’s cool. We’re in a unique situation where we have a rivalry with CU, a rivalry with Wyoming (and) a rivalry with Air Force. … To have all these rivalries that I don’t think a lot of other schools have, we’re lucky enough to have three of them.”

Despite the high hopes for the Rams entering Saturday’s matchup, CU has been dominating its early season schedule, giving CSU a lot to prepare for.

The Buffs are 8-0 so far this season — their first 8-0 start since the 1949-50 season — and have come up with wins against the likes of Providence and Washington as they have managed to look all the part of an improved team from last year.

Returning players Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik have each seen their numbers leap from last season, as they have become a focal part of the Buffs’ starting lineup, with the 7-foot Dak making headlines as an impressive high-flyer at the rim. Transfer guard Barrington Hargress has also stepped up, with averages of 11.9 points and 5.1 assists.

A main player to watch, however, is true freshman Isaiah Johnson, who has been the sixth-man for the Buffs. He is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.1 points in just under 25 minutes a game.

“(Tad Boyle) always does a great job with their size and their length and athleticism,” Farokhmanesh said. “And their youth, the freshmen that they have, they came in and even the sophomores, they’re talented. … I’ve always said that about CU. They do a great job of evaluating kids and they usually take the kids that some other programs at their level don’t really look at.”

A big aspect of last season’s loss for the Rams was their size disadvantage — they were outrebounded by 11, had 16 fewer points in the paint and could not compete with the Buffs’ explosive carousel of men.

This year, the Rams look to change that with the additions of Carey Booth and Augustinas Kiudulas, and also through the early-season positive development of returner Kyle Jorgensen. Booth, the 6-foot-10 junior, has been a bright spot for CSU early on in the season helping its paint presence, with averages of 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game — already tallying three double-doubles as well.

“He’s really just embracing his role, and I think he’s honestly starring in it,” guard Jase Butler said. “He’s diving for balls, doing all the dirty work, and I think all that fires us up. And it even helps his own game on the court. You can see how talented he is.”

And despite all those tests against VTU, WSU or USF, the Buffs may be CSU’s toughest opponent yet, combining the electricity of the rivalry between the two teams as well as the early season success that CU carries into the contest.

“At the end of the day, (Colorado) is just a good team,” Farokhmanesh said. “And I think that’s what you want to play against. It’s a measuring stick to see where you’re at; it’s the same thing for them. I’m sure it’s a measuring stick to see where they’re at playing on the road, so it’s a great opportunity for both of us.

“(The game) brings excitement to the state,” Farokhmanesh said. “If you want to build basketball in the state of Colorado, you need the two best teams in the state playing each other.”

With a supercharged Moby Arena crowd awaiting both teams on Saturday, the Rams approach with a chance to get payback for their loss last year and add another impressive win under their belts, while CU hopes to keep its historic start going one game longer.

“We’re not really going to focus on them,” Muniz said. “We’re going to just focus on where we got to get better throughout the week. And then when the time comes, we’ll look at them.”

Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.

Interested in more sports content? Sign up for Ram Report here for weekly CSU sports updates!