CSU basketball seeks back-to-back victories vs. Boise State

Eddie Herz

January 29, 2019

The Colorado State Rams will be seeking their third consecutive victory at Moby Arena when the Boise State Broncos travel to Fort Collins for a Mountain West bout Tuesday.

CSU improved to 8-12 overall and 3-4 in conference play by picking up a 74-65 upset victory over Fresno State Saturday.

Defeating the 14-4 Bulldogs snapped a two-game skid for the Rams and also represents CSU’s most significant win of the season thus far.

“We were locked in the whole game for 40 minutes, and we ended up coming out with the win,” redshirt senior guard J.D. Paige said. “So, we just have to stay locked in and execute tomorrow.”

The Rams exhibited a stout defensive effort against the typically high-scoring Bulldogs, holding FSU to 11 points less than its season average. CSU managed to control the glass against the conference’s fifth-best rebounding program as well.

“I thought we guarded really well against Fresno,” coach Niko Medved said. “That has to start becoming who we are…I think that is what we are looking for: a consistency and trying to develop an identity of tougher defense.”

The 9-11 (4-3) Broncos come to Moby fresh off a 77-52 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys. Similar to CSU, BSU’s recent win broke an accumulating funk. The Broncos lost three straight Mountain West games before coasting against the Cowboys.

Much like the Rams, Boise State features a roster loaded with guards led by juniors Justinian Jessup and Alex Hobbs. The two returning starters are combining to average 23.7 of the Broncos’ 71 points per game.

Guards RJ Williams and Derrick Alston are averaging double-figure scoring totals as well, while Williams leads BSU with 5.4 rebounds per game.

Redshirt junior forward Nico Carvacho will have the opportunity to move up on CSU’s career rebounding list after recently surpassing Matt Barnett for fourth all-time.

Player leaps for the ball — Nico Carvacho (32) leaps up for the ball during CSU’s home game vs. FSU. The Rams come out on top 75-64. (Devin Cornelius | Collegian)

Carvacho collected 14 rebounds in the Rams’ victory over FSU, giving him 785 rebounds in his collegiate career. Matching his total from Saturday would tie Pierce Hornung for third in CSU program history in career boards (799).

A win for the Rams over the Broncos on Tuesday would also end a four-game losing streak against BSU dating back to the 2015-16 season. Overall, Boise State holds a slim 11-10 advantage in the series’ 21 games thus far.

CSU has been much better at home against BSU in their history. The Rams have won eight of 11 meetings with Boise State at Moby Arena.

“I think this could be a big step for our team,” Medved said. “Can we carry over what we did Saturday and start to develop some consistency?”

The Rams and Broncos will tip off just after 7 p.m. MT. The game can be watched on AT&T Sportsnet and listened to via KARS 102.9 FM.

Eddie Herz can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @Eddie_Herz.

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DEVIN CORNELIUS, Digital Managing Editor

Devin Cornelius is the digital managing editor for The Collegian. He is a fifth-year computer science major from Austin, Texas. He moved to Colorado State University and started working for The Collegian in 2017 as a photographer. His passion for photography began in high school, so finding a photography job in college was one of his top priorities. He primarily takes sports photos, volleyball being his favorite to shoot. Having been on The Collegian staff for 4 1/2 years, he's watched the paper evolve from a daily to a weekly paper, and being involved in this transition is interesting and exciting. Although Cornelius is a computer science major, his time at The Collegian has been the most fulfilling experience in his college career — he has loved every second. From working 12-hour days to taking photos in Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference, he cannot think of a better place to work. Working as a photographer for The Collegian pushed him outside of his comfort zone, taking him places that he never expected and making him the photographer he is today. As the digital managing editor, Cornelius oversees the photos, graphics and social media of The Collegian along with other small tech things. Working on the editorial staff with Katrina Leibee and Serena Bettis has been super fun and extremely rewarding, and together they have been pushing The Collegian toward being an alt-weekly. Outside of The Collegian, he enjoys playing volleyball, rugby, tumbling and a variety of video games. When in Austin, you can find him out on the lake, wake surfing, wake boarding and tubing. You can expect that Cornelius and the rest of The Collegian staff will do their best to provide you with interesting and exciting content.

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