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San Diego State vs. Colorado State: Three Keys To A Rams Victory
The Rams welcome the Aztecs to Fort Collins
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Can the Rams rebound after a disappointing performance?
WHO: San Diego State Aztecs (14-9, 6-4 Mountain West) vs. Colorado State Rams (9-15, 4-7 Mountain West)
WHEN: Tuesday, February 12th — 9:00 PM MT/8:00 PM PT
WHERE: Moby Arena; Fort Collins, Colorado (8,745)
TV: ESPN2
STREAM: WatchESPN
RADIO: San Diego State | Colorado State
SERIES RECORD: This will be the 84th matchup between the Aztecs and Rams. San Diego State holds a 42-41 series lead.
ODDS: San Diego State -2
Colorado State welcomes the San Diego State Aztecs to Moby Arena for Tuesday’s late night affair on ESPN2.
The Rams are coming off a disappointing performance against the Wyoming Cowboys after an encouraging perfomance against the Nevada Wolf Pack. The Rams are struggling to find cohesion as a team this season.
The Aztecs head to Fort Collins off an upset victory over the Utah State Aggies. This has been a little bit of a down year for San Diego State, but they are still within striking distance of a top seed for the tournament.
Colorado State is looking for something to connect with this team. Here’s three keys to their matchup against the Aztecs:
Feed the big chile
Nico Carvacho continues to be the most important piece of this Rams team. He averages a double-double with 15.8 ppg and 13 rpg (which leads the nation). The Rams preform better as a team when the offense runs through Carvacho.
When the Rams struggle on offense, it can usually be attributed to Carvacho getting too few of touches with the ball on offense. If the Rams want to score, Carvacho needs the ball in his hands. He can play a little point-center as he has decent vision. Give Carvacho the ball and he can find either the basket or an open teammate.
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Break the zone
The Rams have really struggled against the zone this season. In the Rams most recent matchup against the Cowboys, it looked like CSU was lost on offense. They couldn’t get open looks and they had to settle for low percentage mid-range jumpers.
The Rams need to feed the high post and create movement on offense. The CSU offense has been stagnant at times this season. When the Rams move around the court they get open shots. They just need to stop resorting to isolation plays and move the ball around.
step out on defense
Too many times this season the Rams have been burned by the three point shot. Against both the Wolf Pack and Cowboys, the Rams let their opponents make their first seven shots from beyond the three point line. This has been the Rams Achilles heel in recent seasons as they are too slow to react to the deep shooter.
The Rams need to get a hand in their opponent’s face. Too many times the Rams fall too far into help side defense and leave their man wide open outside. They then don’t at least try to disrupt the shot. CSU needs to be on their game when it comes to perimeter defense.
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