Colorado State Destroys Virginia in First Four Game
This past Friday night the Colorado State Rams lost to the New Mexico Lobos 74-61 in the Mountain West Conference Semifinal. While the Rams may have lost this one to a very talented Lobos team there is no doubt that Colorado State is an NCAA tournament team this year which is exactly why they were allowed to prove it in this eleven-seed play-in game versus Virginia. The Virginia Cavaliers were also losers this past Friday night when they lost to the North Carolina State Wolfpack 73-65 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Semifinal. In a talented field of teams on the border that all could have made the NCAA tournament this year the selection committee most likely probably valued highly the fact that both of these teams made it to their respective conference tournament semifinals and were defeated by the best team in each of their conferences. Let’s take a look at how the Rams won this first four-game!
By the halfway mark of the first half in this one, it looked like this was going to be a close game as the Rams had only been able to build up a four-point lead 16-12 on the Cavaliers. However, by the end of the first half Colorado State had shown they were easily the better team in this game as they went into halftime with a 27-14 lead over Virginia. The Cavaliers just looked like they did not have anything left in their tank for this game as the Rams continued to extend their lead in the second half as they were up 44-29 with ten minutes remaining in regulation. With nearly a minute left in this game, Colorado State went up by 27 points 67-40 their largest lead of the game as they cruised past the Cavaliers. It was no doubt a rough one for Head Coach Tony Bennett and Virginia as from 9:20 remaining in the first half until 16:36 remaining in the second half they did not score a single bucket. The Rams were led by senior forward Joel Scott with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
As the Rams head into the round of 64 of the 2024 NCAA tournament, they have now secured the eleven seed in the Midwest region and will face off against the Texas Longhorns tomorrow in Charlotte, NC. While the Longhorns are no doubt a great team, the Rams are no slouch. Many may be picking Texas but Colorado State is 2-0 against the top 25 teams they have played this season and with a top 40 ranked strength of schedule it is without question that Colorado State has seen great teams. This preparation should give them the ability to compete with the Longhorns. Will Texas or Colorado State move on to the round of 32?
