CSU Gets 2nd at Travelers Invitational

The Colorado State Rams (2-1) lost to Oregon in the final game of the three day tournament.  They have victories over UC Davis and Winston-Salem.  Over all the Rams should be pleased, it is not easy to play three games consecutivly and the fatigue factor showed up in the loss against Oregon.  Catch some analysis after the jump.

The Rams should be pleased with the tournament, they won the games they should have.  The Oregon game could have been prettier but it was the 3rd night in a row they had played and the Rams are running a short roster right now. Lets look at some ugly stats to start off the season with though. 

The Rams have one player with an assist to turnover ratio above 1.  That belongs to freshman forward Pierce Hornung with his 7 /1 ratio.  No guard is better then 1 / 1.5.  The team has 32 assists to 50 turnovers already.

The Rams essentially ran a 7 man rotation. It showed in a three day straight tournament as against Oregon they had 19 turnovers and shot a poor 36% from the field.   The Rams will be happy to know that is the last time they have to do that until possibly in the MWC tournament.

The guard play was less then inspiring as Dorian Green shot .286 from the field and .278 from 3-point land.  Senior Harvey Perry wasn't any better by shooting .286 from field goal range and .222 from deep.  They combined for 15 assists and 23 turnovers. 

The good news, the Rams shot a respectable 70% from the charity stripe after struggles last year.  They also shot 40% from behind the arc which they will need to stay in games, Andre McFarland led the team by shooting 57% behind the arc.  The minutes played by Hornung and Green should help this team down the stretch. Also averaging 7.3 steals is a positive note for the Rams.

The Rams have stuff to work on.  The guard play will come around, the young players will get use to the speed of the game and if Jesse Carr can return healthy the Rams have some positive things to look forward to this year.  It won't all be roses in Moby Arena this year but it is looking to be a good year for the program.