The Colorado State Rams(6-3) extended their home winning streak to four against in state rival Colorado(6-4) behind the strong showing of Travis Franklin. Franklin had a double double with 22 point and 10 rebounds in the 77-62 win over the Buffalos. The Buffs lead early by 4 but the Rams crawled back into it and took a 10 point lead at half. At one point CSU lead by 18 in the second half. However the Buffs would cut that to 7 with around three minutes remaining until the Rams hit their free throws and stretched the lead out again. Catch more after the jump...
The Buffs were lead but freshman Alec Burks who had 22. For the game the Buffs shot 37.3% and were out rebounded 36-25. Cory Higgins had a rough night shooting the ball, 1-10, as he finished with 12 points.
The Rams crashed the boards and had an 11 rebound advantage which could have been higher as a couple times two Rams went for the ball and tipped it away from each other. The defense was great tonight, they had active hands that caused 11 steals out of 15 turnovers. They played good help side defense and made CU work for every basket they made. The Rams only shot 25% from three point land but hit 42% field goals and 76.9% free throws. Now some player analysis as this was my first time seeing the Rams up close this year.
Travis Franklin stepped up when the Rams needed a player to step up. He could consistently get to the basket for easier shots, played great defense, rebounded like a big man, and made big plays to keep the crowd and his team pumped. It is what the Rams have been lacking since losing Marcus Walker, but he can be a bigger presence then Walker was due to his size and style.
Dorian Green had 21 points for the Rams, he can play now but I hope Tim Miles can get more out of him as the team's point guard. Green made some freshman mistakes for sure.
Big man Andy Ogide had a great game with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Like last year he is the Rams only legitimate big man. The deal with Ogide is the more he dribbles the better the chance something bad is going to happen, he scored almost all his points on one or less dribble shots and dunks. His ball handling skills are below what you would like as a Rams fan.
Nay to Pierce Hornung 9 minutes and 5 fouls? All but 1-2 were dumb fouls too. Hornung had 2 offensive rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals but if you can only get on the court for 9 minutes before fouling out your not helping the team rest its other big men and severely limiting your own production.
I am going to stop harping on the assist to turnover ratio as much (9-13 tonight) as the offense isn't set up for lots of assists. They give each other the ball in space and drive to the hoop getting good shots which works but not conducive to assists.
One last note to the fans, great job showing up big with 5,293! But do we really need to throw the pregame free giveaways on the court? We were closer to hitting our own players then the Buffs or refs. That is just bush league and there is no call for it in any circumstance! I will let the charging the court slide as the 9 game football losing streak was fresh in all our minds, but next time make sure its a ranked opponents or we just won the MWC. Keep coming out to Moby and we could see a lot more wins this year, just keep it classy Fort Fun.