The Colorado State Rams put their first serious win of the season and Tim Miles career at CSU when they led the whole way against UNLV. Travis Franklin put up 18 second half points toward a game high 24 to lead the Rams to a win that could be the first big step toward a tournament bid. The Rams defense held UNLV to just 13% from behind the arc and buried their own free throws on the road to the tune of 75%.
This was the win the Rams couldn't muster up last year and many expected them to do at some point this year. Doing it on the court where the Rebels and Rams could match up in the MWC tournament was a huge boost. As of now the Rams sit at 3-1 in conference and are just behind BYU and the unbeaten Aztecs. If the Rams beat who they should in the MWC home and away, they just need to add a couple big home wins and they could be dancing.
UNLV at 2-3 in conference are heading the opposite direction. As pointed out by fellow writer rebelfan1 the Rebels are not hitting their stride right now. Two of their losses did come to BYU and SDSU so they have and easier conference schedule ahead of them only having to see them both once, getting SDSU at home. With that said the Rams win still means something because this UNLV team should still finish 3rd in the conference.
The Rams two big men ended up being more then the Rebels could handle as Andy Ogide had 18 points and 8 rebounds, tying Franklin for the game high in rebounds. Wes Eikmeier had 14 points. Dorian Green led the game with 6 assists despite a poor shooting night.
The Rebels were led by Chace Stanback and Anthony Marshall who has 16 and 14 points respectively. The Rebels didn't have an answer for Franklin who seemed to drive to the hoop at will even with 3 or 4 Running Rebels standing near by. The Rams defense was good but it was also just a poor shooting night for the Rebels who managed just 41% from the field and 60% from the line. On another night where the Rebels shot their averages this game could have been a different story.