Colorado State Sputters Against South Dakota in Disappointing Loss

The Rams fell to the South Dakota Coyotes on Sunday despite another big game from J.D. Paige and Nico Carvacho (who earned another double-double). The Rams under-performed against the Coyotes in nearly every statistical category, including total rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, assists, and turnovers.

Nico Carvacho was the anchor for the offense, but it was mostly an inefficient system. Head coach Niko Medved did not mince words when it came to the lack of offensive efficiency. In his post game press conference, Medved said that he felt “incredibly disappointed” in how the Rams played; and he believed the team played “incredibly selfishly, especially on the offensive end.” Medved continued to state that he believes that his team can execute — and they do in practice — but in game-time situations they are struggling to implement what they learn in practice.

Nico Carvacho once again had a huge game for the Rams, earning 20 points and 17 rebounds. It is obvious that he is the focal point of the offense for Colorado State. Coach Medved expressed his frustration with the inconsistency in finding the big man off of ball screens. For the times when the Rams were able to find Carvacho, he was incredibly efficient, shooting 72% from the floor, and hitting 4 of his 6 free throw attempts. J.D. Paige was the only other scorer in double-digits for the Rams.

The Rams have a long way to go if they want to contend in conference play. If they can find a way to add physicality inside on defense and on the boards, they should be able to hang with most teams in the Mountain West. But one thing is clear: Coach Medved needs to toughen these Rams up.

CSU falls to 5-6 on the season. They look to rebound (literally) on the road against the Long Beach State 49’ers on Saturday, Dec. 22nd. That game will tip off at 3:00 PM MST.