College Basketball Preview: Wyoming at Colorado State

Larry Eustachy and his Colorado State Rams (20-9, MW 12-4) are closing in on their first ever Mountain West conference regular season title. Their last regular season title came back in 1990 when they were a member of the WAC. It’s an impressive feat for a team picked to finish at the lower end of the conference in all of the preseason polls.

Colorado State is still riding high off of their last second win over defending conference champion San Diego State this past Saturday. Senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo sunk a three pointer after initially hesitating and kept the Rams title hopes alive.

Wyoming (17-12, MW 7-9) does present some challenges for Colorado State. Under first year head coach Allen Edwards, the Cowboys bring a deep team and an up-tempo style that can put a lot of stress on the seven man Colorado State rotation. Earlier this season Wyoming gave Colorado State all they wanted in a 78-73 victory by the Rams in Laramie. The game came down to the final minute which makes this rematch in Fort Collins that much more dangerous for the Rams.

Colorado State will need a repeat of what they did earlier this year and that is to control the tempo, stay out of foul trouble and make their free throws down the stretch. It also wouldn’t hurt to shoot as well as they did the first time around. The Rams hit 46% of their three pointers and 42% overall.

With only two games remaining, Colorado State is on the verge of a regular season Mountain West championship for the first time in their history. A win on Tuesday sets up a showdown with Nevada on Saturday for the title. If the Rams are to beat their rivals they will need to focus on the task at hand or else they could fall down the standings and see their dreams of title blown away like a wind gust coming down the front range.

Tip off is scheduled Tuesday at 8pm at Moby Arena. You can see the game on Root Sports.