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Mar. 17, 2024
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Rams Earn 12th NCAA Tournament Bid
Team opens in Dayton play-in game vs. Virginia
By Mike Brohard, CSURams.com
FORT COLLINS – The Rams are in. And they have to play in. As the last team in.
Colorado State’s men’s basketball team erupted in applause at Canvas Stadium when it saw it’s name come on the screen during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday. The Rams didn’t care they will have to face Virgina (23-10) on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio (7:10 p.m.; truTV), a chance to slot themselves into the 64-team bracket.
The winner will face seventh-seeded Texas (20-12) on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.
“Excited to go play. You can’t really control what everybody’s reaction is, but we’re super excited to just be a part of the tournament,” CSU guard Isaiah Stevens said. “There are a lot of teams that would trade places with us in a heartbeat. Our season is continuing to March forward, and we’re excited about that.”
The Rams were one of six teams from the Mountain West to reach the tournament field, with San Diego State – last season’s national runner-up – holding the best seed, a 5. Utah State drew an 8; Boise State and Nevada are also 10-seeds, with the Broncos facing Colorado in a play-in game in Dayton. New Mexico, which won the conference tournament, drew the 11-line.
Colorado State coach Niko Medved spoke of the honor just to be invited and how hard it is to earn an at-large bid. While happy the conference earned six bids – which he felt they deserved – he was a bit stunned to see the overall seeds.
“To be honest, I was surprised how most of the Mountain west was seeded. I’m not the expert, but I think if you talk to the 100s of people who do the bracketology I think they really had all the Mountain West teams seeded higher than that,” Medved said. “You know what? That’s fine. They always disrespect our league and now it’s time to go out and do something about it.”
The Rams are 4-12 in their NCAA Tournament history. Their last trip came two years ago when they lost in the first round to Michigan. The last tourney win came against Missouri in 2013. CSU won tournament games in 1999, 1989 and 1969.
Virginia lost in the second round of the ACC Tournament, playing a pair of overtime contests and bowing out to eventual champion and bid-stealer North Carolina State.
Medved has some history with coach Tony Bennett and the Bennett family, which makes the matchup more intriguing to him. Same for Stevens.
The Rams’ point guard is constantly watching basketball when he’s not playing, so he already had a breakdown of the Cavaliers.
“I’ve seen a handful of games. A super-talented team; very deliberate in what they do and super well coached with Coach Bennett over there,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be a tough game play. It’s going to be very important we prepare the right way and go out thee ready to put our best foot forward.”
The Rams are in. The fact they were the last team made no difference to them. At least they have a shot.
While deep down they may view it as a slight, the only goal is to advance no matter where they fell in the bracket. That doesn’t change with being slotted on the first day of games.
“It definitely adds a little something, but at this point you’ve got to go play. Every team has a chip,” Stevens said. “Nobody wants their season to be over this next week or two. It’s going to be super competitive on all fronts.”
– CSURams.com –