Slatted into the first four, Colorado State's men's basketball team was the last one invited to the Big Dance.
The Rams aren't leaving. Rather, they were quite joyous to be catching a red-eye flight to Charlotte, N.C. after a 67-42 victory over Virginia at Dayton Arena. Thursday, the 10th-seeded Rams will face No. 7 Texas in a 4:50 p.m. (MT) tip.
Earlier in the day, Colorado State coach Niko Medved told his team all about what Virginia had going for it on the floor. He reminded his team they had skills too – superpowers he calls them – imploring his players to use theirs.
Going to Charlotte with what brought them to the March Madness stage, Colorado State was the more physical team on the floor. It showed in the paint, holding a 36-20 scoring advantage in the prime real estate, controlling the glass with a 37-17 edge.
"I think all year we've been talking about setting a tone physically, whether that be in the paint, whatever we're doing offensively, defensively," CSU's Joel Scott said. "I think tonight that really showed up and I think that needs to carry on the rest of the tournament, in the next game at least."
The Cavaliers entered the night with the strong defensive reputation, third in the nation by holding teams to 59.5 points per game. But it was the Rams who applied the most pressure, holding Virginia scoreless the final 9:20 of the first half. Their 14 points were the fewest the Rams allowed in a half this season, the fewest the Cavs had scored.
By the way, Colorado State is a top-30 team in defensive metrics and they opened the night forcing a shot-clock violation.
"They're one of the slowest if not the slowest playing team offensively in the country, but if you look at us, we're one of the top two in the country on defensive tempo, meaning we force teams to play late in the shot clock," Coach Medved said. "I told our guys, that's nothing new for us, that's what we do every day."
Colorado State hounded Virginia's best scorers, guards Reece Beekman and Isaac McKneely. They had their looks, but almost every attempt was contested as they struggled from the floor. Strong drew Beekman most of the night, Clifford had McKneely.
Beekman would finish with 15, but it came with a base of a 7-of-7 performance at the line while he was 4-of-16 from the floor. McKneely was just 2-of-13.
"Those are good players over there. They can really shoot the ball," Clifford said. "We knew their strengths and knew what we had to do. Me and Josiah have been doing that all year, trying to motivate each other to start the game off right and set the tone defensively, try to take guys' strengths away. I feel we did that tonight."
Early in the game, Colorado State proved it could get the ball inside, especially to Scott. The only issue was early Scott couldn't find the finishing touch. It didn't last. After starting 1-of-4 from the floor, Scott made his next four in the opening half, exiting with 10 points at the break.
The Rams had options. Clifford drove his way into the lane and Patrick Cartier had some space. What CSU was able to do was set a tone and send a message. A 9-0 run put them in front. Their persistence grew it to double figures and kept them in the lead.
The Colorado Springs products – both transfers – paved the road with double-doubles. Scott finished with career-best 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Clifford closed with an impressive line of 17 points, 10 rebounds and a program tournament record six assists. Cartier joined them in double figures with 12.
Virginia shot just 17.2 percent in the first half, 25.0 on the night as its season came to an end. The 9:20 to end the half would extend to 12:43 in total. The Rams would score the first eight after the break and would eventually push the lead to as much as 23.
The game was essentially over. Colorado State was not. The Rams are marching forward.
"It's hard to imagine tonight going any better for us," Medved said. "I'm just so proud of our guys, the way they handled the last 48 hours. The preparation, the travel, from Selection Sunday to now, they've just done a beautiful job."
Was there a chip? A bit. They felt a bit slighted, as did the entire six-team Mountain West contingent. In March, seeds don't matter all that much. And if the invitation comes late, might as well stay at the party until the lights go out.
