What we’ve learned about Colorado State men’s basketball team after blowout win
The first game was entertaining enough, with a last-second winning shot boosting the Colorado State men’s basketball team to a dramatic first win.
“We would like to get a couple blowouts,” John Tonje joked afterwards.
Monday night was a good one for Tonje, then.
The Rams were dominant basically start to finish as they blasted Weber State 77-52.
CSU (3-0) posted runs of 15-1 and 18-3 in the first half to build a 21-point lead at the break. The lead grew to 29 at one point in the second half and ot was never a close contest.
The defensive performance in the first half was especially eye-catching. CSU held Weber State to 15 points and 20% shooting and turned nine turnovers into 15 points.
"I don't have a lot to complain about. I thought we came out with a defensive mindset," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "I thought the first half was as good as we've guarded since we've been here, and I thought that's kind of spurred everything tonight."
It was a great final outing of a three-game homestand to begin the season. Here’s a look at what we’ve learned about CSU in the 3-0 start.
CSU basketball has depth and scoring diversity
One night it could be John Tonje. Or Isaiah Rivera. Or Jalen Lake. Or Patrick Cartier.
There’s no guaranteed alpha on this team yet but a bevy of guys who can take the leading role in scoring.
There are eight guys playing more than 10 minutes a night, and Josiah Strong will join that group soon as he gets back after mono. Almost all of them can quickly hit double figures.
Eleven players played and 10 scored Monday. Tonje led with 15, Tavi Jackson had 14, Lake had a career-high 12 and Rivera had 10. CSU shot 54% from the field and 50% on 3-pointers.
"I think it's a lot harder to key in on a team when they have multiple guys having good nights. I feel like that's something we take pride in," Tonje said. "That's just Ram basketball at this point, getting everyone involved."
Strong made his first appearance as a Ram in the win. On a minutes limit, he hit hit two quick 3-pointers and scored an efficient eight points in 13 minutes.
This also means CSU is building depth for, the team hopes, a future in which Isaiah Stevens returns and the options are plentiful.
Again, there are and will be growing pains, but the diversity in how this team can attack is exciting.
Team ball keeps moving
A key part of that team ball is the speed and movement at which CSU attacks.
The Rams play at a fast pace, and the ball never sticks. If the ball isn’t moving, that’s how you know things aren’t working right.
CSU has faced some interesting pressures and zones and have struggled with them at times, but also found ways out of them.
The Rams are averaging 17.7 assists per game so far.
Tavi Jackson is the real deal
The role of true freshman Tavi Jackson could have been a question mark if not for the injury to Stevens.
Instead, Jackson has been thrown into the deep end as the point guard playing the most minutes for the Rams.
He makes some expected freshman mistakes with a wild pass here and there and tried an audacious dunk attempt (that didn’t work) against Weber State, but he also brings a big spark and big plays to the Rams.
Jackson dished out four quick assists in the first half to help the Rams surge from a tight game to a 21-point halftime lead.
He finished a sparkling 6-7 from the field with a (very early) career-high 14 points, four assists and three steals. The Rams were plus-24 in scoring with Jackson on the court.
Through three games, Jackson is shooting 77% from the field, averaging 10.3 points per game and 3.3 assists. He had four turnovers in his second game but just one each in the two others.
He’s learning early on, and it is paying off now and will surely help later.
“Without this experience, I would come in next year kind of slow. I’m glad it’s come this year, right now, so I can get it out of the way,” Jackson said after beating Southeastern Louisiana last week. “I’ve got to grow pretty fast. Getting thrown in that fire, I think it’s pretty good for me.”
Test ahead
College basketball is flooded with upsets already in the first couple weeks. The Southeastern Louisiana team CSU beat last week then went and took down Wyoming. But the Rams have avoided them.
That’s the most important thing so far. You can’t build an NCAA Tournament resume in the first few weeks, but you can trash one.
That said, these three wins weren’t even close to the best teams the Rams will face.
Over the next week, CSU will get a strong challenge when it heads to the Charleston Classic, beginning with a Thursday afternoon tilt against South Carolina.
CSU, as of Tuesday, is No. 94 in KenPom rankings. South Carolina is No. 83. There are four top-100 KenPom teams (outside CSU) in the tournament, and everyone is top 200.
The eight teams competing are (with KenPom ranking as of Tuesday): Virginia Tech (20), Penn State (38), Furman (65), South Carolina (83), Colorado State (94), Davidson (110), Old Dominion (167) and College of Charleston (176).
It's an important resume tournament.
We’ll learn even more about these Rams during the next week.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: What we've learned about Colorado State basketball through 3-0 start
