Let’s talk about slights and shots.
Colorado State advanced from Dayton to Charlotte because they were mad and good. The Rams did not have a chip on their shoulder. Try the entire can of Pringles. They entered Thursday looking to make a statement about their prowess. Instead, they were was no more progress, replaced by an abrupt ending.
Slights provide motivation, but shots prevent elimination. The Rams became human otter pops in a forgettable first half, and never fully recovered in a 56-44 loss to the seventh-seeded Texas Longhorns inside the Spectrum Center.
“You look at it, you have to credit Texas. We are disappointed. We feel like we didn’t bring our best,” CSU coach Niko Medved said. “I thought we fought like crazy defensively. We were not able to stick enough shots.”
Everything started well. The Rams opened with an 8-2 lead, looking aggressive and poised. CSU was represented by a healthy following who made the cross-country trip. The Rammies in section 115 were loud and lively. Unfortunately, they could not help CSU’s dreadful shooting.
March Madness became March Sadness over the final 14 minutes and 45 seconds of the first half.
Texas outscored CSU 25-3 during this stretch as the Rams looked like a team playing in their fifth game in their third city over the past week-and-half. Joe Palmer paced the Rams with three points over the first 20 minutes. Isaiah Stevens, whose number might eventually get retired in Fort Collins, picked a bad day to have a bad day. He missed his first nine shots, part of the Rams’ 5-for-27 shooting in the first half.
“We came out with the right intensity. Stevens is an elite point guard,” said Texas guard Max Abmas, who credited the practices leading up to their Thursday opener for suffocating the Rams. “It was about having the right intensity, having each other’s backs and we were able to get stops.”
Medved admitted the Longhorns pressure affected the Rams. Texas was faster and longer than Virginia, who impersonated a sloth in its First Four loss to CSU. The Rams held Virginia to 14 first-half points on Tuesday. The Rams had no idea they would impersonate them two days later — scoring just 11. You read that correctly.
“We got pushed out from our typical spots on offense and we can’t allow that to happen,” said Stevens of the first 20 minutes. “You are going to make and miss shots, but we had to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
Added Joel Scott, “They came out and played tougher than us in the first half. There’s not really not much more to it.”
CSU answered with anger and improved accuracy in the second half. Stevens scored his first points on an early possession, and Jalen Lake and Nique Clifford shaved the deficit to 35-27 with back-to-back 3s, bringing the crowd to life. There was hope of an upset, if only briefly as Stevens found Scott for a layup under the 5-minute mark.
The Rams’ climb up the mountain, unfortunately, left them exhausted.
Down 44-38 with 4:11 remaining, CSU watched its dream of dancing dissolve with a series of turnovers — the Rams finished with an uncharacteristic 19 giveaways — and missed buckets. The Longhorns stood up when the outcome became greasy. Rangy center Dylan Disu nailed a short jumper and converted a free throw to create an eight-point margin. CSU had few answers for Texas’ Chendall Weaver, who delivered 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
In his last college game, Stevens finished with 10 points, four assists and four turnovers. Scott dropped 10, and Clifford had a team-best 10 rebounds.
“It’s hard to grasp for me right now that it’s over. It means everything (having played for CSU),” Stevens said.
This game was more graffiti than da Vinci. Neither team shot well, a testament to defense, butterflies and bad aim. The Rams finished 17-for-58 shooting and 6-for-24 from the beyond the arc, their 44 points 32 below their season average. Texas was marginally better at 22-for-55 and 1-for-14 from 3.
The loss doesn’t diminish a terrific season for CSU. The Rams entered the Top 25 early in the season, stayed there for weeks, played before sellout crowds and blended multiple transfers to post 25 victories. They were the last team in, but were not the first team out.
They had a shot. But in a knockout game, they missed too many, too often.
“It’s been an emotional year and emotional week for those guys,” Medved said. “I have been around a lot of great teams and guys, but none better than this. It stings.”
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