I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Lexington after Thursday’s Second Round game between #8 Colorado State and #9 Missouri. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.
Three Key Takeaways:
- The Kid is Alright — Colorado State point guard Dorian Green had one ineffective game against UNLV after injuring his ankle in the Mountain West tournament, so heading into tonight, his ability to perform at his usual level was an open question. Yesterday, coach Larry Eustachy said that Green wasn’t a hundred percent, but that he needed to play like it, because he’s the quarterback of the team. Well, Green answered the call, and in a big way. He exploded for 25, repeatedly knifing through Missouri’s defense and hitting jumpers.
- Colorado State Owns the Glass — On the season, the Rams rank first in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and second in defensive rebounding percentage. They showed why tonight. Missouri is actually a top 10 offensive rebounding team in its own right, and yet the Rams absolutely dominated them on the boards, pulling down a whopping 91 percent of Mizzou’s misses and 43 percent of their own misses. This could be a genuine problem for the Rams’s next opponent, Louisville, which has trouble protecting the defensive glass. They get by without it, because the rest of their defense is so good, but if Colorado State can take care of the ball — yes, I know, BIG if — their rebounding ability could make it a competitive game.
- Mizzou Found Its Offense, But Not Its Defense — After a rough start in which they made just five of their first 18 shots, Missouri’s offense started to click, and they made 10 of their next 11. Phil Pressey, the engine of the Tigers’ offense, scored all eight of his points in the final five minutes of the first half after missing his first five shots. But Missouri still couldn’t stop Colorado State, as the Rams poured in 47 first-half points. It didn’t get any better in the second half, and perhaps worse. While the Rams’ three-point shooting tailed off, they easily compensated by attacking the lane, where Missouri frequently offered little to no resistance.
Star of the Game: I talked about Green’s big game above, so let me use this space to highlight the importance of Rams’ center Colton Iverson. Iverson scored just four points, but when he was in the game, the Rams outscored Missouri by 24 points — far and away the best +/- mark of the team. Iverson’s rebounding and presence inside was critical to CSU’s success. To emphasize the point: Iverson went to the bench with his fourth foul with eight minutes left, and three minutes later, Missouri had cut the Rams’ lead from 14 to seven. Eustachy promptly reinserted Iverson with four fouls and five minutes to play, and the Rams went on a 9-1 run.
Quotable: “This is why we came here, to put this program on the map, and make this an expected thing each year. This is what we set to do when we first got on campus, and it’s great to see the hard work pay off.” — Dorian Green, on what an NCAA Tournament win means for Colorado State.
Sights & Sounds: This game was played in a nearly empty arena, as the Louisville fans who had filled it to the rafters decided to go home after halftime. Still, the respective fan sections didn’t let it get too quiet.
Wildcard: If there was a cause for concern tonight for Colorado State, it was turnovers. They normally take good care of the ball, but they were a bit loose tonight, coughing it up 14 times (roughly, 20 percent of their possessions). They’ll need to focus on protecting the ball if they’re going to have any chance against Louisville’s press.
What’s Next? Colorado State gets a shot at knocking off the overall #1 seed Louisville on Saturday in what will be a de facto road game.