Colorado State basketball moves to No. 2 in Mountain West with thumping of Utah State

Posted by author March 1, 2025 Basketball

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Emphatic.

Ferocious.

Stunning.

Dazzling.

All of that and much, much more. Take every “wow” adjective you want and apply it to Saturday’s performance from the Colorado State men’s basketball team.

In arguably the biggest game of the season, the Rams delivered a staggering performance in a 93-66 win over Utah State to jump the Aggies into second-place in the Mountain West.

It was an eye-popping game from the start. Utah State was never closer than within 19 points in the second half and CSU’s lead grew to as much as 36 points.

“Our guys brought their best today,” CSU coach Niko Medved said.

Here are takeaways from the win.

CSU reverses the start in Logan

The Rams lost 93-85 a couple weeks ago on the road at Utah State and it all came because of one of the worst starts imaginable.

CSU was down 27-7 less than 7 minutes into that game as the Rams frequently turned the ball over and Utah State started a blistering 7-7 from 3-point range.

Surely, it couldn’t happen again? Well, the opposite did.

The Rams hit three 3-pointers almost immediately and started on a 10-0 run. Shortly after the Rams had an 8-0 run as CSU hit its first five 3-pointers.

Remember how down CSU was after 7 minutes in Logan? Well in this one it was 23-6 CSU 7:30 into the game.

Quite the reversal.

The hot shooting continued for the Rams as they were 8-10 from deep in the first half and scored 48 first-half points (on 65% overall shooting).

The start set the tone.

Defensive ferocity from CSU

Speaking of setting the tone: How about CSU’s defense?

Yes, the Rams were on fire from the field but it was all fueled by the defense.

CSU was ferocious in guarding the ball, giving Utah State no clean looks. Nique Clifford had a flying block. Bowen Born set a tone of perimeter intensity on the ball.

Three held balls in the first minutes signaled the all-out fight for the game.

CSU had more 3-pointers made (eight) than Utah State had shots made (seven) in the first half. The Aggies were 7-26 (27%) in the first half as CSU built a 26-point lead at the break.

“Man, we owed them one. We didn’t come out and play a full 40-minute game when we were up there, so the mindset was really good the last two days of practice,” Clifford said. “We were really locked in defensively, I think, and that really showed up on the court tonight.”

Utah State went on a 7-0 run to start the second half but the Rams answered with a 14-2 surge of their own. In that span a frustrated Utah State was hit with two flagrant fouls.

The lead went all the way up to 70-34 as the Rams absolutely walloped the Aggies.

Utah State (24-6, 14-5 Mountain West) is one of the top offenses in the country, averaging 82 points per game. The Rams held the visitors to 66 points and 42.6% shooting.

CSU (20-9, 14-4 MW) had Utah State rattled throughout.

Bowen Born leads Colorado State

This was the Bowen Born game.

CSU point guard Kyan Evans was hit with a second foul less than 4 minutes into the game and had to go to the bench for the rest of the half.

In came Born, a natural shooting guard who has served as CSU’s backup point.

The Northern Iowa transfer had his best game as a Ram.

Born (listed at a generous 5-foot-11) is often undersized but has become a battler of a defender. It was on full display Saturday.

He was aggressive in limiting Utah State and keeping the Aggies from getting into rhythm of offense. He made taking the ball up the floor a real chore for Utah State.

Then on offense Born was aggressive and dynamic. He hit three 3-pointers and also made several aggressive drives as he scored a season-high 18 points.

Born led the win.

“He comes in here and accepts a role coming off the bench whether he plays 8 minutes, 20 minutes or whatever,” Medved said. “He’s just an incredible young man. His number was called today and he just set a tone for us. He was phenomenal.

As the score would suggest, it was a team effort, though.

Nique Clifford was again exceptional as he pseudo-flirted with the first triple-double in CSU men’s basketball history. He finished with 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

CSU big Jaylen Crocker-Johnson hit two early 3-pointers as CSU built the lead. Crocker-Johnson scored 18 points. Evans scored 15 despite limited time due to fouls.

Colorado State surging in Mountain West

The Rams have now won 10 of their last 12 games and the win pushes CSU past Utah State into No. 2 in the Mountain West standings.

CSU hosts San Jose State (7 p.m. Tuesday, March 4) in the home finale before a tough road game at Boise State (March 7) to end the regular season. New Mexico is likely to secure the regular season title, but destiny for the No. 2 spot is owned by CSU.

This is one of the best Mountain West seasons in CSU history.

The Rams are now 14-4 in league play, which matches the most conference wins in program history (joining the 2020-21 and 2021-22 teams). Yes, the Mountain West is playing a full 20-game schedule now but the 14 was reached in the same 18 games as previous seasons had.

“I’ve been coaching a long time, but it’s hard to imagine being prouder of a group of guys than I am,” Medved said. “You look at where this team was in November and December and just the collective spirit and fight and stay together that they’ve had has been beautiful to watch.”