If USC, coming off the big win over Auburn, might be inclined to look past the Colorado State Rams, Sunday night should have helped the Trojans to avoid that temptation.
Colorado State had struggled for a good portion of its college basketball season. The Rams had lost to Charleston by 10, Penn State by 12, to Northern Colorado at home, and by 28 points at Colorado, four very ugly losses. The Rams allowed 88 points to Northern Colorado and 93 to Colorado. They seemed dead in the water when they went to Saint Mary’s on Sunday night without key players Taviontae Jackson and Jalen Lake.
Guess what? Though they were shorthanded, they weren’t short on toughness and resilience. They defeated a Saint Mary’s team which had just defeated San Diego State, one of the favorites to win the Mountain West title, in Moraga, Calif., a very tough place to win. Saint Mary’s beat No. 1 Gonzaga in Moraga last February. The Gaels have become a formidable program under coach Randy Bennett.
Colorado State shrugged off its recent stinging losses to take down Saint Mary’s without two key players. The Rams won 62-60 by shooting over 55 percent from the field and preventing the Gaels from hitting a single field goal attempt in the final four minutes of regulation.
USC will have its hands full with a CSU team which can obviously get the most out of its lineup even if not fully healthy. The good part of the CSU win over Saint Mary’s, in addition to making sure the Trojans aren’t overconfident for this game, is that Colorado State just boosted its resume and will likely be a much higher quality win for the Trojans if they can get the job done.
USC-Colorado State starts just after 8 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday in Phoenix.
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