The 10th-ranked men’s basketball team in the nation will be there. The first 1,000 students wanting a free T-shirt also will make an appearance tonight at Moby Arena.
As for which Colorado State team will show up, no one really knows. It could be the one that found a way to win three straight against the Mountain West Conference’s lower-tier teams. It could be the one that lost to MWC powers BYU and UNLV by a combined 53 points.
Given the 11-game MWC win streak New Mexico is bringing to Fort Collins, the outlook isn’t exactly optimistic for the Rams, who are struggling to hang on to fifth place.
Even normally effervescent CSU coach Tim Miles said during Monday’s MWC conference call: “We set a goal to go .500 in league. We’re 6-6 with four games left, and it wouldn’t be hard for us to drop all four.”
While the Darington Hobson-led Lobos are 25-3 (11-2 MWC), the Rams are coming off a 70-39 disaster at UNLV. CSU’s Travis Franklin is back in a funk at the free-throw line, where he is shooting only 49 percent in MWC games.
“Almost no one in any league at this level can win 11 straight and our league is sixth or seventh in the country,” Miles said of the conference’s RPI.
Although coach Steve Alford kept playing up Air Force’s strong preparation in a narrow escape Saturday, even he is impressed with the Lobos’ run.
“To win 11 in a row in a league like this is hard to imagine,” Alford said. “We’re not blowing everyone out, but we find a way to win when we’re not clicking on all cylinders.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
