LAS VEGAS — Looking on the bright side for Colorado State, at least the Rams weren’t on the receiving end of Jimmer Fredette’s record-smashing 52 points Friday night in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals.
The Rams could watch Fredette from home in Fort Collins. New Mexico eliminated the Rams on Thursday and suffered the consequences against Fredette-led BYU on Friday.
“Wow,” was all CSU coach Tim Miles could text about Fredette, a senior guard who surpassed Danny Ainge as BYU’s career scoring leader.
CSU needed to win the MWC Tournament to automatically qualify for the NCAA bracket; its late-season fade erased any hope of an at-large bid. But just being in bracket speculation was a breakthrough for a team that didn’t win a league game in 2008.
Realistically, CSU didn’t have a chance to beat a BYU team likely headed for a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. And the Rams didn’t have the guns to get past a powerhouse San Diego State team likely to draw a No. 2 seed.
Now the Rams (19-12) await an NIT bid. They will practice today at 4 p.m. and gather for a private NIT watch party at a Fort Collins sports bar at 7 p.m.
The time and ESPNU station weren’t what CSU had in mind a month ago for Selection Sunday. Including its 67-61 loss to New Mexico in the MWC quarterfinals, CSU has dropped five of its last six games.
CSU expects to host a first-round game in the NIT, probably Tuesday or Wednesday, based on conference strength (the MWC ranked fourth in conference RPI) and the Rams’ record. Every game will be an opportunity to extend the career of all-MWC senior forward Andy Ogide, who was named to the all-District 17 first team last week.
