FORT COLLINS — The future of the – men’s basketball games at Moby Arena is officially on life support now.
But CSU coach Niko Medved remains convinced, even after Friday night, that the patient can eventually pull through.
“I still believe (my) team can win games,” Medved said of his 7-6 Rams, who fell to CU 56-48 in the latest installment of the hoops rivalry. “But itap a game that I hope we keep playing.
“I think itap great for the state. I think itap great for basketball. I think itap great for both schools. Thatap what college athletics is about. You want games that really mean something to the fans.”
According to the contract extension signed by both the Buffs and Rams in the spring of 2018, the latest four-game series between CU and CSU will become a two-for-one and won’t return to Fort Collins for 2020-21 unless CSU finishes with an average RPI for this season and last season thatap better than 151st nationally.
Last winter, the Rams wound up ranked 236th. Which means they’d need to finish No. 65 or better this season in order for the contract to trigger a return game in Fort Collins in two years.
CSU went into Friday’s matchup ranked 108th, unofficially, according to TeamRankings.com. Both sides are contracted to play in Boulder next December, but the series is in limbo after that.
“I think itap great for both schools to play these games,” Medved said. “And I love it when we play on campus. I think thatap awesome.”
What Friday nightap matchup lacked in awesomeness for the Rams, it more than made up for in intensity. Despite digging itself a 15-point hole at halftime — a 27-12 deficit and CSU’s lowest first-half point total in 20 seasons — the hosts opened the second period on a 21-12 run.
Burly freshman David Roddy’s 3-point play with 10:25 left in the contest trimmed the CU cushion to 39-33, and his jumper three minutes later knotted the contest at 39-all.
“David Roddy lives for this stuff, man, he’s got no fear,” Medved said of the Minnesota native, who notched seven of his nine points in the final 20 minutes. “He really gave our team some confidence there in the second half.”
CU (8-2) responded with a 13-4 run thanks to four free-throw makes, combined, from and , to open up some space and snap a two-game losing streak.
An opening half that saw the hosts misfire on their first six 3-point attempts and 11 of their first 12 tries from beyond the arc proved, ultimately, to be a bridge too far.
“I thought (Friday) our defense was actually pretty good,” said CSU forward Adam Thistlewood, who finished with nine points and five boards. “Sometimes, the ball doesn’t go in the hoop. We were getting good looks. It just wasn’t falling.”