The men's basketball team at Colorado State University—then called Colorado Agricultural College—began competing in the 1901–02 season.[3] The school became a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the 1910–11 season, and followed most of the larger schools in that conference into the Mountain States Conference in the 1938–39 season and stayed in the conference until 1961–62. Colorado State then joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1969–70. After 20 seasons in the WAC, Colorado State moved to its current MWC in 1999–00.[3] Colorado State was an inaugural member of the MWC.[4]
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Rams have appeared in 12 NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 5–13.
December 29, 1989, at McNichols Sports Arena: Colorado State beat AP #24 North Carolina 78–67 in the Mile High Classic, a four-team tournament in Denver also featuring Colorado and Massachusetts. Colorado State beat Massachusetts the next night to win the tournament.[8]
December 22, 1999, at the Cannon Activities Center at Laie, Hawaii: In a Pearl Harbor Classic tournament game, Colorado State upset AP #18 UCLA 55–54. John Ford made a free throw with 23 seconds left that turned out to be the winning margin.[9]
December 30, 2003, at Moby Arena: Colorado State hosted AP #22[10]Purdue. Down 4 points with 7 seconds left, Colorado State committed a foul. In the double bonus, Purdue missed both free throws. CSU scored a three pointer with 0.7 seconds left. The ensuing Purdue inbound pass was tipped; the ball fell into the hands of Michael Moris who shot the game winning three pointer at the buzzer. The game was not televised. CSU was awarded the points and won the game by two points.[11][12]
March 21, 2013, in the "Round of 64" of the NCAA tournament: Colorado State beat #9 seed Missouri 84–72 to advance to the Round of 32.[13]
November 22, 2021, at Sports and Fitness Center: After trailing Northeastern by 20 points early in the second half of the 2021 Paradise Jam tournament championship game, the Rams put together a comeback and outscored the Huskies 47–17 in the final 17 minutes to win the game — and the tournament — 71–61. David Roddy, who scored 27 points — and averaged 31 points a game — was named the MVP of the tournament.[15]
November 23, 2023, at T-Mobile Center: Colorado State upset AP #8 Creighton 69–48 in the Hall of Fame Classic championship game. It was the Rams first win over a top 10 opponent since upsetting AP #5 UTEP in 1984. Isaiah Stevens, who scored 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists – was named MVP of the tournament.
Utah State: Colorado State and the Aggies of Utah State University were rivals in the Mountain States Conference from the 1939–40 to 1961–62 seasons. Beginning in the 2013–14 season, the two schools again competed in the same conference, the Mountain West. Utah State has a 59–43 lead in the series as of the 2023–24 season.[18][19]
^"Game notes: Rams travel to Air Force for Saturday afternoon matchup". Colorado State Rams. February 7, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The game marks the 103rd in the series between the Rams and Falcons. Colorado State leads 71–31, including a 29–19 mark in games played in Colorado Springs.
^"Game notes: Rams open MW tourney Wednesday vs. Utah State". March 11, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The game marks the 81st in the series between the Rams and Aggies. CSU is 35–45 in the series, but the two programs have never met on a neutral court.
