By: Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
The Colorado State Rams roll into San Jose Saturday afternoon to take on the San Jose State Spartans. The matchup features two teams on opposite ends of the Mountain West as the Rams (12-1, 2-1 MW) lead the conference in total wins, while the Spartans (7-6, 0-1 MW) are tied for last.
Spartans’ Head Coach Tim Miles is a familiar face for the Rams. Miles was Head Coach for Colorado State from 2007-2012 helping to turn around a program that was languishing at the bottom of the MW, all the way to March Madness in his final season.
Know your foe
The Rams were one of the last five undefeated teams in the country and the only top-25 team in the MW before getting flattened by San Diego State 79-49 on Jan. 8. Before that they boasted impressive wins over Creighton, Saint Mary’s, and Mississippi State. All three of those squads have a win percentage north of .700.
Guards David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens are the two big names to keep an eye out for. Stevens and Roddy are listed at the same position, but have very different skill sets. There isn’t a shot beyond the arc that Stevens doesn’t think he can hit, and for good reason.
On the season he’s shooting an ungodly 42% from three on the road which will be sure to keep the Spartans on their toes every second he’s on the hardwood.
For most players, shots with a few seconds remaining on the clock are heaved on a wing and a prayer. Not for Stevens. He knows that all he needs is some breathing room and a moment to set his feet for the ball to find the bottom of the net.
All this not to mention his pull up and step back jumper game is a thing of beauty. A lethal weapon in his holster that spelled heartbreak at the buzzer for Nevada earlier this season.
David Roddy is listed as a guard just like Stevens, but outweighs him by 70 pounds sitting at 250 lbs, similar to Charles “The Round Mound of Rebound” Barkley.
The stature is deceiving because he doesn’t rely on bullyball to find pay dirt and has an insane amount of body control to avoid foul trouble.
Roddy’s ability to hit the three ball at a 43% clip is arguably more astounding than the aforementioned tributes.
His game goes beyond offense as he’s chief officer of rim patrol on the other end of the court. In his last four games he’s totaled seven blocks, including three in the barn burner against Mississippi State. This flows right into his offensive abilities because he can gather the ball and in one fell swoop find a teammate in transition at the other end or take it to the rack himself.
Spartans’ route to victory
There’s no denying the Spartans will have their hands full as Colorado State is a team many pundits have penciled in for March Madness, but the Spartans shouldn’t be automatically counted out before tipoff.
In order to win San Jose State will have to be speed demons on the court, constantly switching to double team Stevens and Roddy while having the hustle to cover the weak side a double team inevitably creates.
This is destined to be Omari Moore’s prove it game. Moore will be looked at to be the vanguard of this potential upset as he leads the team in points (13.8), assists (4.9), steals (1.2), and blocks (1.2). Moore has also been shooting an out of this world 58% from three, but has only pulled the trigger four times or more once in a game this season. If Roddy is forcing a logjam in the restricted area then Moore could migrate to the perimeter and start firing away.
Head Coach Tim Miles is no stranger to finding solid looks for him.
Sophomore Forward Trey Anderson is coming off one of his best performances of the season going for 18 points in the Spartans 20-point loss to Fresno State. His 4-7 performance from three was one of the lone bright spots and the Rams will be in trouble if this is repeated or improved upon.
Alvaro Cardenas-Torre is my Spartan to watch out for. The freshman from Spain has some flashes that are analogous to the Spaniard Ricky Rubio.
This was a very crafty drive and pump fake move from Cardenas-Torre in an isolation scenario on Fresno State star Orlando Robinson. If it works on the vaunted Robinson it could work on any other defender.
The game will be held Saturday, Jan. 15 at the Provident Credit Union Event Center at 3:00 p.m. and will be live streamed on WatchStadium.com.