Mountain West Battle in Vegas: Colorado St visits UNLV

Colorado St Rams at UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
Wednesday, January 18, 2011, 10:30 pm Eastern, TV: The Mountain
Opening Line: UNLV -13
Current Line: UNLV -13
Opening Total: 138
Current Total: 137
Money Line: UNLV -1100 / CSU +750

Colorado St travels to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in a crucial Mountain West game. UNLV is a 13 point favorite.

Colorado St is 12-5 overall and 2-1 in the tough Mountain West conference. They travel to Las Vegas to take on the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in an important game for both teams. The Rebels are 14-4 overall and 2-2 in conference. Colorado St is currently in 3rd place in the conference but UNLV can take over that position with a win. The Rams have losses to Sam Houston St, Colorado, Kansas, Hampton, and New Mexico on the year. The have wins over Drake, Fresno St, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Wyoming, and TCU on the year. UNLV has been in an out of the top 25 all season. They have losses against Louisville, UC-Santa Barbara, BYU and San Diego St on the season. They have wins over Wisconsin, Tulsa, Virginia Tech, Nevada, Boise St, Kansas St, TCU, and Air Force. UNLV has won 31 of the 39 meetings between the two schools, and 17 out of 21 in Las Vegas. UNLV has won and covered 3 out of the last 4 meeting between the teams. UNLV has won 8 straight home games in the series.

Colorado St has no significant injuries. The Rams are led by forward Andy Ogide. He is averaging 15.3 points, and 7.5 rebounds a game. He leads the team in both categories. Forward Travis Franklin is averaging 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 steals a game to lead the team. Guard Wes Eikmeier averages 9.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. Dorian Green leads the team in assists with 2.4 a game. The Rams are outscoring opponents 75-68 on the season. CSU shoots 49.4% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range. Ram opponents shoot 43.3% from the field. Colorado St makes 67.2% of their free throws. The Rams average 33.1 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.5. They average 13.6 assists and 13.9 turnovers a game. CSU forces 15.2 turnovers a game on defense. The rams average 8 steals and 2.2 blocks a game.

Senior guard Tre’von Willis is questionable for UNLV against Colorado St with a knee injury. He missed the Rebel’s 64-52 victory over Air Force Saturday. Willis is averaging 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.7 steals a game to lead the team. Guard/forward Chace Stanback is the teams leading scorer with 12.4 points a game. He also averages 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals a game. guard Oscar Bellfield averages 10.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4 assists to lead the team, and 1.2 steals a game. Guard Anthony Marshall averages 10.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. Derrick Jasper leads the team in rebounds with 5.7 a game. UNLV is outscoring opponents 73-60 on the season. The Rebels shoot 47.3% from the field and 30.9% from 3-point range. UNLV opponents are shooting 38.1% from the field. The Rebels make 67.7% of their free throws. UNLV averages 34.9 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.7. The Rebels average 15.2 assists a game and 12.8 turnovers a game. They force 17.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Rebels average 8.9 steals and 3.9 blocks a game.

Neither of these teams are really great at rebounding. UNLV has struggled to score in their last two games. Against Air Force in the last Game the Rebels were down 7 in the second half before rallying and pulling away late. UNLV forces almost 18 turnovers a game so Colorado St must protect the ball. Colorado St gives up almsot 70 points, a game, so UNLV should be able to make more shots with or without Willis. UNLV is much better defensively, and that should be the difference.