CSU men’s basketball suffered a loss that could resonate in March

For the CSU men’s basketball team and hordes of other programs outside of what is effectively still a Power Five in that sport, November and early-December non-conference games take on an outsized importance relative to their prominence in the sporting landscape while football overshadows everything else.

This is because these non-conference games — specifically ones against Power Five competition — represent a chance to get wins that bolster their profile in the NET rankings that have become so crucial in determining the composition of the NCAA Tournament field.

CSU has made the most of these chances in recent years. Last season, the Rams toppled Boston College, Creighton, Colorado and Washington in succession, reaching No. 13 in the AP poll and giving them a cushion that allowed them to reach the tournament despite a 7-8 run that followed a 13-1 start. Two years earlier, the Rams defeated Creighton and Mississippi State en route to a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance.

A similar opportunity greeted the Rams on Saturday against No. 25 Mississippi.

And … ugh.

CSU never led, fell behind 21-7 in the first eight minutes, eventually trailed by as much as 24 points and saw a second-half comeback fizzle, never drawing closer than nine points in absorbing a 84-69 defeat in what was officially a neutral-site game played in Southaven, Miss., 68 miles from the Ole Miss campus.

The Rams dropped to 3-1 with the loss.

CSU turned over the ball 15 times, failed to record of a steal of its own and allowed the quick Rebels to feast from three-point range. Ole Miss went 9-of-19 from beyond the arc, including its first three in succession as it build a lead that was never seriously threatened.

Senior guard Jalen Lake was a bright spot, going 5-of-7 from 3-point range on a 21-point day, pushing his per-game average to 17.3 points per game so far this season. But the rest of the Rams went just 4-of-19 from 3-point range.

Depending on the results of the four-team Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert over Thanksgiving weekend, the Rams will have up to three more chances to defeat power-conference foes. They’ll face Washington on Thanksgiving Day, and then depending on that result will see either TCU or Santa Clara on Black Friday. The Rams also have CU in Boulder on Dec. 7.

CSU also has a neutral-site game on Dec. 14 in Henderson, Nev. against perennial Atlantic 10 power VCU, which has made 10 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments and appears loaded to return after a one-year absence.

So, there are chances for Niko Medved’s crew to get early-season wins that could bolster their March Madness CV.

Still, Saturday was not just an opportunity lost, but a performance that doesn’t augur well for their chances in those games that could play a massive role in determining whether the Rams can make their third NCAA Tournament in the last four seasons.

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