After its run through the Mountain West Tournament, Colorado State has graduated from one of the hottest teams in the conference to one of the hottest in the country.
The Rams (25-9, 16-4 MWC) are on a 10-game winning streak, including three wins in three days in the Mountain West Tournament, culminating in a 69-56 win over Boise State in the championship game. Colorado State won its first tournament title since 2003.
Colorado State heads into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed, and it travels to Seattle, Washington, today to face No. 5 Memphis in the opening round. It’s Colorado State’s second-straight trip to the Big Dance.
Memphis (25-9, 16-2 AAC) is in the tournament for the third time in the past four seasons. The Tigers won the American Athletic Conference’s regular-season and tournament titles. They head into the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak.
The Tigers boast the second-highest-scoring offense in the AAC, averaging 80.1 points a game. They also have the conference’s top scorer in PJ Haggerty, who is averaging 21.8 points a night, which is tied for No. 3 in the nation.
Colorado State is averaging 75.2 points a game, which ranks No. 3 in the Mountain West. The Rams are giving up 67.1 points a night, which also ranks No. 3 in the conference. They rank in the top three in the league in team field goal percentage (.479), 3-point percentage (.366), and free throw percentage (.775). They’re No. 4 with 34.8 rebounds a game.
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Colorado State vs. Memphis Odds
Colorado State is a 1.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM vs. Memphis, and the Over/Under is at 146.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -120 for Colorado State and +100 for Memphis.
Colorado State vs. Memphis Channel
The first round NCAA Tournament game featuring Colorado State and Memphis will be televised on TBS.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Colorado State vs. Memphis Prediction
I predict Colorado State wins 69-64.
Colorado State’s Nique Clifford vs. Memphis’ Haggerty might be the best matchup in the entire tournament. Both are destined to hear their names called in the NBA Draft, both can score at will, and they both can carry their team to the second round.
Haggerty is a scoring machine. He put up 23 points in the Tigers’ win over UAB in the AAC Tournament championship game, and that came two days after he scored 42 points in a win over Wichita State.
The 6-foot-3 guard was named AAC Player of the Year after scoring at least 20 points in a game 23 times this season. He also averages 5.8 rebounds a game and leads the Tigers with 128 assists.
Clifford has done a little bit of everything for Colorado State. He averages 19 points a game, which ranks No. 2 in the Mountain West, and he’s pulling down 9.7 rebounds a night, which also ranks No. 2 in the conference. The 6-foot-5 fifth-year senior also leads the Rams with 148 assists.
Clifford and Haggerty could cancel each other out, which means the game will be decided by which supporting cast has the best performance.
That’s especially true under the basket where Colorado State’s Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Memphis’ Dain Dainja will do battle. Dainja, a 6-foot-9 redshirt senior, is averaging 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a night. Crocker-Johnson, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, is putting up nine points and 4.3 rebounds a night. He’ll get some help from 6-foot-7 sophomore Rashaan Mbemba.
The Tigers may have to lean on their front court today because they won’t have the services of point guard Tyrese Hunter. He’ll miss his second-straight game after suffering a foot injury in Memphis’ win over Tulane in the AAC semifinals on Saturday. Hunter is averaging 13.7 points a game this season, and he’s second on the team with 114 assists.
Memphis guard Dante Harris has also missed the past two weeks with an ankle injury.
