Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State visits Colorado State on Saturday afternoon
The SJSU men’s basketball team comes off of the bye and heads to Fort Collins, Colorado, to face Colorado State on Saturday afternoon. A 2:00 pm MT tipoff on the Mountain West Network is set. Spartan fans can tune into KLIV 1590 AM and hear Justin Allegri’s play-by-play call or follow the updates on Twitter at @SJSUMBB.

Game #23
SJSU (3-19, 0-11 MW) at CSU (10-16, 3-10 MW)
Saturday, February 10, 2018, 2:00 pm MT
Moby Arena (8,745)
Fort Collins, Colo.
TV: Mountain West Network
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM

SJSU’s last meeting with CSU
CSU staged a second-half comeback on SJSU and won the game, 59-52, inside the Event Center on December 30, 2017.

SJSU led by 11 points at halftime, but only made eight baskets in the second half. CSU guard Prentiss Nixon scored a game-high 19 points and was primarily responsible for a 12-2 Rams run that wiped out SJSU’s double-digit lead with six minutes left to play.

Ryan Welage scored a team-high 16 points and Noah Baumann recorded a career-high 14 points for the Spartans.

SJSU’s history with CSU
CSU remains the only MW team that SJSU has never beaten in men’s basketball. CSU is currently 16-0 against SJSU.

CSU is winless at home
Something has to give on Saturday as the Spartans are winless both at the Event Center and on the road in league play and Colorado State is 0-6 inside Moby Arena during league play. CSU has dropped seven in a row coming into Saturday’s game with their most recent 78-73 loss to the Air Force on February 6, 2018.

Turnovers continue to be a problem for the Spartans
SJSU outshot New Mexico, 47.1% to 41.4%. The Spartans outrebounded the Lobos, 43-19. The Spartans also made more free throws.

However, the Spartans’ season-high 25 turnovers leading to 30 Lobos points gave the game away and SJSU lost 71-68 to UNM at home. It was the 11th game with 20-plus turnovers this season for SJSU and their 17.6 turnovers per game are the most in NCAA Division I.

Spartans’ opponents aren’t shy from deep
UNM hit 11 three-point baskets en route to handing SJSU a 71-68 loss. SJSU has a fifth-ranked three-point field goal percentage defense of 34.6%, but it’s the volume of 3-pointers that opponents are taking (and making) that kills SJSU.

In 11 conference games, SJSU’s opponents have taken 143 more threes and have connected on 45 more than the Spartans. CSU averages 6.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, ranking ninth in the MW. The Rams were 8-of-23 in the first meeting with the Spartans.

Hillsman goes for a career-high 21 points
Spartans’ Jaycee Hillsman has had the ball in his hands quite a bit more than usual in the last couple of games. He made the most of his opportunity against New Mexico with career-highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds, respectively. It was the second double-double of his career, but the first against a Division I opponent.

Hillsman played 30 minutes as the team’s so-called sixth-man, which was the most since he played 32 minutes against the University of San Diego in SJSU’s second game of the season on November 12, 2017.

Spartan offense picks up the pace
The Spartan offense has picked it up quite a bit over the last three games. The Spartans have been shooting 47.7% from the field and averaging 73.7 points per game during that stretch compared to overall marks of 43.9% and 66.0 points per game.

Three players are averaging double-figures in scoring, led by Welage at 26.7 points per game. Hillsman has put in 13.3 points over the last three games including his new career-high 21 points last time against UNM. Keith Fisher III has finished with 10 or more points in five of the last seven games and is averaging 10.3 points.

SJSU’s battle with UNLV ends in 76-67 loss in Vegas
SJSU was knocked down several times by massive UNLV runs, but got up every time…until the Runnin’ Rebels eventually pulled out a 76-67 win at the Thomas & Mack Center.

SJSU surrendered a 9-0 run to UNLV and fell behind early (16-9). However, the Spartans answered right back with an 11-0 run of their own to regain the lead. UNLV had a lead as large as 12 points before SJSU reeled it back in to three points midway through the second half. But in the end, Brandon McCoy’s 22 points and 17 rebounds helped UNLV to a home win.

Four Spartans finished in double-figure scoring, led by Ryan Welage–for the 16th time this year–with 21 points. Oumar Barry scored a career-high 12 points.

Welage becomes second-leading 3-point shooter at SJSU
Ryan Welage hit a three right before the halftime buzzer at UNLV on Wednesday night, which gave him 139 career threes. With that, he moved into second on SJSU’s all-time made 3-point field goals list, passing Adrian Oliver. He comes into Saturday’s game with 142 made 3-pointers, trailing only the program’s all-time leader Tim Pierce with 153.