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It all comes down to this. The emotions of Championship Week are unrivaled. Who doesn’t love the blood, sweat and buzzer beaters? Attempting to nail who will represent its league in the Big Dance, the Big Noise gives his conference tournament leans. Merry March Madness!
The pick — Colorado State to win Mountain West Tournament (+425, BetMGM)
Equipped with a 3.0-liter engine, 540-horsepower drivetrain, 500-plus-pound torque and 12,000-pound towing capacity, the high-output Ram is one brawny truck that doesn’t suck.
In Fort Collins, a similar luxury pickup is rolling off the assembly line.
Colorado State is revving at the right time.
Over the last month, Niko Medved’s Rams have repeatedly flattened the competition. Stepping on the gas during that span, they’re No.1 nationally in effective field goal percentage offense, shooting a scoreboard-melting 56.4% on 2-pointers and a godlike 46.4% on 3s. They’re also No. 17 in overall BARTHAG efficiency, according to BartTorvik. There simply isn’t another team registering a higher Kelvin.
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Senior swingman Nique Clifford is the primary reason why. Every time he takes the floor, the skies open and torrential downpours occur. In Mountain West regular-season action, he splashed 41.4% on 3-pointers and posted a 123.0 offensive rating, the eighth-best of any Division I player. Just absurd.
Equally impressive, Clifford is complemented by an army of sharpshooters. Floor general Kyan Evans, shooting guard Jalen Lake and stretch four Jaylen Crocker-Johnson have netted a combined 37.7% from the arc this season. Also, big man Rashaan Mbemba generated an offensive rebound on a ridiculous 10.4% of the team’s possessions in MWC play.
Defensively, Colorado State isn’t exactly asphyxiating opponents, but having allowed a respectable 0.977 points per possession since February 1, they’ve shown steady improvement in the area down the homestretch.
With New Mexico the exception, David Roddy U defeated every team in the Mountain West this season. Its flaming hot finish can’t be ignored.
Hitch a ride and RAM IT!