Texas men’s basketball is set to face Colorado State in the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament after the Rams crushed Virginia 67-42 in a First Four matchup on Tuesday night. 

The Rams were set to be two-and-a-half-point favorites before the game and proved to be much more than that, sweeping the floor with the Cavaliers. While the beginning of the game seemed to be slow-moving from both teams, Colorado State was able to pick up the pace and Virginia couldn’t seem to keep up. The Rams finished off shooting a commendable 55.3% from field goal range and 35.7% from the three-point line in comparison to UVA’s abysmal 25% from the field. 

Trying to analyze Colorado State’s gameplay is nearly impossible with UVA coming in with arguably one of the worst offensive games they have had all season. The Cavaliers didn’t make shots for a ten-minute period out of the 40-minute game.

Texas is currently a 2.5-point favorite in the matchup; however, Texas’ consistency is not something to bet on this season. Major upsets occurred that simply shouldn’t have, such as the team’s loss to UCF in mid-January. 

Coming from a solid Mountain West Conference, the Rams have conquered many teams that have also made it to the tournament such as New Mexico and Utah State, as well as an early season blowout win over No. 3 seed Creighton. 

It seems that the main threat to Texas’ success is Rams graduate forward Joel Scott, who averaged 13.2 points per game this season and played a prominent game versus UVA leading both teams with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Scott has reached double-digit scoring in 28 games this season.

Rams senior guard Isaiah Stevens is another prominent point in Colorado State’s game. Prior to Tuesday’s matchup, Stevens has scored double digits in the last 10 games and has accumulated five double-doubles. While he is currently averaging 16.2 points a game, Stevens finished the game against Virginia with a mere five points. 

Despite his sub-par performance on Tuesday, Texas will need to be ready to put substantial defenders, like sophomore guard Chendall Weaver, against Stevens and Scott to shut down their game altogether. 

According to the 2024 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, Colorado State is ranked 30th overall, nipping at the heels of Texas, which is listed as No. 27. While the Longhorns sit almost three points higher in their adjusted offensive efficiency, Colorado State has a substantially better defensive efficiency with 97.7 in comparison to Texas’ 100.2. Colorado State’s defensive numbers show that Texas will need to work heavily on offense to be able to create any time of lead.

The Longhorns lead 2-0 in the all-time series with Colorado State, with the last matchup being held in Austin in 1952. The Longhorns will take on the Rams in Charlotte, NC on Thursday at 5:50 p.m. CT.