3 thoughts as Colorado State basketball team gets thumped by UNLV

The Colorado State basketball team hit a 3-pointer on its first possession and held UNLV scoreless for more than two minutes to open Tuesday’s game.

And that was just about all that went well for the Rams.

UNLV blasted CSU 80-56, quickly erasing a slow first couple of minutes.

UNLV (14-14, 9-6 Mountain West) was down 7-2 early and then went on a 21-3 run that grew into an extended 40-12 surge in the first half.

CSU (18-10, 9-6 MW) never recovered as the Rams were not competitive at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“Real disappointing. I don’t think we looked like the team we have all year," CSU coach Niko Medved said on the postgame show on FM 102.9. "I don’t think we’ve looked like that all year."

Here are three thoughts on the lopsided loss for CSU.

Myriad issues

Pick a key part of a basketball game and CSU did it poorly Tuesday night.

“There’s really nothing positive that I can take away from that as far as our performance, really in any way. Our execution, our effort, our togetherness," Medved said. "I don’t think any of that – I don’t think, it’s pretty clear to everybody – that it wasn’t there."

The Rams were off in rotating on defense, constantly allowing UNLV to find open shooters, and the Rebels did an excellent job of moving the ball and knocking down those shots. UNLV hit 10 of 24 3-pointers, including nine of 15 in the first half.

Bryce Hamilton scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds for UNLV. Elijah Mitrou-Long added 16 points and six rebounds.

Rebounding? The Rams were lax on the glass when UNLV did miss, and CSU was dominated in the paint. UNLV outrebounded CSU 47-25, including grabbing 13 offensive boards.

CSU hit just four of 14 3-pointers, and 13 turnovers turned into 22 points for UNLV. The Rebels scored 38 bench points.

It didn’t change the outcome in this blowout, but CSU’s free throw shooting continues to be a problem. The Rams hit just 12 of 25 shots from the charity stripe.

Bottom line is CSU was bullied and did basically nothing well.

Nico Carvacho was about the only Ram who showed somewhat well, finishing with 16 points (6-9 shooting) and eight rebounds.

Reason to worry

It’s not panic time by any means, but it’s fair to be concerned about CSU’s recent efforts. The Rams won Saturday in Wyoming, but it came via a miraculous comeback after CSU played poorly for most of the first 30 minutes.

Tuesday was similar, but against a much better team. UNLV made CSU pay for all of its mistakes on both ends of the floor.

The Rams have now lost two of their last three and need to right the ship as they head into the final three games of the regular season.

CSU is still in better shape at this point than most expected at the start of the season, but the last week requires justified concern.

Another test for a young team will be how it pulls itself out of a mini-funk.

“We’ve got a challenge ahead of us to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t define us," Medved said.

Seed dropping

CSU’s chances of finishing the regular season with either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed are now almost certainly gone. The Rams would have to win at No. 4 San Diego State to even get back in the mix. Nevada’s win Tuesday at New Mexico, combined with CSU’s loss, pushes the Wolfpack past the Rams.

Now CSU’s biggest concern is staying in the top-five, which earns a first-round bye at the Mountain West tournament.

That's a quick change after the Rams entered last week alone at No. 2 in the MW. CSU needs to win its final two home games (Saturday against San Jose State and Feb. 29 against Air Force) to stay in the top-five mix.

Follow Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle. Coloradoan Sports can also be followed on Twitter and Facebook.