The Colorado State Rams begin play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament on Monday night against the SMU Mustangs. The Rams are coming off a tough season-opening win over Montana on Friday night, while the Mustangs are coming off a 78-49 win over McMurry.
Colorado State returns two starters--guards Wes Eickmeier and Dorian Green--from a team that won nine games in Mountain West Conference play last season. CSU likely will rely on those two to pace the offense this season. Eikmeier scored a team-high 21 points in the opener.
The Rams are the tournament's No. 7 seed and have been placed in the West Region, which is being hosted by Stanford. Here's the schedule for the region (pdf):
Nov. 14
Colorado State Rams vs. SMU Mustangs (6:00 p.m. MT)
Stanford Cardinal vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (9:00 p.m. MT, ESPNU)
Nov. 15
West Region Championship Game (6:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. MT, ESPNU)
West Region Consolation Game (6:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. MT, ESPNU)
The winner of the regional advances to the tournament semifinals, which are held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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