After two narrow victories to begin conference play, the Colorado State Rams went off the rails a bit in a 70-51 road loss to the Wyoming Cowboys this past weekend. The Rams will get a chance to get back in the win column on Wednesday night, but the bad news is that things won't be getting easier, as they travel into The Pit to face the New Mexico Lobos in one of the most difficult road environments in college basketball.
The Lobos, for their part, were cruising along this season with a few impressive non-conference victories, but they've dropped two straight games themselves. Granted, the losses to the San Diego State Aztecs and UNLV Rebels are nothing to scoff at, as those two teams currently represent the class of the conference, but the Lobos will no doubt be motivated after failing two important tests. The Lobos are led by the inside-outside tandem of guard Tony Snell and power forward Drew Gordon. Snell is averaging 12.9 points a game and is shooting 43% from downtown, while Gordon has put up 12.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season.
The Rams will be concerned with the Lobos' size down low— New Mexico averages 38 rebounds per game as a team, which is good for 38th in the country, while Colorado State only hauls in 30 per game, which puts them in the mid-300s. The Rams are a much better shooting team, and they'll need to make their shots in order to keep the Lobos off the glass.
Game date/time: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 8:00 p.m. MT
Location: The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KLZ 650 AM
Odds: New Mexico favored by 12.5
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