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Kyan Evans hit six 3-pointers in Colorado State's March Madness win over Memphis. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
C. Morgan Engel via Getty Images
Is Colorado State’s 78-70 win over Memphis officially an upset? It depends.
The No. 12 Rams overcame a five-point halftime deficit to take down the No. 5 Tigers on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But if you looked at the betting line before the game, the outcome was hardly a surprise. Colorado State closed as a 1.5-point favorite after opening as a 2.5-point favorite.
CSU was favored because Memphis entered the game without point guard and third-leading scorer Tyrese Hunter because of a foot injury. His backup, Dante Harris, also missed the game.
Colorado State trailed 36-31 at halftime but a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half helped them pull away. The Rams pulled within one less than five minutes into the second half and took the lead with 13:48 to go.
They never trailed from there. Kyan Evans hit three 3-pointers in the second half and Jalen Lake put the game away with a three of his own with 3:02 to go. Lake’s shot gave Colorado State a 10-point lead that soon moved to 12 on two free throws by Nique Clifford.
The Rams went from a team without much shot of making the NCAA tournament to on the bubble and a guaranteed entry over the final month of the season. CSU was 15-9 overall and 9-4 in the Mountain West after losing 93-85 to Utah State on Feb. 11.
Since then, Colorado State has won 11 straight games including all three of its matchups in the MWC tournament by double digits. The Rams took down Boise State 69-56 on March 15 to get the conference’s automatic berth and kick Boise State off the bubble.
The victory is the first tournament win for the Rams since 2013 when they beat Missouri in the first round before losing to Louisville. It's also the first win for the Mountain West as San Diego State lost to North Carolina in the First Four and Utah State fell by 25 to UCLA on Thursday night.
Memphis’ loss ends an up-and-down season that included an AAC title and wins over Missouri, UConn, Michigan State and Clemson. But the Tigers also lost at home to Arkansas State and to Temple and Wichita State. Before Friday, Memphis was 17-0 this season when leading at halftime.
CSU's win is also the second win for a No. 12 seed so far this tournament. On Thursday, No. 12 McNeese took down Clemson to set up a matchup with No. 4 Purdue on Saturday. Colorado State will play either No. 4 Maryland or No. 13 Grand Canyon in the second round on Sunday.
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