First taste of CSU rivalry on deck for entire Colorado men’s basketball roster – The Denver Post

Colorado and Colorado State have squared off in men’s basketball plenty of times. To be precise, 129 times, the most for the Buffaloes against any foe that wasn’t formerly a rival in the Big 12 Conference.

Despite all those matchups, something will occur on Thursday night that hasn’t happened in 43 years. Thanks to a two-season layoff from the rivalry, when the Buffs and CSU meet for the 130th time at the CU Events Center (7 p.m., ESPN2), CU will field a roster that doesn’t include a single player that has faced the Rams before.

“We’re pumped up. We know the history of the rivalry,” CU forward Tristan da Silva said. “We’re going to be excited for it. We’ve just got to get in the gym and get better, and get our best selves out there on the court on Thursday.”

The last meeting between the programs was a CU win in Fort Collins on Dec. 13, 2019, three months before the start of the COVID pandemic abruptly shuttered the end of the 2019-20 season. The ensuing three-year hiatus that struck the rivalry was not entirely planned.

Although the Buffs have recorded a 4-5 start with losses in their first two Pac-12 Conference games, this week’s release of the initial NET rankings of the season reveals a CU team still very much in control of its own destiny. The Buffs opened at No. 64 (dropping to 65 on Tuesday), with all five of their losses (all but one away from home) considered Quad 2 setbacks. The Buffs are 1-0 in Quad 1 matchups, with the neutral-floor win against Tennessee (No. 4 NET) likely to carry a heavy weight for CU throughout the season.

CU is 1-0 in both Quad 3 and Quad 4 games. The matchup against the Rams, which on Tuesday was at No. 91 in the NET, will be a Quad 3 contest for CU.

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