Mountain West guide: How to watch, what to know for Colorado State men’s basketball vs Nevada

LAS VEGAS — Now things really heat up.

The meat of the Mountain West tournament starts Thursday, and one of many scintillating matchups is a quarterfinal game between the Nevada and Colorado State men’s basketball teams.

Both are NCAA Tournament bound but playing for seeding and a berth in the Mountain West semifinals.

Here’s a look at everything to know about Thursday’s quarterfinal Mountain West tournament game in Las Vegas:

What time does Colorado State men’s basketball vs Nevada start?

• Date: Thursday, March 14
• Start time: 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT

What channel is the Colorado State men’s basketball vs Nevada game on?

The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

How to find CBS Sports Network (CBSSN):

• Comcast/Xfinity: 412 (846 for HD) 
• DirecTV: 221
• Dish Network: 158
• Fort Collins Connexion: 70

How can you listen to the game on the radio?

• The CSU broadcast is available on 99.1 FM or on the Varsity Network app.
• CSU’s radio team will be Brian Roth (play-by-play) and Adam Nigon (analyst).

What are the records, rankings?

CSU is 23-9 overall and the No. 7 seed. Nevada is 26-6 and the No. 2 seed.

Nevada is No. 22 in the USA TODAY coaches poll and No. 23 in the AP poll.

What’s the next matchup?

The winner of CSU and Nevada advances to Friday’s semifinals to face the winner of Boise State and New Mexico.

Who are the coaches?

CSU is led by Niko Medved, who is in his sixth season as head coach of the Rams. He’s 115-73 at CSU and 194-161 overall in his career. Steve Alford is in his fifth season leading Nevada, where he has a 96-57 record. Alford is 605-326 in his career.

Series history

Nevada leads the all-time series 19-12. Nevada went 2-0 vs CSU in the regular season, including winning on a Jarod Lucas half-court shot at the buzzer in Fort Collins late in the season.

Stadium information, tickets

The game will be at the Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV’s campus, the site of the Mountain West tournament. Thomas & Mack has a capacity of 18,000. Tickets are available at TheMW.com/mbballchamp/#tickets.

What do the metrics say?

CSU is No. 36 in the NCAA’s NET rankings and Nevada is No. 31. It’s a Quad 1 game for both teams.

CSU is No. 38 in KenPom and Nevada is No. 35. KenPom projects a one-point win for Nevada.

Who are the top players to watch?

Here are some players who will be key to the game for each team:

NEVADA

• Jarod Lucas: It has to begin with Lucas. He hit the half-court winner in Fort Collins and scored 28 in a win over CSU in Reno. He has owned the Rams so far.
• Kenan Blackshear: The star guard was injured for the most recent matchup but does some of everything for Nevada. He’s a top defender and averages 15.1 points and 4.8 assists per game. Backup guard Hunter McIntosh is out injured.
• Nick Davidson: The big man averages 12.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

COLORADO STATE

• Isaiah Stevens: It wasn’t his best shooting night, but Stevens still greatly impacted the game in the first-round win over San Jose State. He had 11 points and 10 assists.
• Nique Clifford: The 6-foot-6 wing changed the first-round game late with a key block and 3-pointer. He had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists. He’s key against Nevada’s versatile attack.
• Joel Scott: CSU needs the big man to keep dominating. The Rams are struggling to shoot from outside but Scott is owning the paint. He had 18 points on 6-7 shooting in the first-round win.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.