Tuesday, November 18th, 9:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Moby Arena (8,745) -- Fort Collins, Colorado. Television: None. Home Record: UNC 0-0, CSU 1-0. Away Record: UNC 0-1, CSU 0-0. Neutral Record: UNC 0-0, CSU 0-0. Conference Record: UNC 0-0, CSU 0-0. Series Record: Colorado State leads, 60-34.

GAME NOTES: The Colorado State Rams try to start 2-0 for the first time in three seasons as they host the Northern Colorado Bears in non-conference action at Moby Arena tonight. On Friday, the Rams opened their season with an 85-55 thrashing of Montana, the first of five straight home games for CSU to kick off 2008-09. The Rams don't hit the road according to their schedule until November 29th when they head off to face San Francisco. As for the Bears, they're having to play their first three games of the season away from home. The team began action with a narrow 66-64 setback at Oregon on Friday and will head to Denver to face the Pioneers on November 26th. After that UNC will host three straight games against the likes of Texas State, San Diego State and Air Force. Colorado State leads the all-time series between the two teams by a count of 60-34, posting a 42-11 mark at home over the years. However, last season the Bears dropped CSU at home in Greeley by a score of 72-59, marking the first time UNC had defeated the Rams since 1986.

Trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half in the opener, the Bears actually sent a shock through the Ducks as the visitors outscored Oregon down the stretch, 15-5 to make things interesting. Jefferson Mason tallied a team- best 15 points, followed by Jabril Banks who deposited 10 points and cleared seven rebounds. Robert Palacios accounted for six points, 11 rebounds and five assists for a team that shot just 35.5 percent from the field, 3-of-15 beyond the arc and turned the ball over 20 times, yet still made it exciting in the waning moments. Last season Banks was the leading scorer for a program that finished 13-16 and was a mere 3-13 on the road, putting up 13.2 ppg on the strength of his 57.5 percent shooting from the field. Banks also led the team with close to six rebounds per game, but that didn't cover up the fact that he had a grand total of just 15 assists and 68 turnovers in 28 starts. Mason (9.4 ppg) was another top rebounder for the program with five and a half boards per game, but his 38.2 percent shooting is hopefully behind him now.

Before Montana even knew what happened, the Rams were ahead by 19 points at the break and then raced home with the 30-point victory in the opener last week. Andy Ogide recorded a double-double with team highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, while shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Marcus Walker checked in with 17 points, Jesse Carr 14 and six rebounds in a mere 20 minutes off the bench, and Willis Gardner 10 points for a team that ended up shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 24-of-32 at the charity stripe, compared to just 5-of-14 at the line for the visitors. As he showed in the opener, Ogide is going to be a force to be reckoned with this season, his first with the Rams. A sophomore forward, Ogide is finally getting to play for the program after sitting out last season following his transfer from Mississippi. Adding him to the mix should give Walker a little more freedom to dominate, just as he did in 2007-08 when he ranked second in the Mountain West Conference with his 17.1 ppg. Always a threat to put up big numbers, Walker tallied 43 versus Tennessee State last year, the first Rams player to hit the 40-point mark in more than two decades.

Putting Walker and Ogide in the same starting lineup is bound to get the Rams positive results this season, not to mention tonight at Moby Arena.

Predicted Outcome

Colorado State 77, Northern Colorado 61