No. 12 Colorado State vs. No. 5 Memphis at the NCAA Tournament | King’s pick
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SEATTLE — Last year was nice, but Colorado State has its eyes on taking this season one step further.
The Rams beat Virginia in the First Four of last year’s NCAA Tournament in Dayton, the program’s first March Madness win since 2013, to advance to the round of 64. But Niko Medved’s team avoided Dayton entirely this time around by winning the Mountain West tournament and now CSU enters its first game of this year’s tournament as a No. 12 seed against No. 5 seed Memphis.
But it won’t be much of an upset if the Rams win as they’re favored by 1.5 points per ESPN Bet.
Here’s our pick for the game:
King’s prediction
No. 12 Colorado State 73, No. 5 Memphis 66

Colorado State forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (8) drives against Boise State forward Javan Buchanan (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball championship game at the Mountain West Conference tournament Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
John Locher
Colorado State forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (8) drives against Boise State forward Javan Buchanan (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball championship game at the Mountain West Conference tournament Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
This game has felt like a toss up all week, but Tyrese Hunter’s injury swings things in favor of the Rams. Anybody who watched CSU lose to Texas in last year’s NCAA Tournament knows how good of a defender Hunter is with the way he guarded Isaiah Stevens. Hunter may have had a hard time anyway trying to size up and guard someone like Nique Clifford, who has had his way last week in Las Vegas and has been too much for any Mountain West defense to handle for two months now. Medved’s tenure at CSU continues for at least one more game.
The lineups
Colorado State
PG: Kyan Evans (10.2 points per game, 3.1 assists, 43.1% 3-pointers)
SG: Jalen Lake (11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 88% free throws, 34.2% 3-pointers)
SF: Nique Clifford (19 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 50.7% field goals, 39.8% 3-pointers)
PF: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 50% field goals, 39.1% 3-pointers)
C: Rashaan Mbemba (7.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 59.7% field goals)
Memphis

Memphis guard PJ Haggerty prepares for a free throw during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wichita State in the quarterfinal of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
LM Otero
Memphis guard PJ Haggerty prepares for a free throw during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wichita State in the quarterfinal of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
PG: PJ Haggerty (21.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 81.9% free throws, 38.4% 3-pointers)
SG: Baraka Okojie (1.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, 46.2% 3-pointers)
SF: Colby Rogers (10.4 points, 2 rebounds. 0.9 steals, 36.6% 3-pointers)
PF: Nicholas Jourdain (6.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 50.6% field goals)
C: Dain Dainja (14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 61.5% field goals)