The parallels are ugly and too alarming even for Dale Layer, Colorado State's upbeat coach, to ignore.
For the second straight season, Colorado State opens Mountain West Conference play depleted by injuries and facing Air Force.
"We were hurt last year, Michael Morris didn't play and Matt Nelson didn't play," Layer said. "So we were adjusting on the run and that's really not the way to really prepare for conference play."
The Rams lost that game 65-57 and never recovered, spiraling to a 4-10 conference record. The teams meet again Saturday.
This time, Matt Williams, Colorado State's starting small forward and No. 2 scorer, is hurt.
"That is another tough break for us," Layer said. "But nobody is going to postpone the game for us. We simply have to go on."
The Rams are also contending with the loss of shooting guard Freddy Robinson and the mysterious slow start of Philip Thomasson. Robinson tried to come back early from an Achilles injury but was eventually ruled out for the season. Thomasson has been ineffective as the starting power forward.
"Freddy's loss changed us defensively quite a bit because he was our best defender and it's taken a good bit out our of our team," Layer said. "Philip works extremely hard, but it just hasn't quite fit all the way together."
Freshman Jason Smith has been a pleasant surprise, averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds per game.
Another bright spot is Nelson: He has stayed healthy and led the team in scoring in four of the past five games.
"Matt is the healthiest he's been and he's been able to find a little bit of a groove to his game," Layer said.
Colorado State has struggled on the road, losing five straight this year and 13 straight beginning last season. Two of this year's road losses have been close, a 79-76 defeat in overtime at Auburn and 69-68 loss at Purdue.
For the second straight season, Colorado State opens Mountain West Conference play depleted by injuries and facing Air Force.
"We were hurt last year, Michael Morris didn't play and Matt Nelson didn't play," Layer said. "So we were adjusting on the run and that's really not the way to really prepare for conference play."
The Rams lost that game 65-57 and never recovered, spiraling to a 4-10 conference record. The teams meet again Saturday.
This time, Matt Williams, Colorado State's starting small forward and No. 2 scorer, is hurt.
"That is another tough break for us," Layer said. "But nobody is going to postpone the game for us. We simply have to go on."
The Rams are also contending with the loss of shooting guard Freddy Robinson and the mysterious slow start of Philip Thomasson. Robinson tried to come back early from an Achilles injury but was eventually ruled out for the season. Thomasson has been ineffective as the starting power forward.
"Freddy's loss changed us defensively quite a bit because he was our best defender and it's taken a good bit out our of our team," Layer said. "Philip works extremely hard, but it just hasn't quite fit all the way together."
Freshman Jason Smith has been a pleasant surprise, averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds per game.
Another bright spot is Nelson: He has stayed healthy and led the team in scoring in four of the past five games.
"Matt is the healthiest he's been and he's been able to find a little bit of a groove to his game," Layer said.
Colorado State has struggled on the road, losing five straight this year and 13 straight beginning last season. Two of this year's road losses have been close, a 79-76 defeat in overtime at Auburn and 69-68 loss at Purdue.
