Niko Medved, Colorado State expect tough test vs. No. 25 Ole Miss
Niko Medved can claim his 200th career victory as a head coach on Saturday when he leads Colorado State against No. 25 Ole Miss in Southaven, Miss.
The Rams (3-0) are coming off a 74-65 win over Denver on Tuesday. Medved, however, said competing against the Rebels is another level.
"It's a great opportunity for us to go down there and challenge ourselves against a team that I think looks like an NCAA Tournament team, and it will be a great test for us early in the year to challenge ourselves and see where we're at," Medved said. "I think our group is going to respond here from this."
Medved and Colorado State are no stranger to tough opponents during his first six years with the program. He guided the Rams to the NCAA Tournament last spring, beating Virginia 67-42 the First Four before falling to Texas in the round of 64.
Colorado State is led by seniors Nique Clifford and Jalen Lake, who are averaging 21.0 and 16.0 points per game this season, respectively.
Those are the only two who played significant minutes for last season's 25-11 squad.
"You've got young guys who have to go through it and learn from experience. Then you mix that with a lot of new faces," Medved said. "You're still trying to kind of find your identity. You're kind of trying to work through some different things."
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds and Kyle Jorgensen has contributed 8.0 and 4.3, respectively.
Ole Miss (3-0) needed a late surge to record a 64-54 victory over South Alabama on Tuesday night. The Rebels played without guard Matthew Murrell, who sat out with lower back concerns.
Coach Chris Beard said Murrell is considered day-to-day and hopes he will be able to play against the Rams.
"He got banged up in the last game and worked tirelessly to play (versus South Alabama). He wanted to play (Tuesday night). It was more of a coach's decision," Beard said on the Ole Miss Radio Network. "His heart was in the right place, but it's a long season. This will give him a couple more days to rehab and help the team on Saturday.
"He did a great job from when the last game ended all the way up until tipoff. He gave himself a chance. I really appreciate his effort and the trainer (John Raybon) did a great job. Day-to-day is what I'd call it right now. We're hopeful he can play on Saturday."
Murrell has averaged double figures in scoring in each of the last three seasons, and set a career high of 16.2 points a game in 2023-24. He is averaging just 9.5 points in two games this season.
Guard Sean Pedulla led the way Tuesday night with 27 points. He leads the senior-heavy Rebels in scoring (14.7), assists (3.7) and steals (2.7).
