Colorado State’s dominant March Madness win was 12 years in the making

No, Colorado State is not exactly a small-school darling, but another double-digit seed survived the first round in the men’s NCAA Tournament.

The No. 12 Rams used a big second half to knock off No. 5 Memphis at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Friday, when a second No. 12 (the other being McNeese) advanced.

Colorado State, a Mountain West school whose enrollment exceeds 30,000, is not a Cinderella, though, and the victory might only constitute an upset for those looking blindly at their brackets.

The Rams were favored in part because they had won 10 straight games entering play and in part because Memphis was down two point guards, Tyrese Hunter (foot) and Dante Harris (ankle).

Still, the American Athletic Conference Tournament champion led by five at the break, which is when the Rams’ shooting began to take over.

Guard Kyan Evans finished with 23 points on a career-best six 3-pointers (in nine attempts) and added four assists.

“Whatever Kyan was feeling tonight, I just want to feel that one time,” Colorado State coach Niko Medved told reporters after his school’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2013.

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Penny Hardaway’s group had to rely heavily on PJ Haggerty, the AAC player of the year.

But the redshirt sophomore guard, who will have to make a draft decision soon, struggled from the field in scoring 18 points on 7-of-23 shooting.

Next up for Colorado State is the winner of No. 4 Maryland-No. 13 Grand Canyon.