GAME NOTES: The Colorado State Rams shoot for their first Mountain West Conference Tournament title since 2003, but they first have to jump through a few hoops to even make it to the final game.

The first challenge has the third-seeded Rams taking on sixth-seeded Fresno State in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Rams, who have a mark of 9-14 in this event since it began back in 2000, have not been back to the championship round since that narrow win over UNLV (62-61) a dozen years ago, but the squad appeared poised to make a serious run at the postseason when it kicked off the 2014-15 campaign with 14 straight wins. Owners of a five-game win streak and seven wins in the last eight outings to close out the regular season, the Rams are definitely on another roll at just the right time.

As for the Bulldogs, they were a streaky team at best during the regular season, eventually ending up in the middle of the MWC pack with a record of 10-8, but still a game below .500 overall. The team did enjoy a late three- game win streak and could have thrown a wrench into the plans of top-seeded Boise State in the finale, but came up woefully short in a 71-52 decision last weekend.

As far as the all-time series is concerned, CSU is on top by a 15-12 margin, thanks to a pair of victories during the regular season. The first meeting at Moby Arena at the end of January was a laugher (80-57), but on Feb. 18 the Bulldogs were far more respectable in an 81-73 setback at the Save Mart Center.

The winner of this meeting heads to the semifinals on Friday to clash with the survivor of the UNLV/San Diego State contest for the right to battle for the tournament tile the following evening.

For the bulk of the season the Bulldogs were paced by Marvelle Harris, an All- MWC First Team selection who averaged 16.8 ppg, while handing out a team-best 117 assists and also pacing the program with 5.1 rpg and 64 steals, but being the primary focus in all areas of the game can be a tiring exercise. Harris was averaging almost 37 minutes per game for a team scoring just 65.4 ppg, but he has been given some much-needed help in recent weeks by Cezar Guerrero with his 11.4 ppg. A 40.7 percent shooter from 3-point range, Guerrero has been back in action for only 14 games, but has taken at least some of the burden off Harris, as have Julien Lewis (11.4 ppg) and Paul Watson (11.0 ppg) to some extent.

As one of the more punishing defensive teams in the MWC, the Rams managed to hold opponents to only 63.7 ppg on the season overall, giving the squad a scoring advantage of 9.3 ppg. A physical team that doesn't shy away from contact, Colorado State outscored foes at the free-throw line by 119 points over the course of 30 games, averaging more than 23 trips to the charity stripe per contest, making almost 16 of those.

Although he knocked down only 63.1 percent of his opportunities at the line, J.J. Avila was still a crucial piece of the puzzle for the Rams as the First- Team All-MWC performer dropped in 16.5 ppg and was first on the unit with both 7.3 rpg and 54 steals. Stanton Kidd (11.5 ppg) and Daniel Bejarano (11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 88 assists) were also top performers for CSU during one of the most successful regular seasons in school history.

There is no denying that Harris is a true all-around talent for the Bulldogs, but you have to think that this late in the season he is worn down. Colorado State seems to have far more options at their disposal and are ready to get tough in the paint, which might not be the style of play for Fresno State these days.