GAME NOTES: The team with the best overall record in the Mountain West Conference settles in at Moby Arena on Saturday night, as the Colorado State Rams host the San Diego State Aztecs.

With just two defeats in 19 outings, the Rams have been out of action now for a full week, last taking the floor in a 70-41 blowout of San Jose State on the road last Saturday. The victory was the third straight for CSU, following a pair of league defeats versus New Mexico and Wyoming. Because of those two setbacks, Colorado State is currently in fourth place in the MWC standings, tied with Utah State and Fresno State.

Meanwhile, the Aztecs have moved into a tie with Wyoming for first in the MWC at 5-1, thanks to an overwhelming 77-45 thrashing of Air Force four nights ago on the road. The victory was the fourth straight and the eighth in the last nine outings for a program that fell to Fresno State on the road by a mere two points, 59-57, three weeks ago.

With respect to the all-time series, Colorado State is ahead by a slim 37-36 margin, although the Aztecs have won the last two encounters. A season ago, SDSU captured a 71-61 victory in Fort Collins.

Maybe it had something to do with the elevation, but whatever the reason the Aztecs had their best 3-point shooting effort of the season the last time out at Clune Arena as they converted 13 triples in the lopsided win over Air Force. Finishing with 17 points, Aqeel Quinn connected on 5-of-7 shots out on the perimeter, while Matt Shrigley converted 3-of-5 on the outside to arrive at nine points. JJ O'Brien and Winston Shepard both tacked on 11 points, the latter also clearing seven rebounds and handing out seven assists.

The leading scorer in three straight and four of the last five outings, Quinn is leading the Aztecs in conference play with his 13.3 ppg. Shepard, who has made only 39.0 percent of his field goal tries against the rest of the league, checks in with another 11.0 ppg and is tied for the lead with 17 assists, although he has turned the ball over 19 times as well. The squad has had issues at the free-throw line, converting only 61.6 percent, limiting them to only 59.3 ppg in conference, but still that gives them plenty of cushion while holding foes to a mere 49.0 ppg.

Against a struggling San Jose State squad that is having difficulty just finding enough players to send to the hardwood, the Rams didn't bother to take pity as they limited the Spartans to a woeful 20.8 percent shooting from the floor, 17.4 percent behind the 3-point line. J.J. Avila, who was charged with four of his team's 12 turnovers, balanced that out with a double-double consisting of 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds as CSU crushed the Spartans on the glass, 46-27. John Gillon and Joe De Ciman accounted for 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the visitors as well.

Avila, a starter in all five of his appearances in league play, is responsible for 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game versus the rest of the MWC. Gillon has come off the bench in all six outings and come up with not only 11.3 ppg on the strength of 42.9 percent accuracy beyond the arc, but also 28 assists which is a good portion of the unit's 83 dishes during the run. Defensively, the Rams have held league foes to 40.4 percent shooting from the floor and 30.0 percent on the outside, resulting in a 12.8 ppg scoring advantage for Colorado State.

This should be one of the top games of the Mountain West season, given the heavy expectations placed on both programs. The Aztecs are still figuring out how to play without an injured Dwayne Polee II, and being on the road won't help matters for SDSU.