GAME NOTES: A battle between two teams heading in opposite directions ensues at the Event Center on Saturday night, as the slumping San Jose State Spartans host fellow Mountain West Conference member Colorado State.

The Rams kicked off the season in grand style with 14 straight wins right out of the gate before losing back-to-back meetings against New Mexico and Wyoming. The team has since rebounded with victories over Air Force (92-87) and Nevada (98-42) in the last week in order to move to 3-2 in conference.

The 56-point margin of victory against the Wolf Pack on Wednesday marked the largest in MWC history.

Considering the beating the Rams put on Nevada, the Spartans have to be on guard for a similar scenario this weekend, given that SJSU has only two victories on the campaign and both have come against programs outside the Division I ranks (Bethesda and St. Katherine). The latest outing for San Jose State, a team which is just 9-39 the last two seasons, was a 63-52 setback versus Fresno State three nights ago at home. The defeat was the seventh in a row for the program.

San Jose State has yet to defeat the Rams in the series, losing all eight previous encounters, although the Spartans did come close last season, their first in the MWC, when they bowed by just a single bucket at home, 66-64.

Everything went right for the Rams in their meeting against Nevada as they held the visitor scoreless during a nine-minute stretch in the first half, outscoring the Pack 25-3 to open the meeting. Nevada was limited to only five field goals in the period and trailed by a whopping 55-12 margin at the break before showing some signs of life with 52.0 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.

Gian Clavell scored 21 points off the bench for the Rams, while Fred Richardson added 20 points in a similar role as both players converted four shots from 3-point range, the team hitting a stellar 13-of-24 out on the perimeter. Tiel Daniels pitched in with 13 points, Stanton Kidd 12 and seven rebounds, followed by Daniel Bejarano with 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Making the blowout win even more remarkable was the fact that J.J. Avila, the leading scorer (15.2 ppg) and rebounder (7.5 rpg) was out due to a one-game suspension.

Now with Avila back in the lineup, the Rams can count on his 54.9 percent shooting from the field and passing ability which has led to 56 assists. Kidd brings another 11.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg to the table, while Bejarano (10.8 ppg) tries to offset his meager 36.0 percent shooting from the field by doing a little bit of everything, from leading the way on the glass (7.0 rpg) to tying reserve John Gillon for the team lead in assists (57) for a program that is outscoring the competition by 10.0 ppg.

Unlike Nevada, the Spartans at least put up a fight against Fresno State earlier in the week before being dealt the 11-point loss at home. However, outside of a two-point lead in the first 60 seconds of the meeting, SJSU never really challenged the Bulldogs, who led by as many as 21 in the contest. Rashad Muhammad accounted for 16 points and Jaleel Williams 13 more, while Isaac Thornton and Brandon Mitchell responded with nine points apiece for a program that turned the ball over 17 times.

Focusing just on conference games alone, San Jose State is shooting a woeful 33.7 percent from the floor and 26.1 percent behind the 3-point line as they put up 50.0 ppg in those five outings, compared to 70 ppg for the opposition. Muhammad, who missed one of those contests, is averaging 14.5 ppg against the rest of the MWC, even though he has converted just 34.5 percent from the floor. Williams is responsible for another 10.0 ppg but he too can't seem to find the basket with his 36.4 percent accuracy.

Unless something drastic has happened to both of these teams since the last time they hit the floor, this game has all the markings of another blowout by the Rams, especially with Avila making his return.