The Colorado St. Rams are currently one of the first four teams out in the latest SB Nation bracketology projections, so Saturday's game against the No. 9 ranked San Diego St. Aztecs is a big deal if the Rams want to secure an at-large bid. While losing to the Aztecs is not at all a bad loss, but the Rams overall resume lacks quality wins as their best win is over UNLV who has an RPI in the top 30, but outside of that the Rams next best win is over the New Mexico Lobos.
This is a road game for the Rams which is the first of many obstacles they will are to beat the Aztecs. The Rams are 10-6 in road and neutral games but in true road games they are just average with a 7-5 record, while the Aztecs have only lost one game at home all season.
There should be some optimism for Colorado State since the last time the two teams met the Aztecs needed some last second heroics by guard D.J. Gay who hit the game winner with 1.8 seconds left. The Rams are athletic enough to hang with the the Aztecs, but being on the road makes this game different. For Colorado State to win they will need Andy Ogide to have a career game. Ogide averages a double-double per game this year, but he will need to score well above his 17 point average per game to give the Rams a chance Saturday night.
The matchup of the night to keep an eye on will be Aztec forward Kawhi Leonard against Ram forward Andy Ogide. They should be matched up through out the night and both players are physical, rebound and can score. The outcome of the game could be decided by which forward has a better game. Guard play will also be a huge factor and that is where San Diego State should be able to take advantage of Colorado State.
If the Rams end up losing the game they then will most likely will have to win at least two games in the Mountain West tournament to gain at-large consideration.