A once-a-decade opportunity is here.

The last time that Colorado State women’s basketball laced up for the NCAA Tournament was March 19, 2016 — a season where the team had an astonishing record of 31-1 entering the tournament.

Now, almost 10 years later to the day, the Rams will have another opportunity to earn an NCAA win under coach Ryun Williams in his 14th season at the helm.

No. 12 CSU will take on No. 5 Michigan State in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament in Norman, OK — where No. 4 Oklahoma is hosting the region’s games.

The Rams secured their first Mountain West Tournament title since 2016, with a championship game win over Air Force, giving the team an automatic bid into the Big Dance.

In the Rams’ second tournament appearance under Williams, they aim to pull off an upset and keep their impressive season alive under some tough circumstances.

How CSU matches up

CSU finished its season with a 27-7 record, and ended as the No. 3 seed in the regular season MW standings. The Rams carry a nine-game winning streak into their matchup against MSU, coming in as one of the hotter lower seeds in the entire tournament.

However, the Rams have one big obstacle — the loss of guard Lexus Bargesser.

Bargesser exited the MW semifinal against UNLV with a knee injury and did not return for the remainder of the conference tournament. The Rams have since announced that her knee injury is season-ending.

Bargesser — the senior guard who transferred from Indiana — is the team’s leading scorer averaging 15.2 points per game on the year, and was named this year’s MW Newcomer of the Year.

Without their go-to scorer, the contributions will have to come from all around, as they did in the Rams wins over UNLV and AFA.

Senior guard Marta Leimane entered the starting lineup in the MW championship following her 16-point performance against UNLV, and the fourth-year Ram will need to replace a large part of that scoring for the Rams in Norman.

The team’s second-leading scorer and next guard up is Brooke Carlson, who finished with 19 points in the semifinal and 17 points in the championship. The sophomore guard has only gotten better in her two years with the program, and the speedy slasher may have an opportunity here to turn in a big performance for a team in need of scoring help.

Kloe Froebe, the guard who had double-digit rebounds against both UNLV and the Falcons, will likely see heavy minutes and be expected to use her bruiser playstyle to help CSU rack up points in the paint.

Seniors Madelyn Bragg and Hannah Ronsiek are the two remaining starters who want to keep their collegiate careers going further and have the ability to have big scoring nights.

Williams has one of his best-ever defensive teams this season, as the Rams only allow 54.9 points per game to opponents, which is No. 7 in the entire country. The defensive end will prove key in a matchup against an explosive Spartan offense.

CSU barely used its bench following Bargesser’s injury, and a six or seven-player rotation seems likely as the Rams will need the best that they have for 40 minutes in March Madness.

What to know about MSU

MSU’s season has been a tale of two halves.

The Spartans began their 2025-26 campaign as one of the strongest teams in the entire nation, starting the season 17-1 and going 11-0 in nonconference play — looking like a definite lock for a top 4 seed in the tournament to host their first and second round games.

However, the Big 10 team struggled in comparison throughout conference play with an 11-7 record, including multiple blowout losses to ranked teams. Finishing the regular season with an overall record of 22-8, the second half of the season struggles led the Spartans to not earn an overall top-16 seed, pushing them to a No. 5 seed selection in their region.

The Spartans present a rare case to the Rams: a team that has been below expectations as of recently, but is known to be able to play at an elite level.

Led by former five-star prospect Grace VanSlooten, MSU’s matchup against the Rams is a battle between two contrasting styles. While the Rams have prided themselves on the defensive end, the Spartans play at a high pace and score a lot — averaging 83 points per game compared to the Rams’ 66.5 points.

MSU is led by third-year head coach Robyn Fralick, who likes to use the star power of her roster to push the tempo and build early leads. On top of VanSlooten — a 15 point per game scorer on the season — the Spartans have four other players averaging double digit points per game this year.

The primary name of these other four  is Kennedy Blair, a do-it-all redshirt sophomore guard, who averages 14.4 points on the season. The duo of her and the 6-foot-3 forward VanSlooten has proved to be a problem for plenty of opposing defenses they’ve faced, and will likely be the toughest task of the season for a primed CSU defense.

MSU’s No. 5 seed is the Spartans highest ranking since 2016, and despite some unforeseen struggles late in the season, the team has all the necessary tools to make a tournament run.

How to watch

The Rams will tip off against the Spartans at 5:30 p.m. MT (6:30 p.m. CDT), with the game being televised on ESPNews, as well as streaming on ESPN+ and Fubo.

The road ahead

If CSU were to pull off the upset against MSU, the Rams would take on the winner of No. 4 OU and No. 13 Idaho, Sunday March 22.

The Sooners carry a 24-7 record into the tournament, and will have two home games ahead of them at their home arena if they were to move on to the Round of 32.

Meanwhile, the Vandals earned an automatic bid by winning the Big Sky Championship, and will be making their fifth tournament appearance in program history.

Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.

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