Colorado State University is home to two basketball teams in need of wins against Mountain West Conference competition: the women’s team, who are jockeying for a top-four spot in the conference, and the men’s team, who are struggling to find wins against any opponent as of late. Luckily, both teams will have an opportunity to find what they’re looking for in this Saturday’s hoops doubleheader.

First on the docket is the Rams women’s team, who will host the University of Wyoming Cowgirls for this season’s first Border War on the women’s side. 

“The men’s team has been inconsistent for much of their conference schedule and has left many scratching their heads at the performance of a team that is only 10 months removed from an NCAA tournament bid.”

There are some real stakes to the rivalry game. At 7-3 in conference play, Wyoming sits alone at third in the conference standings. The Rams, coming off of a three-game losing streak, are 6-4 in conference play and tied with the United States Air Force Academy for fourth place.

Wyoming and CSU will play against San Jose State University and Utah State University, respectively, before they match up against each other Saturday. Both the Spartans and Aggies are tied for last in the conference at 1-9 each.

In a situation where both Wyoming and CSU win their matchups before going head-to-head, CSU could overtake Wyoming in the conference standings with a win in Saturday’s Border War. In that case, both teams would have an 8-4 record, meaning the back-to-back win would give CSU the tiebreaker.

The last time the women’s team played at home was Jan. 21 against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which at the time was a battle for the Mountain West’s top spot. UNLV won the game 63-58 despite the Rams’ late comeback efforts. The Rams have not won a game since, suffering disappointing losses to the University of New Mexico and Air Force.

Later on in Saturday’s doubleheader, the CSU men’s basketball team is set to face off against Utah State for the first time this season. The Rams will be representing Fight Like a Ram, wearing jerseys featuring cancer warriors. 

On February 4 we and represent our Cancer Warriors#Stalwart x #TeamTogether | @uchealth pic.twitter.com/cn7XIheA9k

— Colorado State Men’s Basketball (@CSUMBasketball) January 13, 2023

The men’s team has been inconsistent for much of their conference schedule and left many scratching their heads at the performance of a team that is only 10 months removed from a NCAA tournament bid. The Rams hold a conference record of 2-8 in Mountain West play, which puts them dead last in the conference standings.

There aren’t as many stakes for the Utah State matchup, but the Rams are in desperate need of something positive. CSU is currently on a four-game losing streak, with an inconsistency of performance as the culprit of the skid, a recurring pattern of this season for the Rams.

Utah State has won three of their last four games, with their only loss in that span being by 10 points to No. 22 San Diego State University. The Aggies are 6-3 in conference play and sit at No. 5 in the Mountain West.

Reach Braidon Nourse at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @BraidonNourse.