How does a team with two wins in its past 15 games and three league wins overall go into a conference tournament with a coach worried about overconfidence?

For the Colorado State women's basketball team, it is not that much of a stretch.

Not when the Rams are facing a play-in game in the Mountain West Conference tournament against Air Force.

The Falcons are a team that has endured nearly as much adversity as CSU this season and has been the victim of two of the Rams' three league wins.

The Rams and Falcons tip off the conference tournament at 6 p.m. MST today at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The winner between the eighth- seeded Rams and ninth-seeded Falcons, who have lost 15 of 16 games, will be rewarded with a game against Brigham Young, which is the tournament's top seed for the second consecutive year.

"A win is a win. It's like coming home," CSU coach Jen Warden said. "In any tournament or any time of the season, a win feels great. When you are competitive and starved for a win, you become that much more desperate.

"By no means do we have the right to be overconfident. But we've got to be very, very on-guard for complacency. Obviously, we're the last team that should be complacent, but it is human nature (after beating a team twice)."

The Rams and Falcons received some good news Monday to help offset what has been a dreary season for both programs. The Rams' Sara Hunter and the Falcons' Alecia Steele were named to the All-MWC third team.

The winner tonight will face a daunting challenge in BYU, favored to reach the conference title game for the sixth time.

The Cougars won their first six league games but came back to earth down the stretch. They went 6-4 in their final 10 games and ended the regular season with a loss at Texas Christian, the tournament's fourth seed.

But BYU's size inside, a strength led by 6-foot-3 center and MWC co-player of the year Dani Wright, and postseason experience make it a favorite in a tournament full of teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble hoping to make a final impression.

"Both (Air Force and Colorado State) gave us trouble this year," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins, the conference coach of the year. "We have to go out and play and use our size to our advantage. Personally, I think the league is as good as it was last year. There's few conferences that have four teams with 20 wins. We should have at least two, maybe three, teams in (the tournament)."

Air Force vs. Colorado State women

• What: Play-in game for the Mountain West Conference tournament.

• When: 6 MST tonight.

• Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas.

• TV/radio: the mtn; KCOL-AM (600) in Fort Collins.

• Records: Air Force, 5-22, 1-15 in the Mountain West Conference; Colorado State, 8-20, 3-13.

• Leaders: Air Force - Alecia Steele, 11.9 points, 7.9 rebounds; Pamela Findlay, 2.3 assists. Colorado State - Sara Hunter, 12.4 points, 2.4 assists; Marilyn Moulton, 8.2 rebounds.

• Stat that matters: Two of CSU's three conference wins were against Air Force. The Rams won 65-56 on Jan. 4 at Air Force and 61-49 on Feb. 4 in Fort Collins.

• Etc.: CSU is the No. 8 seed, Air Force is No. 9. The winner plays top-seeded Brigham Young on Wednesday. . . . CSU was seeded eighth last season and beat San Diego State in the play-in game before losing to BYU. . . . Air Force's conference win this season was 60-52 on Feb. 15 at home against San Diego State. . . . CSU leads the series 29-7, but Air Force snapped a 20-game losing streak against the Rams last season with two wins. . . . The Falcons have lost 19 of 21. . . . The Falcons have been wearing a patch to commemorate the 3-year-old son of assistant coach Travis Cantrell who passed away because of a malignant brain tumor.