FORT COLLINS — The trophy in the middle of the room was a reminder that there was no drama for the Colorado State women’s basketball team.

But that didn’t stop the Rams from getting slightly impatient as they — surrounded by plenty of loyal fans inside Canvas Stadium on Selection Sunday — waited to hear their name called for the first time since 2016, something that was guaranteed earlier this week when they took down Air Force to win the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas.

Finally, almost 45 minutes into the bracket reveal show on ESPN, there CSU was in the final region revealed as a No. 12 seed set to face No. 5 seed Michigan State on Friday (5:30 p.m., ESPNews) in Norman, Oklahoma.

“Just to see Colorado State displayed, to see the excitement and the reaction of the players, that’s what it’s all about,” coach Ryun Williams said. “Colorado State on a national stage, that’s where we belong. We really believe that. For these young women to be representing this university, there’s nothing better than that.”

The winner will face either No. 4 seed and host Oklahoma or No. 13 seed Idaho.

Now in his 14th season, Williams is making his second trip to the Big Dance at CSU. This will be the Rams’ seventh NCAA Tournament appearance all-time, and they currently hold a record of 5-6 in March Madness with the last win coming as a No. 9 seed against No. 8 seed Maryland.

The farthest CSU has ever advanced in the tournament was the Sweet 16 in 1999 with the No. 2 seed Becky Hammon-led squad winning games against Cal State Northridge and Southwest Missouri State before falling to No. 3 seed UCLA. 

It won’t be easy against a Spartans squad that finished sixth in the Big Ten — the conference with the most bids in the country. But the Rams are rolling, with just one loss since the start of February and that was a three-point defeat at the home of the Mountain West regular-season champions, San Diego State. They’re 10-1 in their last 11 games and feature one of the 10 best defenses in the country in terms of points per game allowed. 

“We’ll study (Michigan State). Don’t know a lot about them, other than they’re from the Big Ten,” Williams said. “(Indiana transfer Lexus) Bargesser will give us all the scoops. A seed is a seed. It’s gonna be two really good basketball teams that are used to winning, competing against each other. Our kids have stepped on the floor all year long in tough environments and put themselves into position to win darn near every night.”

That’s something Williams and his staff discovered last June when the team first got together for summer workouts. After winning 20 or more games in each of the last four seasons but without an NCAA Tournament appearance to show for it, it was fair to question whether or not the Rams could get back there under Williams.

But he saw something very early on with this team that encouraged him about this season’s potential.

“They’re gonna fight,” Williams recalls he and his staff saying last summer. “They’re gonna put themselves in a position to win. That’s what they’ve done all year long. Their competitive makeup is right where it needs to be for an NCAA Tournament.”

CSU will be without Bargesser, the team’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder who suffered a season-ending injury in the win over UNLV in the Mountain West tournament semifinals, but still has a balanced group that features a pair of promising sophomores in Brooke Carlson and Kloe Froebe and two seniors who have spent their entire careers in Fort Collins in Hannah Ronsiek and Marta Leimane.

“Getting this done as a senior has been huge and such a blessing,” Ronsiek said. “I obviously wanted to maybe get one more of those (moments) because I think we’ve had really great teams here, but I’m just grateful we got it done my senior year.

“We’re not gonna be afraid of anybody. We’re not gonna back down, we’re gonna go to win.”