Even if no one shows up for Saturday's game at Taco Bell Arena between Boise State and San Diego State, the Broncos will still set a mark for best average home attendance in 12 years.

Plenty will show up Saturday, as nearly 11,000 tickets had been sold as of Friday evening. A crowd of more than 10,000 will be the fourth at Taco Bell Arena this season, the most in one season since 1988-89.

"It's part of the reason I took this job - I had faith in Bronco nation, that if we did our part and we built it, that we got better, they'd support us," Boise State third-year coach Leon Rice said. "You look at that, and it's a credit to what we've been able to accomplish and a credit to our fanbase."

Boise State has averaged 6,104 fans per home game this season, the most since an average attendance of 7,807 in 2000-01, according to the school.

The Broncos are 13-1 at home in 2012-13, and with a win will have their best home mark since going 13-0 in 1997-98.

"We're building a basketball program, and a big part of that is protecting your home court with a big crowd," Boise State sophomore guard/forward Anthony Drmic said.

FAMILIAR FOES: Boise State (20-9, 8-7) will face San Diego State (21-8, 9-6) for the fifth time in the past two seasons Saturday, with a sixth date likely next week in the Mountain West tournament's first round.

The Broncos are 0-4 against the Aztecs. Three of the losses have come by a total of six points.

"These games have been phenomenal," Rice said. "… the ball hasn't gone in at the end for us like we need it to."

BRONCOS IN ELITE 20/10 CLUB: Boise State is one of only 11 schools with 20 or more wins in men's basketball and 10 or more wins in football (FBS), entering Saturday's games. The others are Kansas State, Oklahoma, Louisville, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Central Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon, Florida and Utah State.

ANOTHER HONOR: Kenny Buckner won't be the only person honored Saturday. The team will also honor team manager Bryce Martin, who Rice said "is the Jeff Elorriaga of student managers."

BUBBLE WATCH: Boise State has a prime chance to solidify an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament with a win Saturday over San Diego State, ranked No. 31 in the RPI, according to RealTimeRPI.com. The Broncos are 42nd.

Boise State is listed on 84 of the 93 mock brackets tracked by the website The Bracket Project.

"The Broncos got a bit homered by the refs at UNLV Tuesday night and couldn't hang on to a 10-point second-half lead," SI.com's Andy Glockner, who has the Broncos in tournament field, wrote on Friday. "That wasn't a must-win game for the Broncos, but home to San Diego State on Saturday may be closer to one. If Boise State can get that one to finish 9-7, they'll be pretty well positioned to hang on to an NCAA bid."

Dave Southorn: 377-6420, Twitter: @IDS_southorn