He helped Utah State upset Boise State last season. Now he’ll be on the Broncos’ bench.
It’s an awkward situation. There’s no denying that.
When the Boise State men’s basketball team hosts Utah State at 2 p.m. Saturday at Taco Bell Arena, it will be the first time BSU assistant coach Tim Duryea has gone against his former team.
Duryea was the Aggies’ head coach from 2015 to 2018 and spent 17 total seasons in Logan, Utah, beginning as an assistant in 2001. He was fired after the 2017-18 season despite the No. 7 Aggies’ upset of No. 2 Boise State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament.
“I don’t like it. It’s unfortunate, but it’s on the schedule and we play them once this year,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “It’s a tough situation. Things like this get thrown at you, you’ve just got to deal with them, and that’s what we have to do.”
While the matchup might be a bit uncomfortable for Duryea, the Aggies are in a potentially more vulnerable situation.
Duryea was in charge of the scout for the Utah State game, and he’ll certainly be able to provide the Broncos with valuable insight about the players they’ll be facing Saturday.
“Any game the coaches really do a great job of giving us a great scouting report, so I think this one will be no different,” Boise State junior Alex Hobbs said. “We kind of do have an advantage having Duryea on the staff this year. We’re looking to him to give us some tips here and there, and then it’s on us. We’ve got to go out and execute those things.”
Boise State went 1-2 against the Aggies last season, including a 71-65 loss at Dee Glen Spectrum on Feb. 10, 2018, that essentially wiped out any hope the Broncos had of getting an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Then the Mountain West Tournament loss to Utah State only added insult to injury.
“Definitely we remember that they knocked us out of the tournament last year,” Hobbs said. “So we’re going to want to get them back, especially a game at home where hopefully we’ll have some fans out here to support us. I think it will be a big one in that aspect, just to kind of get some revenge.”
The Broncos and Aggies have swapped positions in the league hierarchy this season.
Utah State (21-6, 11-3 MW) currently sits second in the conference standings behind Nevada with four regular-season games remaining on its schedule. The Broncos (11-15, 6-7), having lost four of their last five games, are sixth in the league standings — 2.5 games back of UNLV (15-11, 9-5) in fifth. The top five teams at the end of the regular season receive first-round byes in the conference tournament.
Notes: Duryea was not made available to the media this week for interviews. ... Saturday’s game will be broadcast on Stadium College Basketball’s Facebook page and on 670 AM. ... Fans are encouraged to wear black to Saturday’s game for a “Black Out” of Taco Bell Arena.
Women: Broncos on cusp of historic start
The Boise State women’s basketball team is one victory away from the best 25-game start in program history.
If the Broncos (21-3, 12-1 MW) defeat Utah State (11-14, 6-8) in their 2 p.m. Mountain West matchup Saturday in Logan, Utah, the Broncos would improve to 22-3. The 1974-75 BSU squad opened the year 21-1 but finished 21-3 after two losses at the AIAW Tournament.
No other Bronco team has reached 22 wins in 25 games or less. The 1993-94 team didn’t reach 22 wins until their 26th game of the season.
Utah State enters Saturday’s matchup having lost seven of its last eight games, while the Broncos have won six straight and 16 of their last 17 games. Junior guard Braydey Hodgins has led the way, eclipsing the 20-point mark four games in a row.
For her efforts, Hodgins was tabbed the Mountain West player of the week on Monday for the second consecutive week. She was then named to the NCAA.com Starting Five.
Note: Saturday’s game will be streamed online at WatchStadium.com and on the radio on 1350 AM.
This story was originally published February 21, 2019 at 2:25 PM.
