Boise State at Colorado State men’s basketball series: How to watch, prediction and odds
Boise State worked its way through the bottom five men’s basketball teams in the Mountain West standings with a 9-0 record.
The uphill climb begins Wednesday.
Riding a program-record 13-game winning streak, the first-place Broncos will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, for a two-game series against Colorado State. The games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday (CBS Sports Network) and 9 p.m. Friday (Fox Sports 1) at Moby Arena.
“Players aren’t stupid, and this day and age, they watch everybody,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said in a Zoom interview Monday afternoon. “They know that this Colorado State team went to Utah State and won. They went to San Diego State and won.
“... I think our approach is pretty consistent. We’re not rising to the occasion. ... We want to be even-keel. We want to play at a certain level all the time, but there’s human nature and awareness takes over. They know that this team’s done some really good things, and we’re gonna have to play really well.”
Boise State (13-1, 9-0 MW) has played two games this season against Quadrant 1 opponents — a season-opening 68-58 loss to Houston on Nov. 27 and a 74-70 win at BYU on Dec. 9. The Broncos’ remaining victories have come against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents.
The Broncos could add two more Quad 1 wins to their resume this week. Colorado State (11-3, 8-2) checks in at No. 56 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which the selection committee uses to choose, seed and bracket teams for the NCAA Tournament. A Quadrant 1 win is classified as a home victory over a team that ranks No. 1-30, a neutral victory over a team No. 1-50 or an away win over a team No. 1-75.
Three of the five remaining league opponents on Boise State’s schedule — aside from a potential makeup game against Fresno State — would currently qualify as Quad 1 or Quad 2 victories.
NOTABLES
▪ Boise State is on the cusp of breaking into the Top 25 for only the second time in program history. The Broncos received 108 points to land at No. 26 in the latest AP poll and garnered 60 points for the No. 27 spot in the coaches’ poll. Boise State’s only appearance in the Top 25 came on March 9, 2015, when it was ranked No. 25 in the AP poll.
▪ The Broncos are the only team remaining in the Mountain West with a perfect record in league play. Utah State fell out of a share of first place after a loss to Colorado State on Jan. 21. The Aggies are now two games back of the Broncos following a 59-56 defeat Monday at UNLV. Boise State also has the highest NET ranking of any team in the league, at No. 15.
▪ Rice is two wins away from tying Bobby Dye’s program-record 213 career victories. Rice and Dye are also the only coaches in program history to surpass 200 wins at Boise State.
“For my name to be mentioned in the same sentence is pretty special,” Rice said. “Because I know how much he meant to this community and this basketball program. It’s pretty cool.”
▪ Redshirt senior Derrick Alston Jr. is likely to take over the No. 12 spot on Boise State’s career scoring list during the Broncos’ series at Colorado State. Alston currently sits at No. 13 with 1,237 points. Vince Hinchen owns the No. 12 spot with 1,243 points (1981-84). Rice has coached four of the top 10 scorers in program history: No. 2 Anthony Drmic (1,942 points; 2011-16), No. 4 Derrick Marks (1,912 points; 2011-15), No. 8 Justinian Jessup (1,583 points; 2016-20) and No. 10 Chandler Hutchison (1,478 points; 2014-18).
▪ Boise State enters the Colorado State series with the top 3-point defense in the Mountain West and is No. 33 in the country, holding opponents to 28.9%. The league’s top 3-point shooting team is Colorado State, at 38.98% (No. 22 nationally).
▪ Colorado State’s Isaiah Stevens is one of the best facilitators in the country, averaging 6.2 assists per game, which ranks No. 16. The Rams’ David Roddy cleans up on the glass with an average of 7.07 defensive boards (No. 25 nationally) and 9.0 total rebounds per game (tied for 40th). Roddy is also tied for 24th with five double-doubles this season.
BOISE STATE AT COLORADO STATE
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado
TV: CBS Sports Network (Wednesday); Fox Sports 1 (Friday)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)
Records: Boise State 13-1, 9-0 MW; Colorado State 11-3, 8-2 MW
Series: Boise State leads 14-11
Last meeting: Boise State won 75-64 on Dec. 7, 2019, in Boise
Vegas line: Pick ‘em.
KenPom rating: Boise State 56; Colorado State 74
KenPom & ESPN predictions
Ken Pomeroy, who created the popular college basketball statistical website KenPom.com, ranks every Division I team using an adjusted efficiency margin, which Pomeroy defines as the difference between a team’s offensive and defensive efficiency.
According to Pomeroy’s detailed statistical analysis, Boise State has a 52% chance of beating Colorado State. His score prediction is a 74-73 BSU victory.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index: Boise State has a 58.1% chance of winning with a predicted point differential of 2.2.
Note: All rankings and stats through Monday’s games.
Women’s basketball: Broncos host Rams
Boise State’s Mountain West series against Colorado State will be a homecoming for two former Idaho high school standouts.
First-place Colorado State features Centennial High graduates Tori Williams and Lauren Brocke, who led the Patriots to a 5A state championship in 2017.
Williams, a redshirt junior guard, has started 11 of 12 games for the Rams and is averaging 13.8 points per game. She leads the Mountain West with 38 made 3-pointers at a clip of 41.3%.
Brocke is one of nine returnees from last year’s team and has appeared in four games this season.
The Broncos (8-3, 5-3 MW) will host the Rams (10-2, 6-2) at 2 p.m. Wednesday and 1 p.m. Friday. Both games will be streamed live at BroncoSports.com/mwn, or listen to a radio broadcast on 1350 AM.
