Boise State at Air Force men’s basketball: How to watch, prediction and odds
KenPom.com ranks Air Force’s Clune Arena as the fourth-best home court advantage among all Division I schools, but not for the reason one might think.
Clune Arena isn’t like the rowdy environment of New Mexico’s Pit, and the fans don’t pack the house like they do at San Diego State’s Viejas Arena.
Instead, when the Boise State men’s basketball team tips off against Air Force at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Fox Sports 1, the Broncos will need to bring their own energy inside the often cavernously quiet environment at Air Force.
“We’ve got a tough, tough challenge tomorrow,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said Tuesday. “I’m experienced in this league and I’m experienced playing there. You can ask any coach in this league, that’s one of the most hated games on our schedule. It really is. There’s no way to sugarcoat that.”
Of the 11 venues in the Mountain West, Air Force has the lowest average attendance, at 1,557 fans per game. San Diego State has the highest average: 11,247 fans.
“You’re used to big crowds ... and sometimes there’s not that there at all,” Rice said. “That can be disrupting, really, because it’s so different.”
Equally disruptive, Rice said, is the Falcons’ style of play. Air Force runs the famous Princeton offense, which features a lot of screens and cuts, and generally slows down the pace of the game. Although he declined to go into specifics, Rice said that some of the things his team does consistently well, the Falcons have done a good job of countering over his 12 seasons in Boise.
“The style is so unique. ... It just wears you down, wears you down, wears you down,” Rice said. “If you play from behind, it’s like running in mud.”
Boise State has not played at Air Force since the 2019-20 season, but the Broncos have had trouble there of late, losing their most recent two meetings on the Falcons’ home court.
A loss to Air Force this season would be detrimental to the Broncos’ NCAA Tournament resume. The Falcons currently rank No. 237 in the NET, which is on the cusp of becoming a Quadrant 4 contest (road games at No. 241 and above).
“No matter what, conference games in February are so hard to win for anyone,” Rice said. “... Good teams have gone in there and lost or had to hit a buzzer beater to win it.”
First-place Wyoming escaped Clune Arena with a 63-61 win on Jan. 28 on a shot by Hunter Maldonado as time expired. Both Utah State and UNLV lost at Air Force this season.
Will Akot play at Air Force?
Boise State point guard Emmanuel Akot has missed the Broncos’ past three games with a knee injury.
The Broncos were able to pull out wins over San Jose State and UNLV, but they missed Akot’s presence in an overtime loss Sunday to Colorado State.
Will Akot be ready to go against the Falcons?
“Don’t know,” Rice said.
Akot is averaging 11 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season.
BOISE STATE AT AIR FORCE
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Clune Arena (5,843), USAFA, Colorado
TV: Fox Sports 1 (Jenny Cavnar, Doug Gottlieb). That’s DirecTV channel 219, DISH channel 150 and Sparklight channel 146.
Radio: 670 AM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)
Records: Boise State 19-6, 10-2 MW; Air Force 10-13, 3-9 MW
Series: Boise State 16-6
Last meeting: Boise State defeated Air Force 62-56 on Jan. 18 in Boise.
KenPom rating: Boise State 40, Air Force 237
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 an 81% chance of beating Air Force. His score prediction is a 63-53 Boise State victory.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index: Boise State has a 90.7% chance of winning with a predicted point differential of 13.7.
