Boise State at Colorado State men’s basketball: How to watch, prediction and odds
To the rest of the Mountain West, the Boise State men’s basketball team is in an enviable position.
The Broncos have wrapped up the league’s regular-season title, they’re on the cusp of entering the Top 25 polls and they are essentially a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
But that doesn’t make Boise State’s regular-season finale at Colorado State a meaningless matchup Saturday (6:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network) at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado, according to coach Leon Rice.
“We always tell our guys: ‘What’s on the other side of the high mountains you climb? More mountains,’” Rice said. “We’ve really kind of looked at it that way. Every great accomplishment we’ve done, it only makes you worthy of being able to try and accomplish something else. That’s all it does.”
Over the last 90-plus days, the Broncos have lost to just two teams: Wyoming and Colorado State. Their loss to the Rams came during a four-game stretch in which starting point guard Emmanuel Akot did not play because of a knee injury. And that same Feb. 13 contest was marred by an inadvertent whistle at the end of regulation that may have cost Boise State the game.
Saturday’s game will be the Broncos’ final tuneup before Mountain West Tournament play begins at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Boise State will play Thursday against the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game.
“Momentum is a real thing, and you don’t want to lose that,” Rice said. “We know, No. 1, we’re going into a place that’s sold out. It’s senior night, and they’re a great team. And they’re the only team we haven’t beat in league. They’re a Top 25-level team.”
Many bracketologists have Boise State as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and several of them — including Jerry Palm of CBS Sports and Brian Bennett of The Athletic — have Colorado State one seed or better than the Broncos. The outcome of Saturday’s game could help the Broncos leapfrog the Rams.
“You can’t approach it where there’s anything else, and that’s what we’ve done such a great job of,” Rice said. “We’ve just got to go compete. ... So that’s totally our focus, not all the other outside stuff, and there’s a purity to that that I like. Outside stuff, no matter how much you try to keep it out of there, it always creeps in.”
The Broncos hope Akot’s return can help put them over the top against the Rams. The redshirt senior is averaging 10.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, and has a team-best 75 assists.
“He means the world to this team,” Rice said. “To see him trending in the right direction, both physically and the way he’s playing, that’s exciting.”
BOISE STATE AT COLORADO STATE
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Moby Arena (8,745), Fort Collins, Colorado
TV: CBS Sports Network (Chris Lewis, Bob Wendell, Amanda Guerra). That’s DirecTV channel 221, DISH channel 158 and Sparklight channel 139.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)
Records: Boise State 24-6, 15-2 MW; Colorado State 23-4, 13-4 MW
Series: Boise State 15-13
Last meeting: Colorado State defeated Boise State 77-74 in overtime on Feb. 13 in Boise.
Vegas line: Colorado State by 3
KenPom rating: Boise State 28, Colorado State 31
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 39% chance of beating Colorado State. His score prediction is a 68-65 CSU victory.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index: Colorado State has a 59.1% chance of winning with a predicted point differential of 2.2.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
