Boise State, firmly in middle of crowded Mountain West title race, hosts Fresno State
The Boise State men’s basketball team is entering the home stretch of one the most competitive Mountain West seasons in recent memory.
Six league teams are ranked in the top 50 in the NET rankings: San Diego State (18), New Mexico (21), Utah State (28), Colorado State (30), Boise State (45) and Nevada (48). All six have also earned votes in the AP Top 25 poll this year.
The race to the regular season championship and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament is going to come down to the wire, with seven teams still squarely in the hunt.
Utah State (21-4, 9-3 Mountain West) leads the race, followed by New Mexico (20-5, 8-4), San Diego State (19-6, 8-4), Boise State (16-8, 7-4) and UNLV (14-9, 7-4). Colorado State and Nevada, both of which have legitimate NCAA Tournament chances as they try to climb higher in the league, have five conference losses.
The Broncos have run through the gauntlet once and earned wins over San Diego State, Colorado State, New Mexico and Nevada. They lost both games against Utah State and also were tripped up at home by UNLV, and they’ve lost two in a row heading into Saturday’s home game against Fresno State (5:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
Boise State, which has been off this week after losing on the road to Utah State and Colorado State, has seven regular-season games left, and the last three could wind up determining the team’s at-large NCAA tourney chances: home games against New Mexico (March 2) and Nevada (March 5), and a date at San Diego State (March 8).
The Mountain West Tournament is scheduled for March 13-16 in Las Vegas, and the Broncos’ closing trio of games means they can’t afford to slip up as favorites in games the next two weeks.
“It does take on a different feel this time of year because everyone is talking about (the title race) and you don’t have many games left,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “To the outside world, they may take on a different value, but you have to stay in your process and keep doing what you do to get ready for those games.”
Fresno State at Boise State
When: 5:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: ExtraMile Arena
Bulldogs’ record: 11-14, 4-8 Mountain West.
TV: CBS Sports Network, which is carried by YouTubeTV. It’s also channel 139 on Sparklight and 221 on Direct TV.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)
Series history: Boise State leads the all-time series 28-22 and has won four in a row against the Bulldogs.
Last time: The Broncos led by 10 points at halftime and by 16 points early in the second half at Fresno State on Jan. 23, but the Bulldogs put together a late run and took a two-point lead with about 2 minutes to play. Chibuzo Agbo hit a 3-pointer to put Boise State back on top 69-68 with 1:30 left, and O’Mar Stanley hit a couple of late free throws to clinch the Broncos’ 72-68 win. Donovan Yap Jr. came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 17 points. Agbo and Max Rice led Boise State with 16 points.
Matchup to watch
Boise State PG Roddie Anderson III vs. Fresno State PG Isaiah Hill
Leon Rice said Thursday that one of the reasons the Mountain West is so competitive this year is an abundance of veteran point guards. Hill, a senior who came into this season with 95 career starts, is one of those seasoned guards. He leads the Bulldogs with 12 points a game and 158 assists.
Boise State doesn’t have as much experience at point guard. Roddie Anderson III joined the team last year after transferring from UC San Diego. He’s had his ups and downs this season, but he usually rises to the occasion against the top players in the conference. He helped hold Colorado State point guard Isaiah Stevens to 15 points and forced him into a season-high six turnovers in ExtraMile Arena in January. Anderson leads the Broncos with 54 assists and ranks No. 5 on the team with 5.5 points a game.
