Boise State won’t be ‘complacent’ with cratering Air Force coming to town
Boise State basketball has a great chance this weekend to build on its two-game winning streak and continue to climb back up the Mountain West standings.
The Broncos (11-8, 3-5) host Air Force (3-16, 0-8) at ExtraMile Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Falcons, who have lost 12 straight games and don’t have a win since before Thanksgiving, arrive as one of the lowest-ranked teams in the country.
“They’re a Division I team and their record, especially in this conference, doesn’t mean anything,” senior forward Javan Buchanan said Friday. “I don’t think anybody in that locker room is just complacent. We want to come out and play our best basketball yet.”
Although Boise State coach Leon Rice and his players won’t discount the visiting Falcons, the numbers behind their season aren’t pretty.
Ten of the Air Force losses in the current 12-game streak have been by double digits, including five the Falcons lost by 23 or more points.
The last victory came on Nov. 23, against IU Indy (6-16) of the Horizon League. The only two other wins came against Alabama State and SIU Edwardsville, while Air Force has lost to the likes of Long Island University, Northern Colorado and Pacific University.
The Falcons rank last in the Mountain West for points per game (61.7) and are 10th of 12 in points allowed (76.2). They’re ranked 336th out of 365 Division I schools in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which weighs a team’s record versus its strength of schedule, and they are 310th in the KenPom analytical rankings.
To top it all off, Air Force suspended head coach Joe Scott last week pending an investigation into his treatment of athletes. Assistant coach Jon Jordan has taken over as interim head coach; his first game was overseeing the Falcons’ 81-52 loss at Colorado State on Tuesday.
“The thing that I’ve seen is that in the last couple of games, they have bounce in their step,” Rice said Friday. “... The new guys can create a restart.”
Air Force typically arrives posing a challenge because its offense likes to eat up much of the shot block before attacking the rim; this season has seen the Falcons try to play a much faster, up-tempo game.
“If you’re not disciplined, they can really hurt you,” Buchanan said. “And if you’re not locked into what you need to do to win, they’re a Division I team, and they can do some damage.”
A victory would inch Boise State closer to .500 in the conference after a 1-5 start that included losses to the current top five teams in the league. Now the Broncos are getting to play the teams in the bottom half; after Air Force, up next is a game at San Jose State (6-13, 1-7) next week.
Rice said he doesn’t want anyone looking too far ahead.
“I’m gonna look at Air Force and what we can do today to be the best team we can be, because that’s our secret sauce,” Rice said. “We have an urgency to get better today. We have an urgency because it’s never really about who we play next. ... When it becomes too much about who you play next, your team suffers.”
