MBB: Boise State (4-2) vs Cal State University Northridge (1-4)
Boise State University vs California State University Northridge (CSUN)
Date: Tuesday November 29,2022
Time:7:00pm MT
Stadium:Extra Mile Arena (12,644)
Stream: Mountain West Network
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
The Matadors, of Cal State University Northridge come to Boise in hopes of taming the Broncos at Extra Mile Arena! Boise State looks to continue their winning ways in this early season tilt.
CSUN comes into this game loseser of four straight including going winless last week during the SoCal Challenge. Sitting at 1-4, the Matadors have a lot of work to do and are in the midst of a major rebuild. The team’s best returning player is Atlin Wright. The sophomore point guard led the Matadors in scoring average, three pointers made and free throws made a season ago. There are plenty of new faces this season as the Matadors have added nine new players to the roster. Dionte Bostick and De’Sean Allen-Eikens, both transfers have found themselves in key roles so far this season.
Despite their record, on paper CSUN is outsourcing their opponents on average 69.4-68.4. Coach Rice said that the Broncos will need to be on their best Tuesday, because the Matadors will fight for forty minutes. Statistically they are out rebounding their opponents and forcing more turnovers than their opponents. Much like the Broncos it looks like the Matadors have a defense first approach to winning.
CSUN is coached by Trent Johnson. Johnson is in his second season as head coach, but is in his first full season as head coach. Johnson was hired as the interim coach just a month before the start of the school year in 2021 and was “left to pick up the pieces” from their former coach. Before coming to CSUN Johnson had paced the sidelines of Nevada, Stanford, and LSU.
Tuesday will be the fifth time that the Broncos and Matadors have met on the court. Boise State leads the all-time series 4-0. Boise State has won by an average of 28 points in this matchup
What Happened Last Time
Boise State earned its first true road win of the season last year, downing CSUN 74-48. Tyson Degenhart led the Broncos with a career-high 21 points, becoming the 12th Boise State freshman to register a 20-point game and the first since Justinian Jessup during the 2016-17 season.
The Broncos took control early, claiming their largest halftime lead of the season at 38-21. They shot 57.1 percent in the opening period, including 6-of-13 from three-point range.
CSUN made a charge to start the second half, trimming Boise State's lead to 10, but Boise State answered by going on a 22-2 run that included 11 consecutive stops on defense.
Naje Smith finished with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also had four rebounds, blocked three shots and recorded one steal.
The Broncos limited the Matadors to 34 percent field goal shooting and 1-for-10 from three-point range. Boise State has held six of its nine opponents to fewer than 60 points and have not allowed more than 70 points in any game to finish in regulation.
Marcus Shaver, Jr. finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Shaver has scored in double figures in seven of the eight games he has played. Emmanuel Akot had nine points and seven assists without committing a turnover.
Player to Watch
CSUN
SO., ATIN WRIGHT, G #5
Wright is as steady as they come. The 6’-1” sophomore from Lakewood, CA has been the bright spot for a Matadors program that is in search of a glimpse of hope. Wright last year was named to the Big West honorable mention team after averaging 14.5 points per game and leading the team in a number of categories. This season Wright is right back where he left off, scoring at least 14 points in all but one game this season. Last time out against Central Michigan he led all scorers with 21 points.
BOISE STATE
JR., CHIBUZO AGBO, G #11
Agbo is finally showing Bronco Nation what he’s capable of. The 6’7” Texas Tech transfer has had himself a pretty good week starting with his 24 points on 7-12 shooting, including 5-7 from downtown against Loyola and then shooting 7-11, including 4-6 on three pointers in his 20 point effort last time out. The Broncos have shown that if Agbo, Degenhart, and Shaver all get going they can be pretty lethal.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Boise State
CSUN
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
Neither one of these teams are coming into Tuesday’s matchup shooting the lights out. Both teams are shooting around the 42% mark which means there are a lot of opportunities to rebound the basketball.So far this season Boise State has been out rebounding their opponents by an average of 35-32, including 51-44 on the offensive end. However, CSUN is doing the same this year, out rebounding their opponent 39-34, including 61-39 on the offensive end. Boise State will need to “clean the glass” as they say if they want to win this one.
PLAY YOUR GAME
Basketball can be a funny game. If you let a lesser opponent hang around funny things can happen. Nobody thinks that CSUN is on the same level as Boise State. If Boise State can not sink to the level of the Matadors and just play their style of game and take it one possession at a time, the raw talent level of the players and the coaching ability of Leon Rice should take over and this game could be over by halftime.
Editor Note:
FINAL TUNEUP
After Tuesday, Boise State will go on a pretty tough stretch of games to finish out the calendar year. After the Matadors come to town, the Broncos hit the road to face Texas A&M in the “Battleground 2k22.” After that showcase Boise State will play five games against opponents who are predicted to finish no worse than 6th in their respective conferences, four of which were picked in the top four.
Boise State dominates this one
Boise State 81, CUSN 61
.
Comments
Post a Comment