MBB: Boise State (11-4, 1-1) vs Utah State University (13-2, 2-0)
Boise State University vs Utah State University
Date: Saturday January 7,2023
Time:4:30pm MT
Stadium: Extra Mile Arena, (12,644)
TV: FS1
Commentators: Derek Clark and Richie Schueler
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
No rest for the Broncos as they get set to host another team having a hot start to the season. This time it’s the Aggies of Utah State. The Aggies come into Saturday’s feature posting a 13-2 record. Utah State is also 2-0 in conference play, having defeated Fresno State in their conference opener and then finishing off Air Force on Tuesday night.
Utah State came into this season looking to bounce back from their up and down season a year ago when they finished 18-16. So far this season the Aggies have flushed what was a down year and hope to continue their recent success and get back to the NCAA tournament after making it into the field of 68 in the 2020-2021 season.
The Aggies were tasked with having to replace three fifths of last years starting lineup as well as the teams top two scorers. It seems as though they have found suitable replacements in the scoring category with Graduate transfer Taylor Funk, who came to Logan after spending the last five seasons at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, as well as returning swingman Steven Ashworth. Along with those two, Max Shulga has thrived in his new role as a full-time starter, jumping form 4.4 points per game last season to now averaging 12.4 points per game this season. The Aggies also added another Graduate Student Dan Akin from Cal Baptist who is averaging over 12 points per game off the bench.
Saturday’s game will pin the conference's number one offense versus the number one defense. Utah State is averaging over 83 points per game and are winning games by over 13 points on average. Their two losses this season have been by a combined 6 points. The Aggies have really seemed to turn things around.
The Aggies will rotate nine guys on the court and probably have one of the deepest benches in the conference. So far this season the Aggies are averaging 33.3 points per game from their non-starters. In their first two conference games an average of half their points came from their bench.
The Aggies are coached by Ryan Odom. Odom is in his second season with Utah State. Prior to USU Odom spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County or UMBC. He led the REtrievers to a 97-30 record. His signature moment at UMBC came in the 2018 NCAA tournament when the Retrievers became the first-ever 16-seed to defeat a #1 seed when they upset top overall seed Virginia 74-54.
Saturday will mark the 22nd contest between the two schools. Boise State leads the all-time series 12-9. Boise State has one the last four matchups and hasn’t lost at home since the 2018-2019 season. In fact the Broncos have only lost at home three times in the series.
What Happened Last Season
Last season the Broncos and Aggies faced each other two times with the Broncos coming out victorious in both contests.
Boise traveled to Logan for the first meeting. Mladen Armus carried Boise State men's basketball to the brink of an important road win with career highs of 22 points and 19 rebounds before Marcus Shaver Jr. put the Broncos over the top. Shaver buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining to take down Utah State Thursday, 62-59, in Logan. The dramatic victory ran Boise State's win streak to 11, good for the second-longest streak in program history.
Boise State scored the final six points of the game. Emmanuel Akot tied the game on a triple with 51 seconds left before Shaver delivered the game winner.
The rematch in Boise was a back and forth battle, but the Aggies were yet again beaten by the play of Marcus Shaver. Shaver scored 20 points on the night going 6-of-9 from the field. He scored 14 in the second half, and was perfect from both the field and the free throw line in the final period.
Utah State made a 3-pointer with just under three minutes to play, ultimately cutting the Boise State lead to 57-55. The Broncos closed out the game on an 11-2 run, making 6-of-8 free throw attempts in the final three minutes and securing the 68-57 victory.
Player to Watch
UTAH STATE
JR., STEVEN ASHWORTH, G #3
Steven Ashworth might be the best bench player in the whole country. The part-time spot starter, full-time 6th man, leads the conference's best offense with 16.4 points per game. Ashworth leads the conference in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 54% of his shots from deep.The junior from Alpine, Utah lives downtown and has made at least three triples in each of the last eight games. Because of his ability to make the three-ball, seven times this season, Ashworth has been the team’s leading scorer.
BOISE STATE
JR., CHIBUZO AGBO, G #11
Buzo has been buckets for the Broncos over the last 8 games. Abgo has scored at least 10 points in 7 of the last 8 games and at least 15 points in three of the last four. The Broncos have really loved his ability to score the contested jump shot. The Texas Tech transfer has done a better job staying out of foul trouble and playing a lot of minutes for coach Rice as of late. With more and more teams trying to take away Shaver and Degenhart, Agbo will be relied on to help carry the offense.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Boise State
Utah State
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Shutdown Downtown
The Aggies are the Mountain West’s best three-point shooting team, shooting a remarkable 43% from beyond the arc. They also lead the conference win three pointers made, averaging close to 11 threes per game. Boise State however is the Mountain West’s best three point defending team, limiting opponents to just 28% shooting from deep. The Aggies live and die by the three pointer, so if the Broncos can force the Aggies to beat them inside they’ll have the best chance of coming away with the “W.”
Help, I Need Somebody!
So far this season it’s been evident that the Broncos are not a very deep team. No one on the Broncos bench is averaging more than 3.6 points per game. Through 15 games, it's clear that coach Rice is relying on his five starters to carry the load, more specifically Shaver, Degehnar, and Max Rice. Those three are all averaging more than 32 minutes per game. With the conference being as good and as deep as it has been in quite some time, the Broncos are going to have to get more production from their reserves.
Editor Note:
Money Marcus
He did it again! It was only a matter of time before the Broncos needed Marucs Shaver to hit a game winner and he did not disappoint on Tuesday night. Last year Marus Shaver earned the moniker “Big Shot Shaver” after hitting big shot late in games multiple times for the Broncos. After the game on Tuesday Marcus was asked about that final shot and he said, “Coach asked me if I wanted it and I said, ‘yeah i want it.’” Marcus doesn’t shy away from the big moment and whether you think he has that ‘clutch’ gene or is just a really good player that is prepared and confident, it’s evident that the team believes in Shaver to get the job done when it’s needed the most.
Big Minutes From the ‘Bigs’
Boise State does not have a traditional “big” in their starting lineup. The tallest guy on the floor at tip-off for the Broncos is 6’7”. Now that hasn’t really stopped Boise State from being one of the best defensive units in the country, as the Broncos currently are ranked 16th in the county in scoring defense. However, as they face more Mountain West teams with quality big men, they will have to have more minutes and production from the likes of Lucas Milner and Mo Sylla to not only come in and be a rim protector and rebounder, but score some points.
It’s been really hard to predict the outcomes to these last two games, even if I’ve called them both correctly. I hate to pick against the boys in blue and orange, but unless they fix some of their issues like scoring droughts, which leads to them losing leads and lack of dependable depth, they are going to find themselves on the losing end of more of these conference games. With that said, I think with the expected ruckus crowd, and their ability to really lock down on the perimeter the Broncos have more than a good shot to win this one.
Boise State 75, Utah State 71
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