MBB: Boise State University (14-4, 4-1) vs University of Nevada-Reno (15-4, 5-1)
Boise State University vs University of Nevada- Reno
Date: Tuesday January 17, 2023
Time:7:00pm MT
Stadium: Extra Mile Arena, (12,644)
Tv: The CW [Dish Channel 9/Directv Channel 35/ Digital Channel 2.2]
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
What a difference three weeks makes. Boise State has rattled off 4 straight conference wins after dropping their opening game against Nevada in late December. Nevada comes to the City of Trees posting their own impressive resume, winners of 5 of their last six. Their only loss came at the hands of #23 ranked San Diego State, on the road last Tuesday.
With this being the second go-around for these two squads, we’ll focus this gameday preview on what has been happening during conference play as opposed to the season as a whole. Nevada right now is tied with two others atop the Mountain West Standing, yours truly and the Aztecs. If the season ended today the Wolf Pack would be the #1 seed in the conference tournament based on overall winning percentage. As mentioned before UNR is 5-1 in league play, losing to the preseason favorite, Aztecs in San Diego. The ‘Pack responded to that loss with a 15-point beatdown of Utah State on Saturday in a 85-70 win. Nevada has had three of their five wins come by at least 11, and they have an overall margin of victory of 8.7 in league play. Only the Broncos have a better margin of victory, theirs being 11.8.
Nevada is scoring the third most points in conference play, scoring an average of 74.3 points and is number two in scoring defense, allowing just over 65 points per game. Their scoring is mainly coming from a combination of three guys, Jarod Lucas, Kenan Blackshear and Will Baker. Those three account for 64% of the scoring output pre game.
The Wolfpack do have one of the best backcourt duos in the Mountain West in Jarod Lucas and Kenen Blackshear. Combined, those two are avaring 33.7 points a game. Only Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn jr. of New Mexico are averaging better and they are arguably the best backcourt in the conference and one of the best in the country. Both Lucas and Blackshear have game high 28-point games this season which is fifth-best in the Mountain West so far. However, despite their impressive number, neither one has claimed the coveted “Player Of The Week” honors this season.
The Wolfpack have stayed relatively healthy this season and have started the same five for every conference game thus far. Those starters are also playing a lot of minutes as all five are averaging over 20-minutes, and all but big man Will Baker are averaging over 30 minutes per game. Off the bench the only real threat for the ‘Pack is Redshirt Freshman Forward Will Davidson. Davidson is averaging 19 minutes and 11 points in their six conference games.
The Wolfpack are coached by Steve Alford. Coach Alford, an Indiana native was a two-time consensus first-team All-American during his playing days for the Indiana Hoosiers. Alford led the Hoosiers to a national championship in 1987. Alford has been a college head coach for almost 30 years. As a coach he has made stops at Manchester University (Indiana), Southwest Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA, and now Nevada. He’s been on the sideline at UNR since the 2019 season.
Tuesday is the second of two regular season meetings for these two schools and the 27th meeting overall. Boise State trails in the series 11-15. Boise State is 5-5 at home against the ‘Pack.
What Happened Last Time
UNR played host to Boise State in the Mountain West opener on Dec. 28th 2022. Both teams were coming off of stellar non-conference schedules.
Boise State controlled the lead for the large majority of the first half, but Nevada held the Broncos scoreless for the final 5:53 of the opening frame to put BSU down 30-27 at the break.
Boise State used a 9-2 run to take back the lead 48-44 and then proceeded to build their largest lead of the night 61-54 with 5:06 remaining in the game. In the final moments of the game, Boise State was forced to play the final stretch without two of their best defenders, as both Tyson Degenhard and Naje Smith fouled out.
Boise State would keep it close despite playing short handed and even got the lead from their bench when Pavel Kuzmanovic made a go-ahead basket with just 13 second left. However on the ensuing possession, Kenan Blackshear would take the inbound guarded by Kuzmanovic and go coast-to-coast and score the game-winning bucket with just 3 seconds remaining.
Boise State would have one more chance with the ball, but a travel call on Agbo ended the hopes of a buzzer beater for the Broncos. UNR would win 74-72.
Player to Watch
NEVADA-RENO
SR., KENAN BLACKSHEAR, G#13
Last time out against the Broncos, Kenana Blackshear willed his team to a win. Quite literally it was Blackshear who made the game-winner by driving to the bucket in the closing seconds of the game. Blackshear finished that game with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. The Senior guard from Orlando, FL has spent the last two seasons with Nevada after transferring from FAU back in 2021. Blackshear has really turned it up a notch during conference play as he is averaging close to 17 points per game. He and fellow backcourt mate Jard Lucas have been leading the team with Blackshear taking a slight edge. The one thing the Broncos could try to do is for him to shoot from outside on Tuesday night. So far in league play Blackshear is only 3-of-14 from deep which is right around 21%.
BOISE STATE
SO., TYSON DEGENHART, G#2
Tyson Degenhart has seemed to find a new gear the last week or so and really has played quite well since the loss at Nevada. Since fouling out in Reno, Degenhart has committed a total of five fouls in the last four games. His offensive production also has seen a jump as he has scored more than 10 in each of the last four. He really needs to have a good game this time around if the Broncos want to win. He also seems to feed off the home crowd which should be large on Tuesday night. All signs are pointing to a huge night for #2
PROBABLE STARTERS
Boise State
Nevada-Reno
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Stay In the Game
Coaches say all the time, “The best ability is availability.” Last time against Nevada, late game foul trouble is what ultimately did-in the Broncos. Degenhart fouled out with 3:41 left and Naje Smith fouled out with 2:05 left. Boise State can’t afford to lose two of their top defenders that late in crunch time. Staying out of foul trouble and staying on the floor when it matters most will be key in winning this game. Things might have been different if both Smith and Degenhart were on the floor.
Be The Storm
Last time, Boise State went cold for the final minutes of the first half, but responded with a nice 9-2 run to start the second. This time around Boise State has to not only weather the storm but be the storm. Boise State has looked almost unstoppable in their last two games. If they can replicate that recipe things should be in their favor Tuesday night.
Editor Note:
Placebo Effect?
After the 85-68 win over Wyoming, Naje Smith told reporters, “A lot of people wrote us off and said we’d finish about last in the Mountain West. We didn’t have anything that we had last year so we just came to prove them wrong, that we’re still here.”
Coach Rice came out and said a couple of months ago that this team has a “low margin for error.” He also said he didn’t know this team would win the last three games like they have.
I don’t know if Coach Rice really did think that this team lived on the razor's edge or if he’s surprised that the boys have played as well as they have the last few weeks. I do know that whatever message Coach Rice is feeding the team, they are eating it and believing it. This team is firing on all cylinders right now and nothing leads me to believe that they are going to stop now.
Interesting side note, I’ve predicted the winner of every conference game so far this season so I take some responsibility for the loss last time as I did predict the Broncos to lose. However, I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. Boise State feeds off of a huge home crowd and wins this convincingly.
Boise State 77, Reno 62
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