MBB: Boise State University (17-5, 7-2) at Air Force Academy (12-10, 3-6)
Boise State University at Air Force Academy
Date: Tuesday January 31, 2023
Time:7:00pm MT
Stadium: Clune Arena (5,843)
TV/Stream: Altitude Network/Mountain West Network
Commentators: Vic Lombardi & Katy Winge
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
Off they go into the wild blue yonder to face the flying Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs. Boise Stat is coming off another 2-0 week with wins over Fresno State and Colorado State. The Broncos will be on the road for two games this week facing both the Falcons and then the highly anticipated matchup with San Diego State on Friday.
But first the Falcons of Air Force. It’s been a season of runs for the Falcons, losing their first three Mountain West games, winning the next three, but then losing their last three matchups. USAF is 12-10 overall and 3-6 in Mountain West play. Last time out the Falcons upset bid fell short against New Mexico 81-73.
Despite the record, there is cause for optimism. Their 12 wins so far this season is tied for second most wins in a season under head coach Joe Scott. One more win would be their most wins in a season since the 2017-2018 season.
This season's team is led by a trio of underclassmen,sophomores Jake Heidbreder and Ethan Taylor as well as Freshman Rytis Petraitis. Jake Heidreder leads the team in scoring and Petraitis leads the team in rebounds. Air Force features a deep bench with nine players averaging double-digit minutes of playing time. The team as a whole has had a rough go during conference play ranking in the bottom half of the league in both scoring offense and defense. They have given up more than 70 in all but one conference game, and have only scored more than 70, three times.
Air Force is coached by Joe Scott. Scott is in his second stint with the Falcons, his first being from 2000-2004. In his seven seasons with the team he’s posted a 79-111 record. Prior to his time with the Academy, Scott spent two seasons as an assistant at Georgia.
The Broncos and Falcons have met 23 times with the Broncos leading the series 17-6. Air Force fared better at home with the Falcons having a 5-5 record at Clune Arena.
What Happened Last Season
Per usual, Boise State swept the season series with the Falcons last year. In the first meeting the Broncos used a 22-8 run to start the game and establish their dominance. After the Falcons clawed their way back to within three at the break, Tyson Degenhart came alive. Degenhart scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the final 14:15, starting with a steal and breakaway dunk to bring the fans to their feet. Air Force scored on its ensuing possession, but Boise State's run was not finished. Degenhart and Akot teamed up to score the next seven points and extend the home team's lead to 12. Boise State had to outlast one more Air Force run, but eventually won the game 62-56.
In the second matchup the Broncos shot a scorching 68.8 from the field (33-for-48) on the night, the most efficient shooting performance under head coach Leon Rice enroute to an 85-59 win. Boise State opened the game with a monster first half, shooting 73.9 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from behind the arc. Leading the way was Marcus Shaver, Jr., who scored 18 of his game-high 20 points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting from downtown in the opening period.
Shaver finished the night 7-of-11 from the floor while chipping in five rebounds and four assists.
The Broncos closed the half outscoring the Falcons 12-4 in the final three-and-a-half minutes to take a 45-31 lead into the break, the highest scoring first half of the season for Boise State.
Mladen Armus opened the second half scoring Boise State's first seven points, finishing the night with 10 points and leading the Broncos with six assists, tying his career high. The score came as close as 11 points at the 14:49 mark before Boise State rattled off nine-straight to increase its advantage to 20.
Max Rice scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half and finished the night shooting 4-of-8 from 3-point range. In his last two games Rice has shot 46.7 percent from beyond the arc (7-15).
Player to Watch
AIR FORCE
SO., JAKE HEIDBREDER, G#3
Jake Heidbreder leads the Falcons in scoring this season. The sophomore guard is averaging over 14 points per game on 47% shooting. Last season, Heidbreder averaged 10.4 ppg for Air Force, so his 2022-23 season has been an improvement in comparison.Heidbreder also is 4th in the Mountain West in made 3-pointers per game, averaging a little over 2 per contest. Lastly, the Broncos need to limit his ability to get to the freethrow line, because if he does get the chance to score from there he won’t likely miss as he is the conference's leading free throw shooter, shooting over 88% from the charity stripe.
BOISE STATE
5th.SR., NAJE SMITH, F #23
“Naj being Naj,” is something that you’ll hear coach Leon Rice say when he’s referencing his 5th year Senior forward. Naje Smith is in no sense a “traditional” basketball player. His unique skill set and shot release has anyone wondering how he plays basketball at such a high level. Smith, from Spokane, WA is probably the heart and soul of this basketball team. His ability to energize the team is a big factor in the team's success. Smith is a difference maker in every sense of the word. Smith played 20+ minutes in 11 games last season, with the Broncos going 11-0 in those contests. All-time, the Broncos are 17-2 when Smith reaches double figures, and 16-3 when he is in the starting lineup.
PROBABLE STARTERS
BOISE STATE
AIR FORCE
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Fundamental Basketball
This game has all the makings of a “trap” game. It’s on the road. It’s against a struggling opponent. It’s the game BEFORE a major test against the conference’s top team. There could be many reasons for the Broncos to overlook the Falcons on Tuesday night. However, let’s hope that after the close call against Fresno State last week the Broncos are in that cliche “1-0” mindset and all they care about is taking care of the Falcons. In order to do that all they need to do is play fundamental, defensive basketball. If they can do the fundamental things better than the Air Force, their superior talent will eventually take over.
Find the Hot Hand
Last Saturday night the Broncos had 19 assists on the night. In the post game press conference Tyson Degenhart said that the team's goal each night is to get 16 assists. The ability to find the open man led to a lot of good looks at the basket for the Broncos. It will be important, especially in enemy territory, to not force any shots and make that extra pass to find the wide open teammate for the easy bucket.
Editor Note:
Play Your Game
As Boise State prepares to play on Tuesday night against Air Force there are few things that they will have to be prepared for that they can’t let become factors in the game. The first is the altitude. Yes there will be signs all around the building about “Altitude Sickness” spelling out all the fear factors in the lack of oxygen to the brain. Yes it’s at altitude, but they have to be mentally strong enough to not let that factor in the game. The second is playing a team that likes to go slower than a turtle on offense. Air Force is one of the slowest ‘pace of play’ teams in the country. They like to take their time on offense and shorten the game by taking as much time off the shot clock as they can before shooting the ball. On top of that they can guard. Boise State can’t get frustrated by the lack of pace in the game and just have to play their style and not let Air Force dictate the pace of the game.
This Boise State team is just too good to let anything distract them from taking care of the task at hand. Of course coach Rice needs to say all the right things to the media to make sure his team keeps a level head, but we all know that the Broncos are better than the Falcons and this shouldn’t even be a game. This game goes like last Saturday. Boise State just keeps plugging away and then before you know it they will be in total control and up by 20.
Boise State 77, Air Force 55
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