PREVIEW | MBB: Boise State (23-7, 13-4) at Utah State University (23-7, 12-5)
Boise State University at Utah State University
Date: Saturday March 4,2023
Time:7:00pm MT
Venue: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, (10,270)
Stream: MW Network
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
One last ride in the regular season for the Broncos as they head to Logan, Utah to face the Aggies in a battle at “The Spectrum.” Boise State is coming off one of their biggest wins in program history after taking down #18 San Diego State 66-60 on Tuesday. Utah State are coming off a big win themselves after taking down UNLV on Wednesday 91-66 in “Sin City.” Both teams are playing for the 2-seed in the upcoming Mountain West tournament next week. Boise State would earn the 2-seed with a win and for Utah State to earn the 2 line they would need to win and have UNLV beat in-state rival Nevada. If Boise State loses they would fall to the 3-seed and if Utah State loses they would fall all the way to the 4 seed and have to play San Jose State in the #4 vs #5 matchup.
Utah State was looking for a bounce back year and they found it. Currently they are sitting in 3rd place in the Mountain West with a record of 23-7, 12-5. Their resurgence this year is in large part due to the play of their junior guard Steven Ashworth. Ashworth started the season coming off the bench then was inserted in the starting lineup, then back to the bench, and now has started the last 14 games for the Aggies. He along with Taylor Funk, Dan Akin and Max Shulga have carried the team this year. The Aggies are the 2nd ranked scoring offensive in conference play averaging 74.1 points per game which is more than five points better than last year.
The Aggies will rotate 8 players but there are five guys that are getting the lion share of the minutes. Steven Ashworth, Max Shulga, Sean Bairstow, and Taylor Fun average over 30 minutes per game and Dan Akin averages 27 minutes per game off the bench.
Utah State is 13-2 at home this season with only one of those losses coming in conference play and that was a two-point loss to San Diego State almost a month ago.
The Aggies are coached by Ryan Odom. Odom is in his second season with Utah State. Odom has the Aggies on the verge of an NCAA birth. In the latest ESPN Braketology, Joe Lundari has Utah State as one of the “Next Four Out'' which means in a field of 68 they rank 73rd.
Saturday will mark the 23nd contest between the two schools. Boise State leads the all-time series 13-9. Boise State has won the last five matchups.
What Happened Last Time
After a nail-biting win against San Jose State, Boise State was looking to continue their winning ways and assert themselves as one of the dominant teams in the Mountain West.
Each of Boise State's five starters scored in double figures as Boise State men's basketball ran past Utah State by 23 points for a 82-59 Quad 1 victory in front of a sold-out ExtraMile Arena.
The Broncos shot an efficient 54.8% (17-31) from the floor in the first half, including 75% (6-8) from deep en route to matching its season high for first-half points with 45. 13 points from Tyson Degenhart and eight from Marcus Shaver, Jr. helped the Broncos jump out to a 15-point lead over the Aggies at halftime.
Boise State opened the second period with a 13-4 run, holding the Aggies scoreless for nearly three minutes to push the lead to 24 with 14 minutes remaining. Utah State whittled the lead down to as low as 15 points with 6:30 left, but the Bronco defense clamped down to only allow seven points through the remainder of the game, locking down their second Mountain West win of the season.
Player to Watch
UTAH STATE
GS., DAN AKIN, F #30
Dan Akin the Grad Student from London, England is in the midst of a really impressive three-game stretch. In the last three games the 6’9” forward is averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds. However that’s not the impressive part. In the last three games he is 13-of-15 from the floor.
Boise State fans may remember Akin because of his dust up with Max Rice late in the game.
BOISE STATE
SR., MAX RICE, G #12
You can’t not watch Max Rice in the season finale. Rice single-handedly went on a 12-0 run for the Broncos to pull ahead for good on Tuesday night against SDSU. The Bishop Kelly grad has had himself quite the bounce back year and is really stating his case for All-Mountain West honors. And rightfully so. He’s played and started in every game so far this season and now leads the team with 16.1 points per game in conference play. He hardly comes out of the game averaging 35.2 minutes per game and has played a total of 1022 minutes this season. He’s hitting a team-leading 46% from beyond the arc, but his game has evolved immensely this season and he is scoring in every way possible. Speaking of scoring, he’s had 5 games this season of 20-plus points and he went off for 30 points against New Mexico and he had 26 in their last win against the Aztecs.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Boise State
Utah State
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Silence is Golden
It’s clear that Boise State hasn’t been the best road team this year. All four of their conference losses have come away from Boise. In fact, all but one of their losses have come outside of ExtraMile. Saturdays crowd inside the yellow- seated Spectrum will be electric and Boise State will need to do their best to keep the crowd at bay. The best way to do this is by getting into an early offensive groove.
Everyone Involved
In almost every loss this year one of the core group has had an off night. Sometimes is Buzo, sometimes Smith and occasionally it was Max. This team has shown when everyone gets involved they are a formidable team and hard to beat. Every starter needs to get involved early and often if the Broncos want to win this one.
Editor Note:
Learned My Lesson
I must confess, I did not see the Broncos winning that game last Tuesday night. And when they were down by 9 late in the game I had no faith that they would come back and win. However, I have learned my lesson and these Broncos can play with anyone and really could be the team that wins the first ever NCAA tournament game in program history. I’ve learned my lesson. I think this team is now believing in themselves and really could go on a special March run. That run starts with a huge road victory against the Aggies.
Boise State 77, Utah State 73
Comments
Post a Comment