PREVIEW | CBK: BOISE STATE (10-4, 1-0) VS #17 COLORADO STATE (13-2, 1-1)
Boise State University vs Colorado State University
Date: Tuesday January 9th, 2024
Time: 7:00 pm MT
Stadium: ExtraMile Arena
TV: KTVB
Stream: Mountain West Network
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Know Thy Enemy
Big game in Boise as the Broncos put their nations best 21-game home winning streak on the line when CAM and the #17 Rams of Colorado State come into what is looking like a at or near sold out ExtraMile on Tuesday night.
The Rams are having a really remarkable season. CSU finished their non conference schedule 12-1, with their only loss coming at home to Saint Mary’s in early December. The Rams opened up Mountain West play with a win over New Mexico, in Fort Collins last Tuesday night. Saturday, the #13 Rams traveled to Logan to take on the USU Aggies. Despite a solid 21-point effort from Isaiah Stevens, the Rams suffered their first conference loss 77-72.
Despite the rare misstep, the Rams have been on a mission this season. Colorado State is the top scoring offense in the Mountain West, averaging over 83 points per game this season. They also are 4th in the conference with a +14.47 in scoring margin. CSU is also tops in Field Goal Percentage, shooting over 52% on the year from the floor. They also shoot 38% from deep. The Rams can flat out score the ball and that's all thanks to a strong starting rotation. CSU is headlined by preseason player of the year in Isaiah Stevens, but he’s not the only dude they have. The Rams return both Nique Clifford and Patrick Cartier who are both averaging over 13 points per game, and they added Joel Scott who was the D2 Conference Commissioners Association Player of the Year last year and he’s chipping in over 11 points per game this season. Around 10 guys will see the floor for the Rams, but only five of those have seen action in each of their 15 games.
Colorado State is coached by Niko Medved. Coach Medved is in his sixth season on the sidelines for the Rams. In his previous five seasons, coach Medved led the Rams to the NIT in 2021 and the NCAA tournament in 2022. Medved is 51-40 in his career at CSU and 104-67 overall.
The Broncos and Rams have met on the hardwood 24 times all-time. Boise State holds a 15-9 series lead and a current 2-game win streak. Boise State is 8-2 at home in the series. The last 10 meetings have been pretty even with Boise State winning six of the 10.
What Happened Last Time
Tyson Degenhart and Naje Smith combined to make three free throws in the final minute as Boise State held on to beat Colorado State, 80-78 in Fort Collins last February.
Smith made both free throws on a one-and-one with 18 seconds and Degenhart converted the opening end of his one-and-one with 6.5 seconds remaining, and the Rams' missed their final second shot as Boise State secured its 10th, 20-win season under head coach Leon Rice.
After getting into foul trouble early, Degenhart scored seven points with four fouls over the final 7:24 of the game. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to go along with six rebounds. Smith, Chibuzo Agbo and Marcus Shaver scored in double figures for the Broncos.
Boise State missed its first six shots from beyond the arc before Naje Smith sank one from the left corner with 6:34 in the first half. In that span, the Rams were 5-of-6 on 3-pointers. Smith's trey fueled a 17-4 run for the Broncos to take a 36-31 lead at halftime.
Player to Watch
COLORADO STATE
GS., JOEL SCOTT, F#1
Isaiah Stevens is the star, but someone to keep an eye on in this one is transfer Joel Scott. Scott really started the season off strong, averaging over 16 points per game during the first five games of the year. Since then Scott has leveled off to more of a 10-11 points per game type of player, but what is interesting is his production or lack thereof in teams two losses. Against Saint Mary's, Scott scored just two points and went 0-of-4 from the floor. In their loss to Utah State, the Aggies held Scott to just six points on 2-of-7 shooting.
BOISE STATE
JR., O’MAR STANLEY, F#1
Who else could it be after the night O’Mar had against San Jose State. Stanley single handedly kept the Broncos in the game during the first half when SJSU’s MJ Amey was hitting every shot he took. Stanley’s 30-piece was his third-straight game with 20+ points. During this stretch of games Santley is shooting 65% from the field and 93% from the freethrow line. When Boise State needed a bucket, O’Mar was the man for the job.
PROBABLE STARTERS
BOISE STATE
COLORADO STATE
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Even Stevens
Isaiah Stevens is more than likely going to hit his averages on Tuesday night. Stevens has scored 18 or more in 11 of 15 games this season. Boise State showed last week that even if one player gets hot it’s not the end of the world. However, the Rams are a FAR better team than the Spartans with way more offensive firepower than SJSU. Boise State can afford to let Stevens score 20+, but they can’t let anyone else beat them. If one or two other Rams have a hot shooting night, it could spell disaster for the Broncos.
Second Chances
KenPom predicts this to be a one point victory for the Rams on Tuesday night. In a game that could hang in the balance until the final minutes, the rebound battle will be huge. Boise State has done a pretty good job at controlling the glass so far this season while the Rams have only been so-so. The Rams were outrebounded in both of their losses this year including a -12 performance against the Aggies last week. Boise State has to control the glass to both create and limit second chances against the Rams. Boise State had 20 second chance points last time out which was really the difference in the outcome of the game.
Revs Rant and Prediction
The SJSU game was a “must win” and it was an “ugly win.” It seems like the Spartans are one of those teams that is a bugaboo for the Broncos. The Broncos tok a 6-4 lead with 17:16 left in the first half and didn’t take the lead again until 3:57 left in the game and were down by as many as 9 multiple times. If it weren’t for some timely halftime adjustments and a standout performance by Stanley we could be having a very different conversation today.
The Broncos can’t afford to dig themselves a hole on Tuesday against the Rams. They have to play fundamentally sound basketball and the point guard play by the Broncos has to improve. Boise State no doubt plays better at home, hence the nation's leading home winning streak at 21 games. It’s going to be close, but I think a juiced ExtraMile and a hungry Boise State team will “hold serve” and improve to 2-0 in league play. Max Hit a DEEP three late to seal this one.
Boise State 77, Colorado State 73
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