PREVIEW | CBK: BOISE STATE (14-6, 5-2) AT #19 NEW MEXICO (18-3, 6-2)
Boise State University at #19 University of New Mexico
Date: Wednesday January 31st, 2024
Time: 8:30 pm MT
Arena: “The Pit”
TV: FS1
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Know Thy Enemy
Boise State hits the open road to Albuquerque, New Mexico to face “Snake” and the Lobs in what could be a season defining two-week stretch. New Mexico has been on a tear the last five games, winning each contest by an average of 20.8 points and that includes wins over three of the top six in the conference, two of which are in the top-25.
The Lobos have really figured out how to use their star studded, three-guard lineup of Donovan Dent, Jamal Mashburn Jr., and Jaelen House. Three combine to score over 45 points per game, then you add in a potential conference freshman of the year candidate TJ Toppin’s 13 points per game, transfer Nelly Joseph’s 9.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and you’ve got your hands full if you’re wearing the opposing colors.
As a whole the Lobos want to get up and down the court as many times as possible during the course of the game. They currently rank 15th in the country in pace of play and that pace really has the #1 scoring offense in the conference cooking. The Lobos are also very good on the offensive boards, securing the second chance opportunity 32% of the time. Even though New Mexico has the 52nd ranked strength of schedule and isn’t sitting on top of the standing, the Lobos are proving they are the team to be in the Mountain West.
New Mexico is coached by Richard Pitino, the son of legendary coach Rick Pitino. Pitino is in his third season has head coach of the Lobos. Pitino has UNM on a real positive trajectory over the past two and a half seasons. In his frist season the Lobos went 5-12 in conference and last year they ended up going 8-10. This season the Lobos already are 6-2 and have their eyes set on hanging banners inside The Pit.
The Broncos are 10-13 against the Lobos dating back to 2012. During that time the Broncos have really struggled to steal a game on the road, going just 3-8 at The Pit. However, the last three losses to New Mexico in Albuquerque have been by a combined five points. Four out of the last five meetings inside the Pit have been decided by 2 points or less.
What Happened Last Time in Albuquerque
A career-high 28 points and two clutch three-point sequences from Tyson Degenhart were not enough for Boise State men's basketball as the Broncos were knocked off in the final seconds of overtime by New Mexico, 81-79.
The first half was defined by physical play around the basket as the teams combined for 44 points in the paint and just three buckets from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Broncos shot 51% from the field while the Lobos were held to just 35% as Boise State took a 37-31 advantage into the locker room.
Boise State and New Mexico exchanged runs in the early stages of the second half before the Lobos took their first lead of the half with under 10 minutes to play. The Broncos chipped away at the lead, but the home team had an answer for nearly every Boise State basket.
Two free throws from New Mexico put the home team up 72-69 with just four seconds left. Needing a three-point bucket, and having made just four of its 20 attempts from range up to that point, Boise State inbounded the ball at half court and executed a play that got the ball into the hands of a wide-open Degenhart, who drained the shot from behind the arc to force overtime.
New Mexico jumped out in front early in overtime, building a five-point advantage. Boise State called a timeout with 32-seconds remaining, trailing 72-69 with the ball on their half of the court. The Broncos went Degenhart's way again as the sophomore powered his way to the rim for the and-one layup, which he converted at the free-throw line to tie the game. The Lobos called a timeout on the other end of the floor with 3.5-seconds showing, and earned a layup on the ensuing inbound play that knocked off the Broncos for good.
Player to Watch
NEW MEXICO
SO., DONOVAN DENT, G#2
Donovan Dent waited his turn to take over as starting Point Guard, but has since cemented his status as PG1 for the Lobos. Last season as a Freshman, Dent came off the bench, but managed to average over five points, 2 boards and 2 assists per game. This season he’s exploded averaging close to 15 points and 6 rebounds per game. He’s started all 20 games so far and has really allowed the other two premier guards in House and Mashburn Jr. to do their thing off the ball.
BOISE STATE
SO., RODDIE ANDERSON III, G#0
Anderson has come out and said he’s feeling more himself over the last handful of games for the Broncos. That certainly seems like the case as he’s averaging over 9 shot attempts per game. But as his shots increase, his assists have decreased. Anderson has a tall task tonight as he guards arguably the best point guard in the conference in Donovan Dent.
PROBABLE STARTERS
BOISE STATE
FRESNO STATE
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Guard Play
Boise State is dead last in the conference in shooting percentage, and their guards are shooting an abysmal 30.5% in conference games. It’s hard to win games if your guards aren’t scoring. Boise State's guards have to play their best game of the season tonight if the Broncos stand any chance at even keeping this one close.
Once and Done
Tonight will be a clash between the best offensive rebounding team in the conference vs the best defensive rebounding team. If Boise State is going to keep up tonight they can’t allow New Mexico to dominate the offensive boards and get second chance buckets.
Revs Rant and Prediction
Saturday’s game was really disappointing. The weaknesses of the Broncos seem to be growing against conference opponents as the season progresses. Again free throw shooting is abysmal down the stretch and the Broncos don’t seem to have that one player who can create a shot for themselves.
There is a world where if things go one way or the other the boys could be 7-0 headed into this game ,but now they fall to the four line in the standings. I think this team is good and looking at the next two weeks at New Mexico's, home against Air Force, at Colorado State and then at Utah State the Broncos are looking at 1-3 if the home team holds serve and maybe 2-2 at best if they can somehow steal a win on the road. Or maybe this team just keeps getting better and haven’t reached their peak yet and they do the unthinkable of winning the next four. I don’t think that will happen, but one can dream. In this first one I think the Lobos are just too dominant at home for the Broncos to pull this one off. I don’t think Boise State gets routed, but the Lobos are going to come out on top of this one.
Boise State 64, New Mexico 70
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