Last Saturday, it was Boise State on the wrong end, falling to the (now) 17th-ranked Aggies in overtime. Missed free throws, turnovers in the closing minutes, and a long stretch of bad shooting doomed the Broncos. Problems that have given Boise State fits all season.
And all are fixable but need to be done in fast order.
Boise State (14-6, 5-2) has seen struggles at the charity stripe all season, shooting 71.8 percent. So, 74.2 against the Aggies isn't the worst thing. Definitely can be better but it's more about when they are missed down the stretch to close out games. Or, who is missing them: a once reliable Max Rice hitting only 3-5 against Utah State.
Rice is only 7-11 from the line in his last three games but at 80 percent on the season. However, the sixth-year guard is having a tough go of things in conference play in shooting. Ill-advised three-point attempts and shots that fell last season are not going in at the same rate. Even those floaters in the key that went down last season aren't falling, leading me to believe it's a cold spell that will soon right itself.
He and Chibuzo Agbo shot a combined 8-29 (5-16 on three-point attempts) in the loss to Utah State. Rice is shooting only 34.1 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from deep, both nearly 10 points lower than a season ago.
While others overall are doing much better, the entire team is prone to long stretches of not scoring from the field. It happened against Utah State and nearly cost the Broncos in a close victory against Fresno State, a game Boise State should have won going away.
Buckling down at the end of that game, Boise State proved they can handle adversity (even of the self-inflicted variety). This is an experienced club with the bench seeing more minutes. Both will serve the team going forward, starting this week when they finish up the first half of conference play.
Showdown in Albuquerque
The Boise State Broncos enter this week tied for third place in the Mountain West with the San Diego State Aztecs. One-half game ahead of the two teams is this week's first opponent for Boise State, the New Mexico Lobos.
New Mexico (18-3, 6-2) jumped up in the AP poll this week, now ranked 19th. The Lobos have won five straight and are playing some of their best basketball of the season.
Losses to Saint Mary's, Colorado State, and UNLV are the only blemishes on New Mexico's record this season. The loss to the Rebels kicked the Lobos into their current winning streak, where they have been dominant.
During this win streak, New Mexico is averaging 91.2 points per game, winning by an average of 20.8 points.
Entering the season, fans and opponents alike were aware New Mexico had a stacked backcourt. That has proven to be true, especially in recent weeks but it's formidable support players, bench, and new stars giving the Lobos strength.
Six players average nine or more points per game. Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr both average 15.6 points. House is a stalwart on defense, picking the pocket of opponents almost three times per game.
Mashburn battled some early season injuries and has struggled from the field at times but shot 13-20 in the last two games.
Donovan Dent dishes out 6.1 assists per game, scoring 14.8 points while shooting 51.1 percent from the field.
It is a couple of interior players, however, who have really pushed the Lobos to greatness, led by the excellent play of JT Toppin.
Toppin, Mountain West Freshman of the Week seven times so far this season, is averaging 13 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Toppin is shooting 66.3 percent from the field and, along with Nelly Junior Joseph (9.3 points, 7.7 rebounds), will give the Broncos plenty to handle on the interior.
The two have combined to block 69 shots this season.
Last season, Boise State and New Mexico split their two games. The Broncos lost by two in overtime on the road and picked up a five-point win in Boise.
Boise State at New Mexico is 1/31 at 8:30 p.m. (MT) on FS1.
Boise State vs Air Force
To finish up the first half of Mountain West Conference play, Boise State hosts Air Force (8-11, 1-6) on Saturday (2/3) at 2 p.m. (MT).
The two teams met only met once last season, a seven-point win for the Broncos.
Air Force, prior to a 1/30 meeting with Wyoming, has lost nine of their last ten games. The lone conference win was a huge 90-58 victory over UNLV.
Three players average double digits in scoring for the Falcons. Sophomore Rytis Petraitis has played in only 12 games but has scored more than 10 in all of them. Petraitis averages 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game and had a triple-double (18/13/11) against the Rebels.
Guard Ethan Taylor drops 16.4 points per contest, with Beau Becker chipping in 15.8.
Saturday's matchup should not be overlooked, win or lose on Wednesday against New Mexico. A couple of victories this week would be nice, especially a road win over a ranked opponent. Improving on the fundamentals is needed either way. So, too, will be the continued improvement of the bench. A deep rotation was hyped in the offseason. And now it's time to put those players to the test.
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