Okay, technicalities show it's a tie with the Utah State Aggies. And sure, the Aggies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos. But for fans of Boise State, top of the Mountain West Conference is where many hoped the team would be halfway through conference play.
And Boise State (16-6, 7-2) is coming off one of their best games of the season, providing even more hope in obtaining a conference title and marching towards a third-straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
Boise State tipped off the right way last week, defeating the ranked New Mexico Lobos 86-78 to pick up a huge win at The Pit.
Thanks, in large part to the resurgence of Max Rice.
Rice had struggled in recent weeks and, true to form, he shrugged off the cold-snap and criticism to deliver a career-high 35 points. He did so by knocking down seven three-pointers, quieting a crowd who let Rice have it after an early air ball. A productive game from Omar Stanley (12 points, 14 rebounds) also did wonders, along with coaching adjustments, both in-game and prior.
Head coach Leon Rice and staff placed faith in Tyson Degenhart to bring the ball up the court, taking away some of that pressure delivered by New Mexico guards. Though Roddie Anderson III and Jace Whiting are improving, handling pressure is something both have struggled with at times this season.
A 1-3-1 defense in the last few minutes of the game was a nice touch, forcing errant shots and turnovers by the Lobos. So, too, was an emphasis on pump fakes on offense, something that I noticed carried over to the Air Force game on Saturday.
Coming home on short rest, with Air Force always dangerous no matter their record, gave some concern. A back-and-forth game early also didn't help matters but Boise State never looked back after a 16-0 run to close the first half.
All five starters scored in double digits in the 94-56 victory. Tyson Degenhart had 29 points on 11-12 shooting and the Broncos shot 60 percent from the field (15-27 from deep).
Overall, the week was nearly perfect. Boise State shot the ball better, from the field and free throw line (32-39). The bench saw extended minutes in both games and will be even deeper if Kobe Young can contribute, even if it's 3-4 minutes to give others a blow. All will be needed to help alleviate a starting lineup racking up minutes by the handful.
Boise State: Stat leaders
Defense has often carried the Broncos much of the season, holding teams to only 30 percent from three-point range (and 43.1 percent from the field). On offense, however, the Broncos have had their highlights, and this week hopefully unlocked their true potential. It's not like they've been bad, averaging 75.5 points per game and shooting 45.6 percent. It's simply more flow is needed at times.
Degenhart remains the leading scorer at 15.7 points per game. The junior has five conference games with 20+ points but also has two recent games where he was held under 10 points. In those games, Degenhart was held to 3-16 shooting.
A lot is asked of Degenhart, who also averages 5.4 rebounds and is shooting 50.5 percent from the field. He's a leader and does a lot of little things that often don't pop up in the box score.
Receiving help is a must, and so far it has arrived in three other starters averaging over 10 points. The most consistent is Chibuzo Agbo (14.8 ppg), who has scored in double figures in every conference game this season. Agbo is connecting on 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts and it was nice to see him break from a cold snap of his own against Air Force.
Agbo went 4-6 from beyond the arc against the Falcons, whereas in his previous six games Agbo had been only 12-40.
Stanley's work should also not go without mention. This is a player who seems to improve every game and can take over the action without notice. He is averaging 13.1 and 6.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range. Stanley's last five games have seen him go 7-10 from deep and, during this same stretch, is averaging 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, plus 7 blocked shots.
Rice, averaging 12.5 points, brought his three-point percentage up to 35.5 (from 32.5) after going 11-21 this week. Thanks in part to a 35-point effort, Rice is averaging 19.3 points in the last four games.
Contributions have been coming from many over recent weeks. Anderson has 51 assists this season. In addition to hard-nosed defense, Anderson has seen an uptick in his offense, averaging 8.6 points in Boise State's last five games.
Plus, the bench has earned more minutes. Whiting is relieving Anderson for long spells, and doing well. And Cam Martin (56 assists, 4.8 rebounds) does a little bit of everything, evident against Air Force where he had four points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
Adding Young into the mix, along with Andrew Meadow, gives Boise State the needed depth so desperately missed in recent seasons. Whiting and Martin have been playing roughly 15-20 minutes per game as of late. Tossing in Meadow and Young for 5-10 minutes per game will go a long way in Boise State's pursuit of a Mountain West title.
Mountain West Conference
Boise State is back in a tie for first place thanks to the San Diego Aztecs defeating the Aggies by 14 points on Saturday.
The Broncos and Aggies are both 7-2, with the Lobos and Aztecs sitting at 6-3.
I still think the Aggies are due for a slump, though they are proving more and more each game they are for real. San Diego State is getting things back to good, it appears.
The Mountain West could very well still be a five-bid conference come NCAA tournament time. Along with the top four, Colorado State rounds things out. The trick is, however, with this conference, is that only 2.5 games separate the top eight teams. Things can turn on a dime in this league, though I think some separation is possible in the next week.
Boise State can take care of a little separation themselves with a big week on the road. Two tough tests await to start the second half of conference play. The first is on Tuesday (2/7) against Colorado State at 7 p.m.
The Rams picked up two wins last week, defeating the Aztecs by eight and winning by 12 over Fresno State. It's been a middling conference season of 5-4 for the Rams and they hope to avenge a 65-58 victory by Boise State in early January.
It will be the Broncos on the road to redemption when they face Utah State on 2/10. Utah State is 3-2 in their last five games but one of those victories was a 90-84 overtime win in Boise.
Utah State hosts Nevada before welcoming the Broncos to town.
The Mountain West remains one of the stronger conferences in the nation. For Boise State, there is work to be done to close conference play. But, with more efforts like the one displayed this last week, the Broncos will be regular season conference champions once again.
Comments