Tag: Derrick Alston

UNLV Takes Care Of Business At Home in 76-66 Win Over Boise State

Game Recap: UNLV 76, Boise State 66 Amauri Hardy and Bryce Hamilton combine for over half of UNLV’s offense in Wednesday night’s win. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Rebel duo leads UNLV over Boise State in late night win at home. Las Vegas, …

[jwplayer TtpJIvlc-sNi3MVSU]

Game Recap: UNLV 76, Boise State 66

Amauri Hardy and Bryce Hamilton combine for over half of UNLV’s offense in Wednesday night’s win.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Rebel duo leads UNLV over Boise State in late night win at home. 

Las Vegas, NV–The Runnin’ Rebels played host to the Boise State Broncos in a late Wednesday night game in the Thomas and Mack Center. And in preparation for the Mountain West Conference tournament, they started a home winning streak last night (2 strong) that they hope to continue into next week, with a ten-point win over Boise State.

The Bronco’s struggled to knock down shots early on and found themselves with a twelve point deficit going into the half down 24-34. Senior Justinian Jessup continued his strong shooting from deep and led the team in scoring with 19 points, but even he himself finished the night 5-12 from the field. The rest of the team combined to shoot 5-17 (29.4%) from deep and 15-52 (28.8%) from the field. Even leading scorer Derrick Alston Jr. had a poor night shooting but still finished the night with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Rounding it out was senior RJ Williams got his tenth double-double of the season on Wednesday night as he finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

UNLV looked like a methodical bunch all night, as the ball movement and player cuts were there in abundance from multiple players. Sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton had a great night shooting the ball, going 7-12 from the field and from a little bit of everywhere. And though the Runnin’ Rebels as a whole shot poorly from the free throw line (14-27 for 51.9%) Hamilton was able to convert on 6-10 FTs after effectively driving the lane and getting to the line continuously.

If we were giving out a Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde award to a Mountain West team this season, UNLV would sure be a nominee. They’re back to playing some of their best basketball of the season with a deadly quartet of guards ready to make an impact in the conference tournament. Alongside Hamilton was junior guard Amauri Hardy who scored a team-high 24 points while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. The duo created a dangerous scoring attack all night that drew defensive attention while freeing up space for others to score.

Elijah Mitrou-Long contributed 16 points on 1-6 shooting from three but knocked down 7-14 from the field overall. And the last guard of that previously mentioned quartet is Marvin Coleman, who had Nick Blair start in his place on senior night, but managed to chip in five points and grab a team high 11 rebounds in his 29 minutes of play (he’s a 6-2 guard).

When head coach TJ Otzelberger has his guards playing smart basketball by penetrating and distributing the ball, they can win. Don’t let them settle for threes or jump shots because that is not their strength, take last night for example. The team as a whole finished 6-24 (25.0%) from deep and luckily realized early on that they weren’t going to fall and just continued to drive. Like most of the middle of the pack in the Mountain West, UNLV is dangerous.

And it looks like they have found a winning formula with missing starter Donnie Tillman out with what may be a season ending knee injury.

Up Next:

Boise State Broncos:

That’s a regular season wrap for the Broncos. Tonight’s loss was the last regular season game on Boise State’s schedule. For now, Leon Rice and company will take the weekend off, watch some conference match ups and see where they end for tournament seeding come March. 

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels:

Unlike the Broncos the Runnin’ Rebels have one more game on their slate this Saturday as the they head to the Provident Credit Union Event Center to take San Jose State. UNLV should leave with a win, and if they do they would solidify their lead over the Broncos in the final standings.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

[protected-iframe id=”09e6ca4e11e5838c3834d87c7b471ffb-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://anchor.fm/mwwire/embed” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Awards: Top Ten Mountain West Finalists

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Awards: Top Ten Mountain West Finalists Two Mountain West stars make the cut for college basketball’s best awards at their positions. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Derrick Alston Jr. makes the top …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Awards: Top Ten Mountain West Finalists

Two Mountain West stars make the cut for college basketball’s best awards at their positions. 

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Derrick Alston Jr. makes the top ten for Julius Erving Award and Malachi Flynn for Bob Cousy Award.

On February 4th the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced their top ten finalists for the 2020 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. The Mountain West had one player make the cut for each list as San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn is a top-10 finalist for the Bob Cousy Award and Boise State’s Derrick Alston Jr. is a top-10 finalist for the Julius Erving Award. 

Both players have been key to their team’s individual successes this season and join some of college basketball’s heavy hitters in the top ten. Malachi Flynn joins the list as one of only two players from a non-group of five team with Marquette guard Markus Howard also on the list. Flynn has been an instant impact player for San Diego State this year and is a big reason the Aztecs currently have an undefeated season, top-5 ranking and the potential for a number one seed in the big dance.

Last year’s winner, another mid-major product Ja Morant was an absolute force in college basketball last year but played for Murray State which wasn’t as well rounded as a team compared to the Aztecs and didn’t have as high of a profile as them either, San Diego State being undefeated at 25-0 and all. Flynn’s numbers aren’t as jaw dropping as Morant’s are either, when put side by side but as previously mentioned their individual situations are completely different.

Derrick Alston Jr. has led his Boise State Broncos to their current third place standing in the Mountain West with a team leading 18.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG. He was also leading the conference in scoring until a certain Wolf Pack member’s recent scoring outburst and has kept Boise State afloat as they’ve waited for mid season transfers to become eligible and others that have found more consistency in mid-February.

Last year’s Julius Erving Award winner was Rui Hachimura, whose situation may closely resemble more Malachi Flynn than Alston Jr. Hachimura’s numbers weren’t eye popping like Morant’s either, but not too many player’s were because he was Ja Morant. But he played on a dominant mid-major (yes I’ve heard the argument) powerhouse in Gonzaga (33-4, 16-0 1st in WCC & #1 seed in NCAA Tournament’s West Region) that sounds a lot like this year’s Aztec team. Hachimura was a solid leader for an uber competitive Bulldogs team. Alston Jr. has been consistent and scored in bunches and his case for further recognition will be based on his performance going forward.

Next, the Bob Cousy Award ten finalists

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Air Force vs. Boise State: Game Preview, TV & Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More

Air Force vs. Boise State: Game Preview The Broncos welcome Air Force to ExtraMile Arena Tuesday night with hopes of conference standing ascension. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Boise State looks to avenge seven-point loss to Air Force …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Air Force vs. Boise State: Game Preview

The Broncos welcome Air Force to ExtraMile Arena Tuesday night with hopes of conference standing ascension. 

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Boise State looks to avenge seven-point loss to Air Force last month with their home court advantage as added element. 

WHO: Air Force Falcons (9-15, 3-9 Mountain West) At Boise State Broncos (16-9, 8-5 Mountain West)

WHEN: Wednesday, February 11th—8:00 PM PST/7:00 PM MST/9:00 PM EST

WHERE: ExtraMile Arena, Boise, ID

TV: AT&T Sports Network 

STREAM: Get a free trial through FuboTV

RADIO: Tunein

SERIES RECORD: Boise State leads all-time series 12-6 

PREVIEW: 

After suffering a seven-point loss to the Falcons a little under a month ago in Clune Arena the Broncos are looking to improve their 11-1 record at home, reach second place (no matter who else is there with them) and get some revenge on Tuesday night in ExtraMile Arena. Boise State like everyone situated in 2nd-5th place in the conference at the moment is looking for a win tonight. Aside from the juggernaut season San Diego State is currently having everyone else has been handing out losses and taking them right back.

The Stakes,

Boise State is in a current three-way tie for third place with Colorado State and Utah State (who face off tonight in another important match up to keep an eye on). And the race for a top seed in the conference tournament will take a couple of turns tonight as the winner of the Rams vs. Aggies matchup dictates a lot. If Colorado State wins they keep sole possession of second place and give Boise State sole possession of third (for now). But an Aggie win creates a two-way tie for second place, knocking the Rams to third place just ahead of Nevada.

Air Force is playing for a better seed in the conference tournament at this point with the hopes of making a deep tournament run to make the big dance. The Falcons are currently sitting in two-way tie for seventh place with the Spartans of San Jose State.

Air Force

Air Force has been exactly the sort of team we usually expect them to be each year and have dished out some upsets and challenged teams at times this season. But in true Air Force fashion has also struggled at times with scoring consistency and defense (refer to their Feb. 4th box score against Nevada for further explanation). But when they’re knocking down shots they are one of the most dangerous teams in the Mountain West (refer to their Jan. 7th box score against Utah State for further explanation).

Lavelle Scottie has played well for the Falcons as of late (15.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG in his last five games). And the possible emergence of junior guard Christopher Joyce who had 23 points against San Diego State on Saturday on 5/8 shooting from deep may be just what this Air Force team needs to break a six game losing streak. Which began after their win over the Broncos last month, and what a better way to break it than with a regular season sweep of Boise State in the process.

Boise State

The Broncos have had a bit of trouble getting solid production from leading scorer Derrick Alston Jr. of late, as the 6-9 guard averaged 4.5 PPG, 1.5 APG and 2.0 RPG in two games last week. Justinian Jessup has stepped in up his absence along with fellow senior guard Alex Hobbs with big performances in a win over Wyoming on Tuesday night and a tough loss on the road against Utah State on Saturday. It’s been hard to predict a leading scorer for the Broncos recently, with five different players taking that honor over their last ten games. But Leon Rice’s crew were just enjoying a five game winning streak just last Tuesday and could use a win before they host San Diego State this Sunday at home for what could be the Aztec’s first loss of the season.

Some history, 

Aside the fact both schools are only about three and half hours away from each other by plane, these two squads have only met on the court eighteen times in their short history. A twenty year gap between their first matchup on Dec. 27th, 1991 and their next one on Jan. 14th, 2012 in Boise State’s inaugural season in the Mountain West conference.

The last time these two met back on Jan. 15th of this year, Ryan Swan scored 17 points scoring his 1000th career point in the process, becoming the 27th Falcon to do so.

Matchup of the night: Down Low

F RJ Williams Boise State vs. F Ryan Swan Air Force

The Stats: Williams (1.4 PPG, 8.0 PRG & 1.0 SPG) & Swan (12.8  PPG, 4.5 RPG & 1.8 APG)

Both are coming off of some of their worst performances of the season against San Diego State and Utah State respectfully, but both should have an impact in tonight’s Mountain West presentation of the NBA’s “small ball”. Both struggled against bigger opponents last week but both stand at 6-7 with Swan winning the weight portion of the contest and Williams winning for best motor.

Williams is at his best when he’s down low getting second chance boards and receiving assists from driving teammates. Swan gets his buckets when he’s knocking down mid-range jumpers or getting to the line, look for him to drive against a smaller Bronco frontcourt tonight.

Prediction: Boise State 80, Air force 70

This one will come down to how hot the Falcons can get tonight on the road and whether or not the Broncos can get hotter. The home record speaks for itself, and the Broncos are as dangerous as anyone in the conference when playing in ExtraMile Arena where they have averaged 84.5 PPG over the twelve games played their this season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]

Aggies fight off another Boise St. comeback to win 70-61 at home

Utah State won 70-61 at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday night, beating Boise State to pull even in the Mountain West standings.

[jwplayer 9FEfL71c]

Game Recap: Utah State 70, Boise State 61

Aggies pull into three-way tie for 3rd place with BSU, Nevada

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

Utah State bent but never broke as they evened the season series with Boise State on Saturday.

Utah State got revenge against their neighbors to the north, beating Boise State 70-61 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday. While the Aggies led for nearly the entire game, the Broncos didn’t allow themselves to be put away for good until the final minute. The win pulls Utah State up into a three-way tie for third place with Boise State and Nevada.

The Aggies (19-7, 8-5 MWC) led by as many as 12 points during the second half, but they also let the Broncos stay within reach for the duration of the game. The deficit shrunk to as small as a single point after Riley Abercrombie’s field goal with just over a minute remaining.

But on the ensuing possession, the Aussie freshman was charged with a flagrant foul after pulling down Utah State’s Neemias Queta on a shot attempt.

The decision from the referees meant that the Aggies retained the ball after Queta made both free throws, and fellow USU star Sam Merrill added two more on the bonus possession. The Broncos were unable to score another point, as Utah State ended the game on an 8-0 run.

Queta led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, adding five rebounds and five blocks. Merrill contributed 17 points and four assists. Diogo Brito had 11 ponts and seven rebounds for the Aggies, while Justin Bean had 16 rebounds to go along with seven points.

Despite getting the win, Utah State will not be happy with their three-point shooting performance. They finished the game just 2-for-19 from beyond the arc, barely eclipsing the 10% mark. For a team with multiple sharpshooters, this kind of inefficiency simply does not compute.

They were bailed out in this instance, by a Boise State team that didn’t fare much better from three-point land. The Broncos went 6-for-29 from deep, good for just 20.7% on the night.

Senior guard Justinian Jessup was the only Boise State player to hit multiple threes, knocking down a trio of triples to extend his newly-earned Mountain West record for career threes made to 301. He is the first player in league history to surpass the threshold.

Jessup led Boise State (16-9, 8-5 MWC) with 20 points. Alex Hobbs had a second-straight impressive offensive showing, putting up 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. After scoring a career-high 24 points off the bench against Wyoming earlier this week, Hobbs got the start in place of Abu Kigab, who sat out of Saturday’s game with a hip injury.

Derrick Alston Jr.’s struggles this week continued through the weekend. The junior went 0-for-7 and scored just two points against the Cowboys on Tuesday. His box score improved on Saturday, but he still managed only seven points on 2-of-8 from the floor.

Abercrombie was forced into extra action against the Aggies after RJ Williams and Robin Jorch both fouled out. Though he did have some success on the interior, Abercrombie was 0-for-5 from beyond the arc—and also committed the ill-timed flagrant foul near the end of the game.

UP NEXT

Utah State’s next matchup is a Tuesday showdown on the road against Colorado State (17-8, 8-4 MWC). Now that the Aggies have climbed back into third place in the Mountain West, only the Rams stand between them and San Diego State. A win in Fort Collins would give Utah State at least a share of second place in the league. It would also position the Aggies to hold firm in that position, with their final four games all coming against teams in the bottom half of the conference.

Boise State heads home to host Air Force (9-15, 3-9 MWC). The Falcons were the latest team to put a scare into San Diego State but were unable to seal the deal at Clune Arena. Dave Pilipovich’s team has been disappointing compared to preseason projections, but they are always capable of surprising an unsuspecting team. If the Broncos want to keep pace in the MW for second or third place, they cannot afford to overlook this midweek tussle, especially with a Sunday tilt with SDSU looming.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Thirteen

Who is in the running for Player of the Year? Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Thirteen Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire The streak continues and Flynn garners first place for the second straight week. The …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Who is in the running for Player of the Year?

Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Thirteen

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

The streak continues and Flynn garners first place for the second straight week. 

The staff at the Mountain West Wire wanted to do something a little different this year. We are going to keep track of the top performers from teams around the Mountain West throughout the year and vote on who had the best performances that week. 

How it works description now at the bottom of the article

The order for the thirteenth week is as follows:

1. Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (5 Points)

27 Points, 6 Rebounds and 3 Assists against San Jose State

24 Points, 6 Rebounds and 2 Steals against Nevada

Alston Jr. returns to the top of our top-five this week, earning his second first-place finish of the season and making his 5th appearance in our weekly rankings so far. This week’s honor gives him 19 points in total, which has him in second place overall behind Malachi Flynn with 27 points total, and just ahead of Jalen Harris with 18 points total.

By all means, Alston Jr. has had an all-MWC caliber season thus far, leading the conference in scoring until just this past week when a couple of thirty-point performances gave Jalen Harris the lead heading into February. Boise State is also tied for second place with Colorado State and is riding a four-game winning streak, beating teams by an average of 19.9 PPG in that span. Alston Jr. is leading a team that is showing a real spark going into February, and besides leading the team in scoring also leads the team in assists with 3.2 a game.

The Bronco’s future slate of games is tough, with a good mixture of teams from the top and bottom half of the conference standings. They face Utah State (Feb. 8th) at Logan, San Diego State (Feb. 16th) at home and UNLV to finish the regular season (Feb. 26th) in Las Vegas.

The rest of their schedule looks very winnable, especially given how they have played as of late. Plus factor in previous wins against the Aggies and Runnin’ Rebels, and the Broncos should be very confident with the conference tournament in mind.

The only thing that should be keeping Bronco fans up at night is the no. 4 ranked Aztecs, a win against San Diego State at home would go a long way for this team and continuously strong play from their leader will be in demand to make that happen.

2. Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (4 Points):

31 Points, 5 Rebounds and 7 Assists against Colorado State

30 Points, 6 Rebounds and 2 Assists against Boise State

3. Nico Carvacho, senior center Colorado State (3 Points):

16 Points, 15 Rebounds and 3 Assists against Nevada

16 Points, 11 Rebounds and 1 Block against UNLV

4. Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (2 Points):

12 Points, 6 Rebounds and 4 Assists against Nevada

21 Points, 5 Assists and 5 Rebounds against UNLV

5. Matt Mitchell, junior forward San Diego State (1 Point):

28 Points, 4 Rebounds and 1 Steal against Utah State

12 Points, 5 Assists and 1 Block against New Mexico

Past Weeks:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3| Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9| Week 10|Week 11| Week 12

Current Overall Point Totals:

Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (27 Points)

Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (19 Points)

Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (18 Points)

JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (15 Points)

Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (15 Points)

Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (10 Points)

Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (9 Points)

Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (9 Points)

Hunter Maldonado, sophomore guard Wyoming (7 Points)

Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (6 Points)

Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (5 Points)

Carlton Bragg Jr., senior forward New Mexico (5 Points)

Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)

Justinian Jessup, senior guard Boise State (5 Points)

Seneca Knight, sophomore guard San Jose State (5 Points)

Justin Bean, sophomore forward USU (4 Points)

Marvin Coleman, sophomore guard UNLV (4 Points)

Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (4 Points)

Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (4 Points)

David Roddy, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)

Roderick “RJ” Williams, senior forward Boise State (3 Points)

Corey Manigault, senior forward New Mexico (2 Points)

Jordan Schakel, junior guard SDSU (2 Points)

Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points)

Abu Kigab, junior forward Boise State (1 Point)

Zane Martin, junior guard UNM (1 Point)

Matt Mitchell, junior forward San Diego State (1 Point)

Ryan Swan, senior center Air Force (1 Point)

Yanni Wetzell, senior forward San Diego State (1 Point)

How It Works: 

Each person will award 15 points in total to five players and should award it as so:

1st place (Player of the week): 5 pts

2nd place: 4 pts

3rd place: 3 pts

4th place: 2 pts

5th place: 1 pt

The player with the most points total will be our player of the week and we will keep track of the point totals every week so that the player who has the most at the end of the year will receive the Mountain West Wire Player of the Year award. Just copy the players below and type your names above it like we do for the pick them docs we get and award your points. 

Now some guys made the list and others didn’t. A big thing to think about was consistency throughout the week. Something that hurt some guys was having a decent game one day and a bad one the other day. Guys who made the list had a great game one day and a good one on other days, or good games both days.

This column will come out on Sunday nights or Monday mornings depending on how late some games finish on Sundays. 

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

Boise State Gets Up Early, Holds On Late for 73-64 Win over Nevada

Game Recap: Boise St. 73, Nevada 64 Justinian Jessup ties Jimmer Fredette for MW 3-point record Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire Nevada’s furious comeback attempt comes up short in Boise Following a 73-64 home victory over Nevada, Boise …

[jwplayer 9FEfL71c]

Game Recap: Boise St. 73, Nevada 64

Justinian Jessup ties Jimmer Fredette for MW 3-point record

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

Nevada’s furious comeback attempt comes up short in Boise

Following a 73-64 home victory over Nevada, Boise State has moved into a second-place tie in the Mountain West with Colorado State. The Broncos improved to 7-4 in league play, prevailing at ExtraMile Arena behind 24 points from junior guard Derrick Alston, Jr.

Justinian Jessup added 17 points for the Broncos and added a special individual honor in the process.

The loss drops Nevada (13-10, 6-5 MW) into a share of fifth place with Utah State, as the Aggies fell to undefeated San Diego State on Saturday. The Wolf Pack were gifted another memorable offensive performance from Jalen Harris, who dropped 30 points for the third time this season.

Unfortunately for Harris, the rest of the Pack barely managed to outscore him. No other Nevada player reached double digits in scoring.

Nevada’s chances in this contest took a major blow when senior guard Jazz Johnson was announced as a late scratch due to injury. Without Johnson, the team struggled from beyond the arc and were unable to recover from a 32-10 Boise State run to start the game.

The Broncos (15-8, 7-4 MW) proceeded to give back most of that lead, letting Nevada creep back into the game slowly throughout the middle twenty minutes of the contest. With 10:57 to play, a Lindsey Drew layup brought the deficit to just three points, at 48-45.

But Alston, Jessup, and company would not allow the Wolf Pack to bring the game level. The deficit ebbed and flowed over the last few minutes, with Nevada coming within four points of Boise State after a Drew three-pointer with 4:37 left in the second half.

Jessup answered that triple with one of his own—and it was a special one, at that.

The senior’s three-pointer with 4:13 to play was the 296th of his illustrious career in Boise. That number ties the Mountain West record set by former BYU star Jimmer Fredette. Jessup missed his only subsequent attempt from beyond the arc, so Fredette will hold onto at least a share of the record for at least a few more nights.

That record will almost certainly soon be Jessup’s alone.

More important than any individual accolades, however, is how this Boise State team has bounced back from a somewhat shaky start to the season. The additions of Abu Kigab and RayJ Dennis into the starting lineup has provided a spark to Leon Rice’s lineups, and questions about the Broncos’ depth have been answered satisfactorily over the past few games.

For Nevada, this is another disappointing result on the week, following a heartbreaking defeat on Wednesday against Colorado State. Certainly, the absence of Jazz Johnson can explain away some part of this loss to Boise State, but the Wolf Pack have made an unfortunate habit of squandering chances to separate themselves in this league.

Instead, they now slip back in the standings and enter a dangerous zone in which a first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament is suddenly at risk. The top five schools in the league receive a bye in the first round of the conference tournament.

Still, Nevada faced the difficult task of facing two teams on a positive streak in enemy territory.

Despite taking two losses in rapid succession, the Wolf Pack still boast arguably the best offensive player in the league in Harris. If Johnson returns quickly, and he can join with Drew and Nisre Zouzoua to lend Harris some scoring support, Nevada should be able to stay in the top five.

For Boise State, besides moving up in the Mountain West leaderboard, the win provided some catharsis following an 83-66 loss to Wolf Pack in Reno.

UP NEXT

Boise State travels to Laramie on Tuesday night to face last-place Wyoming (6-17, 1-10 MW). The Cowboys just picked up their first win of the Mountain West season as they snapped an eight-game losing streak with a road victory over San Jose State. The Broncos should hold an advantage over Allen Edwards’ club, but the unfriendly confines of Arena-Auditorium could prove a difficult backdrop for an easy win. Boise State won the first matchup between the schools this season, coming away with a 65-54 victory at home back on New Year’s Day.

Nevada returns home to Lawlor Events Center as Air Force (9-13, 3-7 MW) comes to town on Tuesday night. Just a few weeks ago, the Falcons were feeling good after knocking off Utah State and Boise State over a three-game span. More recently, however, Dave Pilipovich’s squad has sputtered to a four-game losing streak that includes defeats against Fresno State and San Jose State. Still, this team boasts an offense that has the capacity to hang around with Nevada. That was on full display back on December 7, when Nevada cruised to a 100-85 victory in Colorado Springs.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

Nevada vs. Boise State: Game Preview, TV & Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More

Boise State vs. Nevada: Game Preview Ascension in the conference standings is up for grabs on Saturday. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Both teams need a win to help break the four-way tie for third place. WHO: Boise State Broncos (14-8, 6-4 …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Boise State vs. Nevada: Game Preview

Ascension in the conference standings is up for grabs on Saturday.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Both teams need a win to help break the four-way tie for third place.

WHO: Boise State Broncos (14-8, 6-4 Mountain West) At Nevada Wolf Pack (13-9, 6-4 Mountain West)

WHEN: Saturday, February 1st—10:00 PM EST/8:00 PM MST/7:00 PM PST

WHERE: ExtraMile Arena-Boise, ID

TV: ESPNU

STREAM: Get a free trial through FuboTV

RADIO: Tunein

SERIES RECORD: Nevada leads all-time series 48-27

PREVIEW: There is a lot on the line come Saturday night around the Mountain West as really places 2-10 will look very different come Sunday morning. There has been a certain level of parity around the league so far this season, as outside of San Diego State’s claim to the number one spot everyone else could finish literally anywhere this season.

Four example there is a four-way tie for third place that includes the two teams mentioned in this preview, along with Colorado State and Utah State. But whoever comes away with the loss Saturday night will get bumped out of the race for third and join some other weird tie after that. Then there is UNLV who is riding a two-game losing streak and looking for a win on the road Saturday night against Colorado State. So if UNLV happens to lose that game they will loose that second place positioning and be behind another possible three-way tie. But a win for the Rebel’s means a loss for the Rams who would then join in a two-way tie with the loser of the Boise State-Nevada game and possibly a three-way tie if New Mexico breaks their losing streak on the road against Fresno State. Not to mention the possibility of a four-way tie for fourth if Utah State loses to the Aztecs (which is highly likely), or the possibility that everyone who is currently tied for third place loses except for the one person winning in Boise, which would result in a sole third-place finish for (insert winner from Bronco-Wolf Pack game here).

Confused yet? Yeah, I am too.

Point being, there is a lot at stake around the Mountain West over the weekend and these longtime conference mates should make things interesting for fans in ExtraMile Arena.

Both teams are playing some of their best basketball of the season at the onset of February with Boise State riding a three-game winning streak beating teams by an average of 22.3 points a game. While Nevada beat in-state rivals UNLV at home last Wednesday by 14-points, tied a school record 17 threes against New Mexico and is averaging 91 points a game in their last three contests.

And while both teams have struggled on the road this season they have in turn enjoyed great success at home, with Nevada posting a 9-2 record at the Lawlor Events Center and with Boise State garnering a 10-1 record at Taco B…..oops ExtraMile Arena. This bit of information doesn’t really favor the Wolf Pack as the visiting team but nothing gives a team momentum like a high powered road win late in the year.

The players to watch in this one should be the leading scorers of each team as Derrick Alston Jr. and Jalen Harris should both see all-conference accolades at the end of the season. But don’t leave the supporting cast out as Lindsey Drew has overtaken Harris as the leading rebounder (6.3 a game) and assist man (4.4 a game) while rounding out his triple-threat stat sheet status leading the team in steals with 1.3 a game. And for the Broncos  watch out for Justinian Jessup who is chasing the all-time Mountain West three-point field goal leader Jimmer Fredette with 294 career triples, just two shy  of Fredette’s 296 and on the verge of reaching the 300th made triple mark (first in conference history)

Fun Note, 

In the search for an all-time winning total for this series I discovered a shared conference between the two teams dating back to the late 1970’s with the introduction of the Wolf Pack to the Big Sky for the 1979-1980 season after their exit from the West Coast Athletic Conference (Now the WCC).

Shared conferences between the Broncos and Wolf Pack over the years:

Big Sky: 1979-1992

Big West: 1996-2000

WAC: 2001-2011

Mountain West: 2012-Current

Prediction: Nevada 78, Boise State 74

The Wolf Pack won the last meeting they had with Boise State back at home in Reno on Jan. 4th, where with the help of 34 points from a red hot Jazz Johnson Nevada won 83-66. This is going to come down which team has the hotter hand, as each team has a big four scoring for them as of late (Wolf Pack-Harris, Johnson, Drew and Zouzoua vs. Broncos-Alston Jr., Jessup, Williams and Kigab) and should exchange baskets all night. Or a surprise element would be a stronger defensive performance as both teams have really just focused on outscoring their opponents as of late and an influx of turnovers could be the difference. I still think this one will be a close one and keep that 78-74 Wolf Pack win above as my prediction. The Wolf Pack have also won the last eight meetings between the two and would hate to break that streak in need of a win tonight.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]

Boise State Looks to Extend Home Streak against Pesky Spartans

Boise State men’s basketball hosts San Jose State on Wednesday night at ExtraMile Arena. The game tips off at 7:00 PM Mountain.

[jwplayer 9FEfL71c]

San Jose State at Boise State: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Both teams have already surpassed last year’s win totals

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

Can the Spartans sneak up on the Broncos in Boise?

GAME DETAILS

WHO: San Jose State (7-14, 3-6 MWC) at Boise State (13-8, 5-4 MWC)

WHEN: Wednesday, January 29 — 7:00 P.M. MT / 6:00 P.M. PT

WHERE: ExtraMile Arena, Boise, ID

WATCH: Mountain West Network

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME: Boise State leads the series, 32-3

ODDS: Boise State -16, per KenPom

GAME PREVIEW

Boise State returns to ExtraMile Arena on Wednesday night as they take on San Jose State. The Broncos have a chance to move into a third-place tie in the Mountain West, but these Spartans are not the same pushovers they were a year ago. The game tips off at 7:00 PM Mountain Time and will be shown on the Mountain West Network.

The Broncos (13-8, 5-4 MW) will be intent on extending a burgeoning winning streak, which so far features victories over Utah State and Fresno State on consecutive Saturdays. It may have taken a miracle for Boise State to escape with a win over the Aggies, but their defeat of the Bulldogs was as sound as they come. The Broncos coasted to a 34-point victory in Fresno four days ago.

The team has seemingly turned a corner in the second half of the season, thanks in part to the addition of transfer forward Abu Kigab. The former Oregon Duck is averaging 14.4 points per game and more than four rebounds nightly, having started in all eleven of his appearances since joining the active roster in December.

Kigab joins teammates Derrick Alston, Justinian Jessup, and RJ Williams as double-digit scorers. Alston, a 6’8” junior with pro potential, leads the charge with better than 19 points per game. The sharpshooting Jessup has regained his form after an early season slump, shooting 45% on three-pointers during conference play, and scores 15 points an outing.

Williams, in particular, has been a very important piece for the Broncos. He was thrust into the starting lineup at the start of this season after serving almost exclusively as a sixth man during his time on Leon Rice’s bench in 2018-19. Though he seemed somewhat miscast as the center, standing at just 6’7”, Williams responded by becoming one of the most tenacious defensive rebounders in the country. He has shown continued development with his offensive game, posting nearly 12 points per game.

The arrival of Kigab has allowed Williams to slide back into his old role—and the results have been enouraging.

And while this team has had its fair share of issues on the road, ExtraMile has been something of a safe haven for the Broncos.

All four of Boise State’s conference losses have come in enemy territory. In fairness, those games have been at The Pit, Viejas Arena, Lawlor Events Center, and Clune Arena. None of those venues are exactly welcoming. But the Broncos haven’t lost a home game since a November 15 upset at the hands of UC Irvine.

The Broncos will try to keep their eight-game home winning streak alive on Wednesday, but another Californian team could sneak up on them.

It may not be instantly obvious looking at the standings, but head coach Jean Prioleau has architected a quiet turnaround for San Jose State this season. Before judging this team solely on its 7-14 record, consider that the Spartans won just four games a year ago. They already have three victories in league play alone in 2019-20, including wins over Nevada and New Mexico.

The third member of that trio of wins came in their most recent contest, when they hosted Air Force. The Spartans prevailed 90-81 at home against the Falcons, with Seneca Knight turning in another 20-point performance.

It was the sophomore’s fifth such effort this season, and his fourth in the past five games. Knight is averaging nearly 18 points and seven rebounds in Mountain West games and will be at the center of Prioleau’s program for the foreseeable future.

For the program to find any sustained success, however, Knight needs more support from the cast of players around him.

Senior guard Brae Ivey has been a serviceable game manager in the backcourt, averaging nearly ten points and three assists, while playing solid defense (1.2 steals per game) and limiting his turnovers (1.5 per game). But Ivey isn’t best suited as the second option in this offense.

Ideally, that person would be Richard Washington, Jr. The JUCO sniper was brought over after a successful stint at Tallahassee CC and was thought to be the offensive weapon that Prioleau’s team needed behind Knight.

Unfortunately, the returns haven’t been exactly as hoped, with Washington struggling with his shot at the Division I level. The junior is shooting just 36% from the field, a number weighed down by a pedestrian 32% clip from beyond the arc.

Still, Washington has the talent to get hot on any given night. If he and Knight can coordinate their efforts, they could pose a serious threat for a Boise State team that would do well not to look past this matchup in advance of their date with Nevada on Saturday.

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

Boise State Heads Home With Another Convincing Victory Topping Fresno State, 87-53

Game Recap: Boise State 87, Fresno State 53 Kigab leads a hot shooting Boise State over Fresno State on the road. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire The Broncos continue dominant play with a win over the Bulldogs. It was a tale of two standings …

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Game Recap: Boise State 87, Fresno State 53

Kigab leads a hot shooting Boise State over Fresno State on the road.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

The Broncos continue dominant play with a win over the Bulldogs.

It was a tale of two standings on Saturday evening, as Fresno State 6-13 (2-6) attempted the upset of Boise State 12-8 (4-4) at home in the Save Mart Center.

Both teams went into Saturday’s game in ties in the conference standings as Boise State was in a two-way tie for fourth with Utah State and Fresno State in a two-way tie of it’s own with San Jose State for sixth.Those current finishes are a bit malleable at this point of the season with a lot of teams hovering just around .500 with a lot of play to go in conference.

And while the Broncos needed a win to help stay in the top half of the Mountain West conference standings, the Bulldogs needed one to help them begin a climb out of the conference’s basement.

The Broncos had a lot to prove going back on the road after a brief stop back in Boise more than a week ago against Utah State where they pulled off an amazing 18 point comeback with a little over four minutes left in regulation to seal the win overtime against the Aggies.

It’s a win that gave the program momentum in their seven day break that followed but Boise State hasn’t exactly fared well on the road with a 1-6 away record versus a 9-1 at home.

The Broncos played well on both sides of the ball, keeping the Bulldogs to under 60 points and playing the way they needed to on the road with a 34-point win over Fresno State with four of their five starters scoring 14 points or higher. Boise State is as good as any when Derrick Alston Jr. and Justinian Jessup get some help from their teammates.

When that happens plus flat out good looking basketball like they played tonight, watch out. Junior forward Abu Kigab who joined this Bronco squad mid season after transferring over from Oregon last year has been just the contributor they’ve needed to make them the dominant team we saw tonight. The St. Catherines, ON native had 23 points on the night, looking comfortable picking apart the Bulldogs defense and creating motion in the Bronco’s offense that got others involved as well.

Jessup ended the night with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 5/10 shooting from beyond the arc, playing a whopping 37 minutes for Leon Rice and company.

Fresno State heads on the road next week after suffering two straight losses while struggling to find consistency with a roster that looks a lot different then last’s years. The home team struggled as a whole shooting 37% from the field and just 25% from three.

Senior guard Noah Blackwell was the only Bulldog in double-figures on the night with 14 points. They also struggled with ball security with a turnover ratio of 0.22 and only 4 assists the entire game. As previously mentioned this is a bit of a rebuilding year in Fresno but with talented freshman with loads of potential (two examples below), fans shouldn’t get down on the program just yet and maybe just wait games like this out.

Up Next, 

Boise State:

The Broncos stay home on Wednesday as they welcome San Jose State at into Extramile Arena at 7:00 PM MT. The Spartans have had a flair for upsets this season and look at the Broncos as just another potential number in their win column.

Fresno State:

Next week takes Fresno State on the road once again as the Bulldogs head back to Colorado to take on the Air Force Academy on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. The Falcons are dangerous at home in Clune Arena and are 6-4 there this season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

[protected-iframe id=”09e6ca4e11e5838c3834d87c7b471ffb-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://anchor.fm/mwwire/embed” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]