Tag: mountain west preview

Lobos host Air Force with eyes on staying in second place

New Mexico vs. Air Force: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More Lobos trying to keep share of 2nd place in the MW Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire New Mexico will look to tame the Falcons after Air Force’s big win earlier this …

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New Mexico vs. Air Force: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Lobos trying to keep share of 2nd place in the MW

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

New Mexico will look to tame the Falcons after Air Force’s big win earlier this week

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Air Force (8-8, 2-2 MWC) at New Mexico (14-3, 3-1 MWC)

WHEN: Saturday, January 11 — 4:00 P.M. MT / 3:00 P.M. PT

WHERE: DreamStyle Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico

WATCH: Stadium/Facebook

LISTEN: 96.3 KKOB; Listen Live

ALL-TIME: New Mexico leads the series, 60-23

ODDS: New Mexico -9, per KenPom

GAME PREVIEW

New Mexico will look to keep at least a share of second place in the Mountain West, as the Falcons of Air Force descend upon The Pit on Saturday.

The Lobos are 3-1 in league play so far, trailing only undefeated San Diego State and currently tied with Nevada and UNLV in the standings. Aside from the Aztecs, Paul Weir’s crew has the best overall record in the MW at 14-3, with their loss to San Jose State last week serving as the only defeat since their November 25 tilt with unbeaten Auburn.

New Mexico was back to their winning ways earlier this week, dispatching Fresno State with ease, 78-64. JaQuan Lyle has continued to look like a clear All-Mountain West talent, registering a double-double with 14 points and ten assists.

Even more encouraging for the Lobos is the recent explosion of Vance Jackson. He scored 29 points against the Bulldogs after posting 25 in the loss to the Spartans. Jackson has finished in double figures in five straight games after completing the feat just twice in the team’s first 11 contests.

Adding that extra scoring punch has come at a perfect time as Carlton Bragg makes his way back into the offense. The senior forward was averaging a double-double on the season before his suspension last month. After missing three games, Bragg returned against Fresno State but was ineffective, scoring just two points in 22 minutes on the floor.

But if Weir can get all of his pieces working at the same time, the Lobos may have an outside shot at sneaking into the Big Dance.

Air Force, meanwhile, has finally risen back to .500 after wiping the floor with Utah State on Tuesday. On the back of its stout offense, this Falcons team has started to turn things around after a disappointing 2-5 start to the year. Until the game against the Aggies, though, it wasn’t clear whether this team should be considered much of a threat in the Mountain West.

But Dave Pilipovich and the Falcons made their point.

Ryan Swan had a night to remember against Utah State, scoring a season-high 31 points and adding 11 rebounds. He has overtaken fellow senior Lavelle Scottie as the Falcons’ leading scorer on the season, with sophomore guard AJ Walker not far behind. The trio averages a combined 40 points per night, and both Swan and Walker are shooting over 50% on the year.

As a team, the Falcons have shot at one of the best clips in the country, posting an effective field goal percentage that ranks among the nation’s five best. That number is especially impressive when Scottie’s shooting woes are taken into account. The 6’7” senior was one of the league’s best shooters a year ago, but has struggled to the tune of 47% on two-pointers and 44% overall from the floor.

If he can get hot – and stay that way – Air Force could be a dangerous matchup for just about anyone in the Mountain West.

They’ll test that theory against the Lobos 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.

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Top-half teams clash as Nevada hosts Boise State

Nevada vs. Boise State: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More Wolf Pack looking to stay undefeated in MW play Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire High-powered offenses come head-to-head in the Biggest Little City in the World GAME …

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Nevada vs. Boise State: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Wolf Pack looking to stay undefeated in MW play

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

High-powered offenses come head-to-head in the Biggest Little City in the World

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Boise State (10-5, 2-1 MWC) at Nevada (9-5, 2-0 MWC)

WHEN: Saturday, January 4 — 4:00 P.M. MT / 3:00 P.M. PT

WHERE: Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV

WATCH: CBS Sports Network

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME: Nevada leads the series, 47-27

ODDS: Nevada -4, per KenPom

GAME NOTES

Two of the top teams in the Mountain West come together on Saturday when Nevada hosts Boise State as the second week of league play continues.

The Wolf Pack are one of three teams that remain undefeated in MWC play, along with San Diego State and UNLV. Steve Alford is off to a good start in Reno, and the team is coming off a win over Colorado State on Wednesday.

The victory moved the Pack to 2-0 in league play, but Saturday presents their toughest conference test to date.

Nevada doesn’t have a great shot at getting an NCAA Tournament bid, but if they turn in a top-3 performance in the Mountain West, those odds will improve. Boise State will also be competing for that spot.

The Broncos have been on a tear of late, as well, winning their past four games. Their most recent victory came on Wednesday when they beat Wyoming.

But Boise State will have to shake their travel woes in order to keep from falling to 2-2 in league play. The Broncos are just 1-3 in true road games this season, with their only win coming against Pacific after three overtimes.

Nevada, meanwhile, hasn’t lost in its past 13 Mountain West home games. That has to bode well.

GAME PLAN

On THE WOLF PACK’S POSSESSIONS…

As always, Alford will lean on his high-scoring guard trio of Jalen Harris, Jazz Johnson, and Lindsey Drew. Nisre Zouzoua’s offensive play has also earned him a very long look. This team likes to launch threes and they have been well-rewarded for their boldness, hitting nearly 38% of their shots from downtown. They won’t try to go to the rim too much with their bigs, but Harris is particularly skilled at scoring inside.

Nevada is very careful with the ball and Boise State doesn’t force many turnovers, so don’t expect the Wolf Pack to cough up possessions. But offensive rebounding continues to be a problem for the team. The team’s reliance on three-pointers leads to fewer free throws than the average team shoots, and the Broncos are a disciplined team in terms of fouling.

If Nevada wins the offensive battle, it will be because they are hitting from beyond the arc. If they struggle there, they could have serious issues keeping up with the Broncos.

ON THE BRONCOS’ POSSESSIONS…

Derrick Alston has looked great this season, but the game against Wyoming was about as bad as it gets for him. He shot 1-for-10 from the field and scored a season-low four points. That said, this was an aberration. Alston should be able to carry this offense against Nevada’s defense. But even if he can’t, Justinian Jessup and Abu Kigab appear to be up to the task of providing the scoring punch.

Like Nevada, the Broncos like to shoot threes, but they go inside much more often. Unfortunately, they don’t gather up offensive rebounds very well, outside of RJ Williams. They make up for a lack of second chances by making good use of their first chance. Boise State doesn’t turn the ball over very often, ranking among the 25 best schools in the country in this department. And if that wasn’t enough, Nevada is one of the worst in the country at forcing turnovers.

In order to keep up with a high-powered Nevada offense, Boise State needs Alston to get untracked so that they are firing at full bore.

GAME PREDICTION

Nevada 83, Boise State 79

This game has all the makings of an entertaining battle. Two offenses that can score in bunches. Two defenses that won’t fall on their face, but won’t slow things down too much, either. Ultimately, the biggest difference between the two is that Nevada is playing at home.

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.

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Boise State looking for fourth-straight win over struggling Wyoming

Mountain West play resumes as Boise State hosts Wyoming at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday night.

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Boise State vs. Wyoming: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

Broncos, Cowboys trending in different directions

Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

This game could solidify both teams’ place in the Mountain West hierarchy

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Boise State (9-5, 1-1 MWC) vs. Wyoming (5-9, 0-2 WCC)

WHEN: Wednesday, January 1 — 6:00 P.M. MT / 5:00 P.M. PT

WHERE: ExtraMile Arena, Boise, ID

WATCH: Mountain West Network on Stadium

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME: Boise State leads the series, 15-14

ODDS: Boise State -16, per KenPom

GAME NOTES

Mountain West play resumes for both teams in the New Year as the Broncos look to keep the celebration going into Wednesday night in Boise.

Leon Rice’s team has won three games in a row after losing to Georgia Tech in the opening round of the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii last week. After dropping their game to the Yellow Jackets, Boise State responded with strong showings against Portland, UTEP, and Cal State Northridge.

One reason for their recent success is the debut of Abu Kigab, who transferred to Boise State after starting his career at Oregon. The junior was hled out of competition during the fall semester, but Kigab didn’t take long to make a big impact. He scored 33 points against CSUN in the team’s latest game. The outburst was especially encouraging for a team that was in need of a bit of size and scoring punch.

Boise State is in a good groove as conference play gets back underway, but their opponents haven’t had such a leisurely stroll over the past few games.

Wyoming has fallen to 5-9 and will almost assuredly spend the season fighting with San Jose State for 10th place in the Mountain West. The Cowboys have won two straight, although one of those wins came against Nebraska Wesleyan of Division III. Before a December 21 win over Denver, Wyoming had lost six in a row.

Their overtime victory against the Pioneers may have snapped the streak, but the Cowboys still look they are playing at a different level than the rest of their Mountain West peers.

And not in a good way.

This game could help solidify both the Broncos’ place in the top half of the league and Wyoming’s place in the cellar.

GAME PLAN

On THE BRONCOS’ POSSESSIONS…

The Broncos can attack teams in a number of ways, but they are at their best when they are raining threes down on their opponents. They’ve mostly thawed out of a cold spell that plagued that at the start of the season, and Justinian Jessup is always a threat to get hot from outside. Derrick Alston is the team’s primary scorer, though, and is good as anyone in the league at getting points from all over the court.

Boise State – and Jessup, in particular – takes very good care of the ball, and it is one of the reasons that Leon Rice has stuck with Marcus Dickinson in his backcourt, despite the senior’s limitations as a scorer.

In the frontcourt, RJ Williams has delivered an asbolutely fantastic performance on the season. Though he is relatively undersized at 6’7”, the senior has been one of the best rebounders in the country and has turned heads with his never-ending motor on the offensive end.

The Cowboys have certainly been better on the defensive end than they have been on offense, but that is a low bar to clear. Their best trait on defense has been their rebounding, but the Broncos should still be able to grab a few off the glass for some easy put-backs. And with Wyoming forcing turnovers at one of the lowest rates in America, expect Boise State to have plenty of opportunities to score against this pedestrian defense.

ON THE COWBOYS’ POSSESSIONS…

Well, it’s a pretty simple formula for Allen Edwards’ club: give the ball to Hunter Maldonado and let him work. And run out a lot of clock in the meantime. The Cowboys play one of the slowest tempos in the country, clocking in just outside of the bottom 10 nationally in possessions per game.

For his part, Maldonado has had no shortage of opportunities to advertise his offensive skills, racking up usage rates well over 30%. The offense moves – slowly – through the sophomore. Hunter Thompson and Jake Hendricks are the only other Wyoming players to have taken more than 100 shots on the year.

But while this dearth of shots can be mostly explained away by the slow pace and the Maldonado-centric offense, Wyoming has cost themselves a number of opportunities – and they almost never get second chances.

The Cowboys are slightly below average in terms of ball security, but the Broncos aren’t particularly opportunistic, so that won’t be as much of a liability as the team’s abysmal offensive rebounding will be. No team in the country has struggled on the glass more than Wyoming, and they won’t have an easy time against a tenacious Boise State club.

GAME PREDICTION

BOISE STATE 72, WYOMING 60

The Broncos should win this one going away, but if their hot shooters head into an early hibernation, they could find themselves in trouble. Alston, Jessup, and Maldonado could all put up video game numbers in this one, but with the way Wyoming plays, don’t expect the score to climb into the 80s.

Regardless of the final margin, Boise State should be moving to 2-1 in league play, while the Cowboys slip to 0-3.

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.

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