Boise State at No. 22 Aztecs
Records:
Series history: SDSU leads 15-7 and has won four straight, including three last season. Boise State won at Viejas Arena in 2015 and 2016.
Broncos update: This is a team built in SDSU’s image, with long, athletic, versatile players and multiple offensive options. Derrick Alston Jr., a bouncy 6-9 guard, has lived up to his billing as Mountain West preseason player of the year (18.4 points, 43.4 percent 3FG in conference games). But he has plenty of help. The rotation goes nine deep, and seven players average at least 7.8 points. RayJ Dennis and Portland transfer Marcus Shaver both can be electric scorers. Oregon transfer Abu Kigab and two from Arizona (Emmanuel Akot and Devonaire Doutrive) provide athleticism. 6-10 Serbian Mladen Armus leads the conference in offensive rebounds (3.4 per game). The Broncos have struggled on the road, losing three of their last four. And they nearly got beat at home by San Jose State and UNLV. But they held their nerve in sweeping Utah State last week to set up the first vs. second showdown at Viejas Arena. One area where they might have an advantage is experience in close games, having played five decided by four points or fewer (and winning four). SDSU has played two, none since early January.
Aztecs update: This is their first game against someone with a NET ranking better than 187 since Jan. 16 at Utah State. Aguek Arop didn’t suit up for the first game at Fresno State because of his vertigo but played Saturday and has practice most of the week, although he’s still considered questionable because it can return at any moment. Lamont Butler has missed practice time this week with a calf injury and is iffy. The Aztecs have steadily climbed in all the major metrics since dropping into the mid-40s after being swept by Utah State. They are now 19 in Kenpom, 20 in ESPN’s BPI, 23 in NET and 24 in Sagarin. One metric, Bart Torvik’s T-rank, has them 12th. They’re also No. 22 in the AP media poll and returned to the USA Today coaches poll this week at No. 25. The series matches the Mountain West’s top scoring team (Boise State at 77.8 points) against its top defensive team (SDSU allows 59.8). Nationally, the Aztecs rank sixth in scoring defense, seventh in defensive field goal percentage (.390), 13th in turnover margin (plus-4.0) and 15th in 3-point accuracy (38.7 percent).
Boise State is 19-4, 14-3; SDSU is 17-4, 13-3
Next up: Boise State on Saturday (1 p.m., CBSSN)
Lightning 3, Hurricanes 0: Ross Colton scored in his NHL debut and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves in host Tampa Bay’s win.
Stars 3, Panthers 0: Anton Khudobin made 43 saves for his second shutout of the season, leading Dallas to a victory at Florida that ended its six-game winless streak.
Maple Leafs 2, Flames 1 (OT): William Nylander tied it with 1:28 left in regulation and scored 1:06 into overtime to give NHLleading Toronto a victory over visiting Calgary.
Flyers 4, Rangers 3: James van Riemsdyk and Shayne Gostisbehere each scored a power-play goal and Claude Giroux had three assists in his return from a COVID-19 absence to lead Philadelphia over visiting New York.
Coyotes 4, Ducks 3 (SO): Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak each scored in a shootout, and Arizona rallied from a three-goal deficit for the second straight game to beat visiting Anaheim.
Wild 6, Avalanche 2: Nico Sturm led a balanced Minnesota scoring attack with two goals, Kaapo Kahkonen was sharp in making 30 saves and the Wild earned their fourth straight win by beating host Colorado.
Kings 2, Blues 1: Dustin Brown and Andreas Athanasiou each scored second-period goals to help Los Angeles win at St. Louis.
Notable
The struggling Montreal Canadiens fired head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller on Wednesday following a three-game skid. Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme was appointed interim coach, and Alex Burrows was added to the Canadiens’ coaching staff.