No. 18 Aztecs at Boise State
Records: SDSU is 23-5, 14-2; Boise State is 22-7, 12-4
Series history: SDSU leads 18-10 but has lost three of the last four at ExtraMile Arena. The Aztecs won 72-52 at Viejas Arena on Feb. 3.
Aztecs update: They have already clinched at least a share of the Mountain West title and likely the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, no matter what happens in their final two games. Win either of them, and they’re outright champions. They won the first meeting with full-court pressure on freshman guard Jace Whiting, who started in place of injured Marcus Shaver Jr. (and had no points and four turnovers), and by winning the battle of the boards 36-28. Said Boise State coach Leon Rice: “The thing about their program is they have things they hang their hat on, and their defense and their rebounding are why they’ve won so many championships. It starts with that, because if you can’t answer the bell there, forget about everything else.” The Aztecs finally got Darrion Trammell untracked in the 73-71 win at New Mexico. He had 14 of his 18 points in the final 16 minutes, including 4 of 5 behind the arc. Lamont Butler was the hero, though, making a buzzer-beating 3 after the Lobos had pulled ahead by a point with six seconds left. “It was a ballsy shot at the end of the day,” said Shaver, who has hit several game-winners for Boise State. “I didn’t think he was going to pull up from 3. I respect it a lot.”
Broncos update: It’s big game not just because it’s Senior Night for Shaver, Naje Smith and Lukas Milner. They mathematically still can share the conference title but require wins in their last two games (SDSU and at Utah State) and an SDSU loss against Wyoming on Saturday at Viejas Arena. More pressing is not falling to the 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Broncos have won 13 straight at ExtraMile Arena, holding opponents to 60.7 points and winning by 15.4. Expect this to be a low-scoring affair. Boise State ranks 10th in defensive efficiency by the Kenpom metric; SDSU is 13th. Matt Bradley had only three points in the first meeting on 1-of-6 shooting, but Nathan Mensah had 17, a career high for a Mountain West game. Shaver (13.5 points, 3.8 assists) is healthy again and looking forward to facing the Aztecs. “That was one of the toughest moments of this season, to be honest with you,” he said, “watching my teammates go through that, being without their lead guard.” Forward Tyson Degenhart is the leading scorer for all games (14.3), but Max Rice, the coach’s son, is the leader in conference games (15.4). Saint Augustine alum and Texas Tech transfer Chibuzo Agbo is averaging 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Next up: Saturday vs. Wyoming (7 p.m., CBSSN)