Saturday, January 19
Boise, Idaho / Taco Bell Arena
3:30 PM MT
Boise State
vs
Fresno State
Photo by: Boise State University
Broncos and Bulldogs Set for Saturday Clash
1/18/2019 9:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Boise State (8-9, 3-1) vs. Fresno State (12-4, 3-1)
3:30 p.m. MT | Saturday, Jan. 19
Taco Bell Arena | Boise, Idaho
AT&T SportsNet | Live Stats | Listen Live | Buy Tickets
Game Notes
THE GAME: The Broncos (8-9, 3-1) and Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1) will face off Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. MT at Taco Bell Arena in what will be a battle of two teams contending for the top spot in the Mountain West standings.
WATCH: Boise State will have its first game on AT&T SportsNet this weekend, as Drew Goodman (play-by-play and Joe Cravens (analyst) will be on the call.
RADIO: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson will once again have the game, which will air on 670 KBOI or the TuneIn app.
LAST TIME OUT: The Broncos came up just short against No. 10 Nevada Tuesday night at Taco Bell Arena, as Cody Martin hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with five seconds on the clock to give Nevada the lead at 72-71. The Broncos' last shot from Justinian Jessup to win the game came up short, giving the Wolf Pack the victory.
Boise State took its first lead of the second half at 69-68 with 2:10 remaining on two free throws by Alex Hobbs. Cody Martin then tied the game hitting one of two from the line with 1:52 left. Hobbs then answered with a layup 10 seconds later to give the Broncos a 71-69 advantage. Nevada, however, was able to stifle two subsequent Boise State possessions, setting up Martin's game winner.
Hobbs and Jessup paced Boise State with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Derrick Alston also played well with 14 points of his own, while Marcus Dickinson was also in double figures with 11 points.
ABOUT FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs are led by two of the best guards in the conference in Braxton Huggins (19.3 ppg) and Deshon Taylor (16.8 ppg). Fresno State has been the top team in the league shooting the ball from distance so far this season, as they are currently No. 1 in 3-point percentage (38.4%) and 3-pointers per game (10.1 avg.).
The Bulldogs picked up wins over San Jose State (73-53), Colorado State (78-67) and Utah State (78-77) before falling 74-64 to No. 10 Nevada in its last game on Jan. 12 before going into the mid-week bye.
THE SERIES: The Broncos have a 22-19 advantage in the all-time series with the Bulldogs, having won the most recent matchup last season in Fresno, Calif., at the SaveMart Center, 70-64, on Jan. 9, 2018. Hobbs scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting that game, as Chandler Hutchison led the way with 21.
Boise State has a 13-6 all-time record against Fresno State at home, including a 12-1 mark in the last 13 games at Taco Bell Arena.
NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM: After averaging 70.0 points per game and giving up an average of 68.0 ppg in 13 nonconference games in 2018, Boise State has been much improved in 2019 through four Mountain West games, improving those numbers to 78.8 ppg and 63.8 ppg, respectively. The Broncos' biggest specific jumps that have led to larger improvement have been taking care of the ball – averaged 13.4 turnovers per game in 2018, now 10.0 tpg in 2019 – and keeping opponents off the 3-point line – opponents averaged 7.4 threes per game in 2018, now just 5.3 in 2019.
GUARDING, TAKING AWAY NO. 1 WEAPON: Boise State continues to be the No. 1 team in the league when it comes to scoring defense during MW play, giving up just 63.8 ppg through four contests.
A major key to such performances has been the Broncos' ability to take away the opposing team's top scorer. In three of Boise State's four MW games, Boise State has held the opposition's leading scorer to an average of 7.7 ppg, which has been roughly 10.0 ppg below their season averages coming into the game. Holding Justin James (Wyoming) to seven points, Michael Steadman (San Jose State) to six points and Caleb Martin (Nevada) to 10 have all represented outstanding game-planning efforts from the Broncos.
HOBBS ON A TEAR: The 6-foot-4 junior has been incredible in Mountain West play, as he is the only player in the league to go for at least 17 points and five rebounds in each of his first four MW games. Currently tied for fifth in scoring in league at 17.0 ppg, Hobbs has also been extremely efficient with a shooting percentage of 54.9, which is also No. 5 in the MW.
ALSTON CONTINUES HUGE JUMP: Alston has logged double-digit scoring games in each of his four MW contests and continues to blaze a path that represents one of the most improved seasons for a Bronco in program history. Averaging 10.6 ppg in 2018-19 (after averaging just 0.6 ppg in 2017-18), Alston's 10.0 ppg jump is currently No. 2 in program history for returners, trailing only Chandler Hutchison's 10.6 ppg jump from the 2015-16 season (6.8 ppg) to 2016-17 (17.4 ppg).
WRONG END OF ANOTHER CLOSE ONE: Boise State is now 0-5 in games this season decided by one possession with Tuesday's one-point loss to the No. 10 Wolf Pack. According to KenPom.com and its "luck" rating which is the deviation in winning percentage between a team's actual record and their expected record using the correlated gaussian method, the Broncos are rated as the fourth-unluckiest team in NCAA Division I this season.
3:30 p.m. MT | Saturday, Jan. 19
Taco Bell Arena | Boise, Idaho
AT&T SportsNet | Live Stats | Listen Live | Buy Tickets
Game Notes
THE GAME: The Broncos (8-9, 3-1) and Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1) will face off Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. MT at Taco Bell Arena in what will be a battle of two teams contending for the top spot in the Mountain West standings.
WATCH: Boise State will have its first game on AT&T SportsNet this weekend, as Drew Goodman (play-by-play and Joe Cravens (analyst) will be on the call.
RADIO: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson will once again have the game, which will air on 670 KBOI or the TuneIn app.
LAST TIME OUT: The Broncos came up just short against No. 10 Nevada Tuesday night at Taco Bell Arena, as Cody Martin hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with five seconds on the clock to give Nevada the lead at 72-71. The Broncos' last shot from Justinian Jessup to win the game came up short, giving the Wolf Pack the victory.
Boise State took its first lead of the second half at 69-68 with 2:10 remaining on two free throws by Alex Hobbs. Cody Martin then tied the game hitting one of two from the line with 1:52 left. Hobbs then answered with a layup 10 seconds later to give the Broncos a 71-69 advantage. Nevada, however, was able to stifle two subsequent Boise State possessions, setting up Martin's game winner.
Hobbs and Jessup paced Boise State with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Derrick Alston also played well with 14 points of his own, while Marcus Dickinson was also in double figures with 11 points.
ABOUT FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs are led by two of the best guards in the conference in Braxton Huggins (19.3 ppg) and Deshon Taylor (16.8 ppg). Fresno State has been the top team in the league shooting the ball from distance so far this season, as they are currently No. 1 in 3-point percentage (38.4%) and 3-pointers per game (10.1 avg.).
The Bulldogs picked up wins over San Jose State (73-53), Colorado State (78-67) and Utah State (78-77) before falling 74-64 to No. 10 Nevada in its last game on Jan. 12 before going into the mid-week bye.
THE SERIES: The Broncos have a 22-19 advantage in the all-time series with the Bulldogs, having won the most recent matchup last season in Fresno, Calif., at the SaveMart Center, 70-64, on Jan. 9, 2018. Hobbs scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting that game, as Chandler Hutchison led the way with 21.
Boise State has a 13-6 all-time record against Fresno State at home, including a 12-1 mark in the last 13 games at Taco Bell Arena.
NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM: After averaging 70.0 points per game and giving up an average of 68.0 ppg in 13 nonconference games in 2018, Boise State has been much improved in 2019 through four Mountain West games, improving those numbers to 78.8 ppg and 63.8 ppg, respectively. The Broncos' biggest specific jumps that have led to larger improvement have been taking care of the ball – averaged 13.4 turnovers per game in 2018, now 10.0 tpg in 2019 – and keeping opponents off the 3-point line – opponents averaged 7.4 threes per game in 2018, now just 5.3 in 2019.
GUARDING, TAKING AWAY NO. 1 WEAPON: Boise State continues to be the No. 1 team in the league when it comes to scoring defense during MW play, giving up just 63.8 ppg through four contests.
A major key to such performances has been the Broncos' ability to take away the opposing team's top scorer. In three of Boise State's four MW games, Boise State has held the opposition's leading scorer to an average of 7.7 ppg, which has been roughly 10.0 ppg below their season averages coming into the game. Holding Justin James (Wyoming) to seven points, Michael Steadman (San Jose State) to six points and Caleb Martin (Nevada) to 10 have all represented outstanding game-planning efforts from the Broncos.
HOBBS ON A TEAR: The 6-foot-4 junior has been incredible in Mountain West play, as he is the only player in the league to go for at least 17 points and five rebounds in each of his first four MW games. Currently tied for fifth in scoring in league at 17.0 ppg, Hobbs has also been extremely efficient with a shooting percentage of 54.9, which is also No. 5 in the MW.
ALSTON CONTINUES HUGE JUMP: Alston has logged double-digit scoring games in each of his four MW contests and continues to blaze a path that represents one of the most improved seasons for a Bronco in program history. Averaging 10.6 ppg in 2018-19 (after averaging just 0.6 ppg in 2017-18), Alston's 10.0 ppg jump is currently No. 2 in program history for returners, trailing only Chandler Hutchison's 10.6 ppg jump from the 2015-16 season (6.8 ppg) to 2016-17 (17.4 ppg).
WRONG END OF ANOTHER CLOSE ONE: Boise State is now 0-5 in games this season decided by one possession with Tuesday's one-point loss to the No. 10 Wolf Pack. According to KenPom.com and its "luck" rating which is the deviation in winning percentage between a team's actual record and their expected record using the correlated gaussian method, the Broncos are rated as the fourth-unluckiest team in NCAA Division I this season.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballBronco Studios: Spencer Ahrens, U19 World Cup
Monday, July 14
MBB | Degenhart Signs with the Toronto Raptors
Friday, June 27
Boise State Men's Basketball: 2024-25 Season Recap
Monday, April 21
MBB | Dylan Andrews - Introduction to Bronco Nation
Thursday, April 17
