Broncos Take on Rebels in Thursday Quarterfinal

No. 5 Boise State (19-11, 11-7 MW) vs No. 4 UNLV (17-14, 12-6 MW)
Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinal
Thursday, March 5 | 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT
Las Vegas, Nev. | Thomas & Mack Center
TV: CBS Sports Network | Live Audio | Live Stats

Boise State Game Notes

Boise State opens its run at the 2020 Mountain West Championship in the quarterfinal round Thursday, against No. 4 seed UNLV. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT.

WATCH: Thursday's quarterfinal game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, available locally on SparkLight channel 139, DirecTV 221, DISH Network 158.

Play-by-Play: Andrew Catalon
Analyst: Steve Lappas
Reporter: Evan Washburn

LISTEN LIVE: Radio coverage of Thursday's game will be broadcast on the Bronco Radio Network, with 670 AM KBOI serving as the flagship station, and online through TuneIn. The pregame show begins at 2:30 p.m. MT.
Play-by-Play: Bob Behler
Analyst: Abe Jackson

ABOUT THE REBELS: UNLV is 17-14 on the year, and finished 12-6 in Mountain West play to finish in a three-way tie for second. The Rebels have won six of their last seven games, including a 76-66 win over the Broncos last week in Las Vegas. Bryce Hamilton leads four Rebels scoring in double figures. Hamilton was named to the All-Mountain West First Team earlier this week.

SERIES HISTORY: The all-time series between the Broncos and Rebels is tied, 10-10. The teams split the season series, with each team winning on its home floor. Boise State dropped its regular-season finale at UNLV last week. The Broncos won in Boise (Jan. 8), 73-66.

THE CREAM RISES: Boise State finished Mountain West play 11-7, tying for fifth in the league standings. The Broncos have won at least 11 conference games in five of the last six seasons. In the nine years Boise State has been a member of the Mountain West, San Diego State is the only other league school to record five seasons with at least 11 conference wins.

ALL-CONFERENCE: Justinian Jessup and Derrick Alston, Jr. were both honored by the Mountain West coaches and media who covers the league as all-conference selections. Jessup was named All-MW First Team by the media and second team by the coaches. Alston was picked to the second team by both parties. Jessup led the league in three-pointers and three-point percentage during conference play, while ranking sixth in scoring. Alston was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, and led the Broncos in assists.

1,000-POINT CLUB: Alex Hobbs became the 30th member of Boise State's 1,000-point club, in the regular-season finale at UNLV (Feb. 26). Hobbs is the ninth Bronco to reach his 1,000th career point in Leon Rice's 10 seasons as head coach. Hobbs enters this game with 1,001 career points, and needs 31 more points to move into the school's all-time top 25. Derrick Alston, Jr. is 24 points shy of joining Hobbs and Justinian Jessup as current Broncos with 1,000 points. If he reaches the plateau this season, it will mark the third time in school history that Boise State has three 1,000-point scorers on its roster at the same time. Steve Connor, Danny Jones and Trent Johnson accomplished the feat in 1977-78, while Anthony Drmic, Derrick Marks and Ryan Watkins each reached 1,000 points during the 2013-14 season.

400 CLUB, AGAIN: Derrick Alston, Jr. and Justinian Jessup have each eclipsed the 400-point plateau for the second consecutive season. Alston (528) and Jessup (483) are the fifth pair of teammates to both score at least 400 points in consecutive seasons in Boise State history. The last duo to do so was Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks in 2012-13 and 2013-14. If Jessup scores 17 more points, it will be the fourth time in school history two teammates scored 500 points in the same season. Drmic and Marks did so twice in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson both hit the 500-point mark in 2007-08.

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Players Mentioned

Derrick Alston, Jr.

Alex Hobbs

Justinian Jessup