Boise State Athletics
First Road Test Saturday
11/12/2021 11:56:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Boise State (1-0, 0-0 MW) at UC Irvine (0-1, 0-0 Big West)
Saturday, Nov. 13 | 6 p.m. PT
Irvine, Calif. | Bren Events Center
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Boise State Game Notes
Boise State men's basketball hits the road for the first time this season to take on UC Irvine Saturday, at the Bren Events Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
WATCH LIVE: Saturday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
LISTENÂ LIVE:Â Radio coverage of the game will be broadcast on the Bronco Radio Network, with 670 AM KBOI serving as the flagship station, and online through the Varsity Network. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. MT.
Play-by-Play:Â Bob Behler
Analyst:Â Abe Jackson
ABOUT UC IRVINE:Â The Anteaters return 12 players from last year's team that went 18-9, the program's ninth consecutive winning season and fourth straight trip to the Big West Tournament championship game. UC Irvine opened the season Tuesday, with a road loss to New Mexico State. Redshirt senior forward Collin Welp, a returning first-team All-Big West selection, led the team with 13 points and grabbed five rebounds
SERIES HISTORY:Â Saturday marks the 14th all-time meeting between Boise State and UC Irvine on the hardwood, with the Anteaters leading the series 7-6. UC Irvine won the last matchup, knocking off the Broncos in Boise, Nov. 15, 2019. Saturday will be Boise State's first trip to Irvine since 2001, when the two schools were Big West Conference foes. The Broncos are 1-5 all-time in road games against UC Irvine, claiming their lone victory in 2000. Then-sophomore Abe Jackson scored a team-high 17 points to lead a furious second-half comeback for the win.
SOMETHING TO BUILD ON:Â Boise State is 1-0 for the ninth time in Leon Rice's 12 seasons at the helm. The Broncos have improved to 2-0 six times under Rice. Their last 2-0 start came in 2017-18. Last year, Boise State dropped its opener at Houston before running off a school-record 13 straight wins.
BENCH BONUS:Â The Broncos got a big lift from Pavle Kuzmanovic and Naje Smith off the bench in their season-opening win against Utah Valley. Kuzmanovic and Smith sparked a 12-0 scoring run in the first half that saw the Broncos take the lead for good. Smith, who finished with a career-high 15 points, Â scored eight as part of a 9-0 run in the final 3:02 to keep the Broncos on top. Kuzmanovic contributed career highs of nine points and two assists. The duo scored 24 points Tuesday, after combining for 27 points during the entirety of the 2020-21 season.
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Saturday, Nov. 13 | 6 p.m. PT
Irvine, Calif. | Bren Events Center
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Boise State Game Notes
Boise State men's basketball hits the road for the first time this season to take on UC Irvine Saturday, at the Bren Events Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
WATCH LIVE: Saturday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
LISTENÂ LIVE:Â Radio coverage of the game will be broadcast on the Bronco Radio Network, with 670 AM KBOI serving as the flagship station, and online through the Varsity Network. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. MT.
Play-by-Play:Â Bob Behler
Analyst:Â Abe Jackson
ABOUT UC IRVINE:Â The Anteaters return 12 players from last year's team that went 18-9, the program's ninth consecutive winning season and fourth straight trip to the Big West Tournament championship game. UC Irvine opened the season Tuesday, with a road loss to New Mexico State. Redshirt senior forward Collin Welp, a returning first-team All-Big West selection, led the team with 13 points and grabbed five rebounds
SERIES HISTORY:Â Saturday marks the 14th all-time meeting between Boise State and UC Irvine on the hardwood, with the Anteaters leading the series 7-6. UC Irvine won the last matchup, knocking off the Broncos in Boise, Nov. 15, 2019. Saturday will be Boise State's first trip to Irvine since 2001, when the two schools were Big West Conference foes. The Broncos are 1-5 all-time in road games against UC Irvine, claiming their lone victory in 2000. Then-sophomore Abe Jackson scored a team-high 17 points to lead a furious second-half comeback for the win.
SOMETHING TO BUILD ON:Â Boise State is 1-0 for the ninth time in Leon Rice's 12 seasons at the helm. The Broncos have improved to 2-0 six times under Rice. Their last 2-0 start came in 2017-18. Last year, Boise State dropped its opener at Houston before running off a school-record 13 straight wins.
BENCH BONUS:Â The Broncos got a big lift from Pavle Kuzmanovic and Naje Smith off the bench in their season-opening win against Utah Valley. Kuzmanovic and Smith sparked a 12-0 scoring run in the first half that saw the Broncos take the lead for good. Smith, who finished with a career-high 15 points, Â scored eight as part of a 9-0 run in the final 3:02 to keep the Broncos on top. Kuzmanovic contributed career highs of nine points and two assists. The duo scored 24 points Tuesday, after combining for 27 points during the entirety of the 2020-21 season.
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Players Mentioned
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Tuesday, March 03
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