Boise State’s Chibuzo Agbo shoots a free throw during the Broncos’ 79-48 road win at Air Force on Tuesday night. (Photo from Boise State Athletics)
AIR FORCE ACADEMY – It sounded easier said than done two weeks ago when the Boise State men’s basketball team started a stretch of four straight games against the bottom four teams in the Mountain West standings.
The Broncos didn’t just win all four. They won all four in blowout fashion.
Tyson Degenhart had 21 points and Chibuzo Agbo added 17 points Tuesday night and Boise State overcame a poor first half to rout Air Force, 79-48, at Clune Arena.
The win was the fourth straight by at least 20 points and kept the Broncos (20-8, 11-4 MW) in a first-place tie with Utah State in the league race with three games to go.
Following back to back road losses at Colorado State and Utah State, the Broncos won 90-66 against Fresno State, 82-50 against San Jose State and 92-72 at Wyoming prior to Tuesday’s 31-point win.
“I don’t know if you can have these scores be much better in Mountain West games,” coach Leon Rice told BNN on the Lithia Ford of Boise Postgame Show. “It’s hard to do. (Air Force) beat New Mexico three days ago. That’s saying something.”
Boise State led just 32-30 early in the second half before ripping off a 20-3 run to take control. The Broncos outscored Air Force 51-22 in the second half after leading by just two at the break.
O’Mar Stanley added 15 points for the Broncos, who had just six turnovers, had a 31-20 edge on the glass and got 15 points from its bench.
Boise State now has at least 20 wins for the third straight season and the 11th time in 14 years under Rice.
The Broncos have seen their computer metrics skyrocket of late as well, putting them in a strong position to make the NCAA Tournament for a program-record third consecutive year. Boise State won all four games during this stretch by at least double what the projected margin was, giving them a massive boost in the KenPom and NET rankings – both of which are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to pick the 68-team field.
Boise State is up to No. 39 at KenPom following Tuesday’s win – a jump of 11 spots from the No. 51 spot heading into the Fresno State game 10 days ago.
The Broncos return home to face New Mexico (Saturday at 6pm) and Nevada (Tuesday at 9pm) before finishing the regular season at San Diego State next Friday.
Wins in all three games would assure the Broncos of at least a share of the Mountain West regular season title.
Things looked bleak two weeks ago. They look a lot better right now.
“If you would have told me in November you’ll be in first place the first week of March, I’d be happy about it,” Rice said. “That’s where you want to be.”
Watch interviews with coach Leon Rice and players Chibuzo Agbo and O’Mar Stanley on the Lithia Ford of Boise Postgame Show from Clune Arena:
