Boise State men’s basketball vs. San Jose State: How to watch, prediction and odds
A first-place showdown with San Diego State looms large on Tuesday, but that game won’t matter nearly as much if the Boise State men’s basketball team doesn’t take care of business this weekend.
The Broncos face San Jose State at 5 p.m. Mountain time Saturday at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose, California. The Spartans are tied for fifth in the Mountain West standings and are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent memory.
“It’s gonna be so tough. (San Jose State coach) Tim Miles might have done one of the best jobs in the country — no ifs, ands or buts,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “He’s got great players that he assembled and they play so consistently and they’re doing so many good things.
“They had our attention before we played them. We had a pretty good first half and they handed us our hats the second half. They’re a great team.”
Rice was referring to their first meeting, on Jan. 3 in Boise, when the Broncos needed a game-winning 3-pointer from Marcus Shaver Jr. to get past the Spartans, who rallied from a 14-point deficit. Rice anticipates a similar battle the second time around despite the fact that the Broncos have won the past 11 meetings.
“They might be one of the most physical teams in a physical league,” Rice said.
San Jose State is 16-12 and eyeing its first winning season since 2010-11. The Spartans’ 16th win was a 75-66 victory over UNLV on Valentine’s Day, making them the sixth San Jose State squad since 1980-81 to record 16 or more wins in a season.
And the Spartans have turned it around quickly in two seasons under Miles, as they are just a year removed from a 1-17 campaign in conference play.
Consistency has played a major part in the Spartans’ success. San Jose State used 13 different starting lineups during the 2021-22 season but has started Alvaro Cardenas, Omari Moore, Trey Anderson, Sage Tolbert III and Ibrahima Diallo in all 28 games this season.
Moore leads the way for Spartans, ranking fourth in the Mountain West at 16.9 points per game. The 2021-22 All-Mountain West honorable mention honoree recently moved into eighth place on San Jose State’s all-time scoring list, with 1,176 points.
Moore is also nearing the top 10 single-season assists list at San Jose State for the second consecutive season. Moore enters Saturday’s game with 135 assists, needing just three more to crack the top 10 again after recording 138 last season.
“He’s a good player, man, really good,” Rice said. “He’s one of the best in the Mountain West. ... He’s had a long career there and he’s gotten better every single year. He’s playing terrific right now.”
BOISE STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE
When: 5 p.m. Mountain time Saturday
Where: Provident Credit Union Event Center, San Jose
TV:NBC Sports Bay Area and the Mountain West Network (broncosports.com/mwn)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)
Records: Boise State 22-6, 12-3 MW; San Jose State 16-12, 7-8 MW
Series: Boise State leads the all-time series 38-3
KenPom rating: Boise State 26, San Jose State 106
KenPom & ESPN predictions
Ken Pomeroy, who created the popular college basketball statistical website KenPom.com, ranks every Division I team using an adjusted efficiency margin, which Pomeroy defines as the difference between a team’s offensive and defensive efficiency.
According to Pomeroy’s detailed statistical analysis, Boise State has a 64% chance of beating San Jose State. His score prediction is a 68-64 BSU victory.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index: Boise State has a 70.3% chance of winning with a predicted point differential of 5.1.
