Mountain West foes will lock horns when the Air Force Falcons (11-12) challenge the Boise State Broncos (16-7) at Clune Arena. Action begins at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 6 and can be seen on RT.
The Falcons enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Wyoming 70-62 on Tuesday. Hayden Graham was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting. The Broncos, meanwhile, are coming off a 70-67 win against Utah State on Tuesday. James Webb III led the team in scoring by registering 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting.
Mikey Thompson has upped his play for the Broncos, averaging 16.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers over the past five games.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Falcons in this one. They rank 321st in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of just 24.5%), while Boise State is 22nd-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 75.1%).
The Falcons have gone 11-12 Straight Up (SU) and 7-10 Against The Spread (ATS). The Falcons have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 77.3 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 67.7 points per game.
Over on the other bench, the Broncos have records of 10-10-1 ATS and 16-7 SU. Boise State has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 2-8 record. Offensively, the Broncos have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 78.0 points per game after averaging only 61.6 during that stretch. The Broncos get to the line and convert their free throws at a high volume, ranking 25th in the nation with 414 made (18.0 per game). Taking care of the basketball is something the Broncos do very well, averaging just 11.4 turnovers per game.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Boise State won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record over their most recent meetings to 6-3. With a 5-4 record, the Broncos also have the advantage ATS. Boise State held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Air Force never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Boise, ATS Winner – Boise
Notes
“Air Force is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games “.
“Air Force is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games “.
“Air Force is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games at home”.
“Air Force is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Boise State”.
“Air Force is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boise State”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of Air Force’s last 9 games when playing Boise State”.
“Boise State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Air Force”.
Boise State sits at 7-3 SU against the conference, while Air Force is 2-8 SU.
Boise State scores 73.7 points per away game (ranked 80th). Air Force ranks a poor 148th in points allowed at home, allowing 69.2 points.
The Boise State Broncos have a defensive rating of 99.3 (ranked 98th), while the Air Force Falcons have an offensive rating of 98.4 (ranked 297th).
With 68.8 possessions and .984 points per possession, the Air Force Falcons perform worse on both metrics than the Boise State Broncos. Boise State averages 69.5 possessions and 1.122 points per possession.
The Air Force Falcons average an effective field goal percentage of 47.4% this season. The Boise State Broncos have a winning 12-6 record in games where opponents have an eFG% of 47.4% or greater.
On average, Air Force attempts 17.0 three pointers and Boise State attempts 24.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Air Force Falcons have a 2-7 record while the Boise State Broncos have a fantastic 14-4 record.
The Air Force Falcons make an average of 6.1 steals per game. When the Boise State Broncos allow 6 or more steals, they are a winning 4-2.
