Boise State's Tyson Degenhart, left, celebrates with Abu Kigab after beating Washington State on Dec. 22, 2021, in Spokane, Wash. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review via AP)
The holiday season has been kind to the Boise State Broncos.
“It’s been a great month for us,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said.
The Broncos, the No. 5 team in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, are a perfect 6-0 in December. The last time the 9-4 Broncos lost was Nov. 30 in overtime to Saint Louis, 86-82.
“That’s six in a row now and we’ve had to work for every one of them in different ways,” Rice said.
Boise State beat Washington State, 58-52, in Spokane, Wash., last Wednesday, rallying from a 24-19 halftime deficit. Abu Kigab had 19 points and five rebounds, sinking 9-of-11 free throws.
“We kept calling his number because he had that look,” Rice said of Kigab. “When he gets that look I know it’s pretty hard to stop him.”
The Broncos beat Washington State despite missing 12-of-16 3-pointers and shooting just 18-of-50 (36 percent) from the floor overall. The Broncos were just 6-of-24 (25 percent) from the floor in the first half.
“I think me, personally, I’ve gotten a little more comfortable with the team I have,” Rice said. “We’re really good on defense and sometimes I have to just be comfortable winning with defense.”
Colorado State (10-0) remains at No. 1 despite not having played a game since a 66-63 victory over Mississippi State on Dec. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Rams, which had their Dec. 18 game against Tulsa in Fort Worth and their Dec. 21 game at Alabama canceled because of COVID protocols, also had their game this Tuesday night at New Mexico postponed. Colorado State will not play again until Jan. 4 against Air Force at home.
No. 2 San Diego State (8-3) whipped UC San Diego, 78-57, this past Wednesday behind 19 points and nine rebounds from Nathan Mensah.
No. 3 Fresno State (10-3) lost to Utah, 55-50, on Tuesday in Salt Lake City and rebounded to beat Weber State in Ogden, Utah, 69-43, two days later. Orlando Robinson had 39 points and 18 rebounds in the two games combined. The Bulldogs missed 24-of-31 3-pointers in the loss to Utah.
“I am very appreciative of their efforts to be even mature as the year goes on,” Fresno State coach Justin Hutson said. “We talked about that maturity last year, right? Our guys are tough guys. I told them, ‘You have to do stuff sometimes you don’t want to do,’ and they came down here (in the state of Utah last week) and fought.”
No. 4 Wyoming (11-2) had the busiest week in the Mountain West last week, playing three games in a tournament in Honolulu. The Cowboys lost to Stanford, 66-63, on Wednesday and beat Northern Iowa, 71-69, on Thursday and South Florida, 77-57, on Saturday.
Point guard Hunter Maldonado had a very productive week in Honolulu with 18 points and eight assists against Stanford as well as 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists against Northern Iowa and 22 points and 10 assists against South Florida. Graham Ike had 25 points and 11 rebounds against Stanford and 20 points, seven rebounds against South Florida.
“I challenged the guys to step up,” Wyoming coach Jeff Linder said.
No. 6 Utah State (9-4) beat Portland State, 81-62, on Tuesday behind 29 points and 12 rebounds from Justin Bean. The Aggies played without starters Brock Miller and R.J. Eytle-Rock but Max Shulga came off the bench to start and produced 18 points and seven rebounds.
“Max was awesome,” Utah State coach Ryan Odom said. “He fit in really nicely.”
“It was really exciting to see (Shulga) get a feel for the game and show everyone what he’s capable of,” Bean said.
No. 7 UNLV pounded San Diego, 80-57, on Wednesday in Las Vegas as Bryce Hamilton and Donovan Williams each scored 20 points. Royce Hamm Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the 8-5 Rebels, who have now won four in a row.
No. 8 Nevada (6-4) has won five games in a row but has had difficulty getting on the court this month.
The Wolf Pack had its game against Grand Canyon at home last Tuesday canceled because of COVID protocols and also saw its Mountain West opener this Tuesday at San Jose State postponed. The Wolf Pack, which is scheduled to host New Mexico this Saturday, has played just two games this month.
No. 9 New Mexico (7-6) beat Norfolk State, 68-54, on Tuesday as Jaelen House scored 16 points. Jamal Mashburn had 13 points but missed 14-of-19 shots from the floor.
No. 10 San Jose State (6-5) has canceled its games against Nevada on Tuesday at home, at Utah State on Saturday and Jan. 5 at home against UNLV because of COVID protocols. The Spartans’ next scheduled game is Jan. 11 at Fresno State.
The Spartans lost at home to Santa Clara last Tuesday, 79-57, as Shon Robinson scored 16 points. Starters Trey Smith, Trey Anderson and Tibet Gorener were a combined 5-of-28 from the floor and 1-of-14 on threes.
No. 11 Air Force (7-4) lost its third game in a row, 67-45, against Tarleton State at Stephenville, Texas last Tuesday. The Falcons, which scored just 14 points in the first half against Tarleton State, have scored 48 points against Montana, 46 against Arkansas State and 45 against Tarleton State during its three-game losing streak.
The Nevada Appeal’s Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of Dec. 27:
1. COLORADO STATE (10-0, 0-0). Last week: No games. This week: No games.
2. SAN DIEGO STATE (8-3, 0-0). Last week: San Diego State 78, UC San Diego 57. This week: San Diego State at UNLV (Saturday).
3. FRESNO STATE (10-3, 0-0). Last week: Utah 55, Fresno State 50 . . . Fresno State 69, Weber State 43. This week: Fresno State at Boise State (Tuesday), Air Force at Fresno State (Saturday).
4. WYOMING (11-2, 0-0). Last week: Stanford 66, Wyoming 63 . . . Wyoming 71, Northern Iowa 69 . . . Wyoming 77, South Florida 57. This week: Boise State at Wyoming (Saturday).
5. BOISE STATE (9-4, 0-0). Last week: Boise State 58, Washington State 52. This week: Fresno State at Boise State (Tuesday), Boise State at Wyoming (Saturday).
6. UTAH STATE (9-4, 0-0). Last week: Utah State 81, Portland State 62. This week: Utah State at Air Force (Wednesday).
7. UNLV (8-5, 0-0). Last week: UNLV 80, San Diego 57. This week: San Diego State at UNLV (Saturday).
8. NEVADA (6-4, 0-0). Last week: No games. This week: New Mexico at Nevada (Saturday).
9. NEW MEXICO (7-6, 0-0). Last week: New Mexico 68, Norfolk State 54. This week: New Mexico at Nevada (Saturday).
10. SAN JOSE STATE (6-5, 0-0). Last week: Santa Clara 79, San Jose State 57. This week: No games.
11. AIR FORCE (7-4, 0-0). Last week: Tarleton State 67, Air Force 45. This week: Utah State at Air Force (Wednesday), Air Force at Fresno State (Saturday).
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