Aztecs aim to bounce back from Utah State loss with a road win against Boise State

The San Diego State Aztecs are ready to get back on the court.

After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Utah State, 67-66, at Viejas Arena last Saturday evening, SDSU will take on another tough conference opponent this Saturday. The contest against Boise State is at 1:00 pm and can be seen on CBS.

Boise State and Utah State now have something in common. They have both defeated the Aztecs at Viejas Arena the last time they made the trip to the West Coast. At the end of the 2023-24 season, the Aztecs had a chance to finish the season a perfect 15-0 at Steve Fisher Court. However, Tyson Degenhart and the Broncos had something to say about that feat.

Boise State went on to win that game but the Aztecs responded by becoming 2024 Mountain West Tournament Runner Up’s and eventually made their way to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

SDSU will have their chance at revenge against the Broncos this Saturday on the road in Boise.

After the loss to the Aggies, SDSU dropped to 47 in NET rankings. They also were the only team to fall out of the AP Top 25 poll.

The sights and sounds from the December that was: #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/RbBmkjLHvl

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 2, 2025

The Aztecs led by as much as 18 in the first half but a second-half collapse allowed the Aggies to slowly crawl their way back. A three-pointer from Tucker Anderson with eight seconds left gave the Aggies the win. SDSU was outscored 35-23 in the second half after scoring 43 in the first.

SDSU now aims to respond by going to Boise and winning on the road. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, no team has a better road record in the Mountain West. At 65-37, SDSU has by far the top winning percentage since 2023-14. Boise State is second at 54-47 during that same span.

Getting to Know the Opponent: Boise State Broncos

Boise State was picked to finish first in the Mountain West preseason polls. SDSU was picked to finish fourth.

The Broncos are right behind the Aztecs in NET, ranked at 52. The schedule for Boise has been relatively easy, but they are just 1-1 against Quad 1 opponents. Furthermore, they are also 1-1 in Quad 2 games and 3-1 in Quad 3.

The Broncos are coming off a great run to end the 2024 calendar year. They are winners of five straight games after losing a close battle at home against Washington State. Boise State also has losses to San Francisco and Boston College. At 11-3 and 3-0 in the conference, the Broncos sit tied for first place in the MW along with New Mexico and Utah State. SDSU is 6th with a 1-1 conference record. They are 8-3 overall.

Boise State defeated Wyoming, 67-58 on the road in their last contest. They controlled this game all the way but allowed the Cowboys to score 39 second-half points. San Jose State transfer Alvaro Cardenas led the Broncos with 19 points in the win.

The Blue and Orange contains four players who average double digits in scoring, with Degenhart leading the way at 18.1 points per game. Andrew Meadow is second on the team averaging 12.4 points and adds 5.5 rebounds. Cardenas is third at 11.1 per game and is tied for 11th in the country with 6.6 assists per game. Lastly, Javan Buchanan is fourth on the team at 10.9 points. O’Mar Stanley is just under 10 points per game at 9.7 and adds a team-high 6.5 rebounds.

Boise State averages 78.1 points per game and allows 65.6. SDSU is at 74.4 per game and allows 63.5. Boise shoots 47.5% from the field compared to SDSU’s 44.8%.

Player to Watch: Tyson Degenhart

Degenhart is one of the top players in the Mountain West and the entire country. The senior has been with Boise his whole career and has started a majority of the games. The forward was picked as the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year just to add to his long list of accolades. He has been on All MW first teams back-to-back and won MW Player of the Week on November 18.

The Spokane, Washington native is averaging 18.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and shoots 52.5% from the field. He is scoring at a career-high pace and recently poured in 26 in the win over San Jose State on Dec. 28.

Degenhart scored 14 points and grabbed 11 boards against the Aztecs in the win in San Diego last season.

Entering this contest against SDSU, Degenhart is now just 331 points away from becoming Boise State’s all-time scoring leader. That record has stood for 31 seasons, and if Degenhart continues his pace of scoring at least 18 points per game, he could break that record toward the last few games of his career. Furthermore, he also has the opportunity to crack Boise State’s all-time career top-10 in rebounds, field goals made, free throws made, games played, and games started.

Degenhart has already established himself in Mountain West history.

Key to Victory

Rebounding in this contest will be crucial. Brian Dutcher has expressed how important rebounding is for his team to be successful. Boise State has a rebounding advantage over SDSU averaging 39.0 per game, to SDSU’s 37.6.

The Aztecs must control the boards in this game. Between Stanley, Degenhart, and Meadow they average a combined 18 rebounds. The Aztecs must find a way to not let that trio control the boards.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.