Lobos will need an Extra Mile to upset the Broncos in Boise
UNM center Nelly Junior Joseph jumps on a block attempt against Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart in the Lobos 84-65 win over the Broncos on Jan. 17 in The Pit. Photo courtesy of UNM Athletics
Everyone is bought in.
The coaching staff and the players. The school and the community. Can’t forget the fans.
Of course, success helps with things.
“I think we’re all pulling in the right direction, and you know, winning does that,” UNM head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino said. “We’ve won – what – eight in a row? Fifteen-of-16. So, you know, the buy-in is really good right now, but we still got a lot of obstacles and challenges in front of us.”
The next challenge for the UNM men’s basketball team: beating a Boise State team that has only dropped one game inside Extra Mile Arena in Boise, Idaho this season.
And that one blip by the Leon Rice-led Broncos: a Jan. 4, 75-68, loss to San Diego State.
And the Broncos' home record this year should catch the Lobos’ attention.
UNM had much success - if any - in Boise since BSU joined the MWC.
Dating back to Jan. 3, 2018, Boise State has won each of its last six home games against New Mexico. The last time the Lobos beat the Broncos inside Extra Mile Arena was in 2017 with an eleven-point victory.
Craig Neal was the head coach.
It’s also hard to score on BSU at home.
In 12 home games this season, the Broncos have surrendered 711 total points. That’s an average of 59.3 and it’s the sixth-fewest allowed by a home team in Division-I basketball this season.
“They are a team that was picked to win the league,” Pitino said. “(Alvaro) Cardenas is one of the best point guards in the league. (Tyson) Degenhart has been good in this league for a long time and (I’ve) gotta lot of respect for him. They’ve got some nice complimentary pieces. They are big, they are strong and they defend.”
Boise State was picked to win the Mountain West Conference by the league's coaches in the preseason poll in October. Degenhart was also named the preseason MWC Player of the Year.
Not the season Rice or BSU was hoping for.
It’s a program that has never won an NCAA Tournament game. Boise State is 0-10 all-time, and their at-large bid into “The Big Dance” is slipping in 2024-25.
The Broncos are 17-8 overall – and after being swept by SDSU this season on Saturday – are 9-5 in the MWC and are sitting in fifth place.
“I know one thing, our guys will bounce back and battle,” Rice told Bronco Nation News after BSU’s 64-47 loss at SDSU on Saturday. “We’ll be ready to go on Wednesday.”
The Lobos – who are in first place by two games in the MWC – look to match the best 16-game record in the conference’s history with a win over the Broncos. That is held by San Diego State who went 15-1 in 2019-20.
Senior center Nelly Junior Joseph said he only has his sites on a championship even with big game after big game piling up at the end of the season.
“It’s all about winning at this point,” Junior Joseph said. “We’ve already put ourselves in a big stage and we just have to continue going.”
INJURY UPDATE
Pitino said that Mustapha Amzil is day-to-day with Plantar fasciitis. Amzil missed the last two games because of the injury. Guard CJ Noland is also day-to-day after taking an elbow to the head against Utah State on Sunday. After the UNM win over USU, Pitino said it was “concussion-like symptoms.”
UNM point guard Donovan Dent dribbles the ball up the court against BSU on Jan. 17. Dent led all scorers with 16 points and added six assists in the Lobos win over the Broncos. Photo courtesy of UNM Athletics
New Mexico Lobos at Boise State Broncos
Time: Wednesday at 9 p.m.
Location: Extra Mile Arena in Boise, Idaho
Listen: Lobo Radio Network (96.3 FM/770 AM)
Watch: CBS Sports Network
History: UNM is 83-45 all-time against BSU. UNM has won two straight, which includes a win in the MWC Tournament in 2024. Prior to that, the Lobos had lost three in a row to the Broncos.
Betting Info (consensus from Action Network)
Boise State: -4.5
Over/under: 152.5
Money line: Boise State -198; UNM +163