For 35 minutes against San Jose State, the visiting Aztecs looked like the inconsistent team it has become this season. Clinging to a 2-point lead with 5 minutes left in the game, coach Brian Dutcher pulled the right hand at the right time, going with a small-ball lineup of four guards and one big.
The result: SDSU outscored the Spartans 20-9 to pull away for an 81-68 victory.
San Diego State returns home to Viejas Arena Saturday night for its first game of 2026 in a showdown with Boise State (9-4, 1-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed on CBS Sports Network.
The last time the Broncos and Aztecs met was in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Mountain West Tournament, where the Aztecs were handed their earliest conference tournament exit since 2007. Boise State shot 40 three-pointers and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds off their misses to defeat San Diego State 62-52.
The Broncos have a very different roster from San Jose State, and Coach Dutcher will have to reach into his bag again and play the right combinations of players to get a win. Here are three things to watch out for against Boise State.
Size
San Jose State is one of the shortest teams in the Mountain West. Boise State is the tallest. Coach Leon Rice brought back impact players who are all 6’7” in Andrew Meadow, Pearson “Peanut” Carmichael, RJ Keene, and Javan Buchanan.
He added big men in Drew Fielder, a 6’10” transfer from Georgetown, and Dominic Parolin, a 6’9”, 245-pound fifth-year senior transfer from Lehigh.
6’10” freshman Spencer Aherns has been a surprise off the bench, able to stretch defenses with his three-point shooting. The two lone rotational players under 6’7” are 6’3” point guard Dylan Andrews, who played three years for UCLA, and 6’3” freshman guard Aginaldo Neto.
San Diego State will likely not get away with playing small ball against Boise State, as they average eight more rebounds per game than their opponents. The Aztecs have been a below-average defensive rebounding team this season. If they get crushed on the boards like they did last season, the Broncos are likely to be leaving San Diego with a win.
Ruthless Aggression
Playing on the road at Boise State on Tuesday, New Mexico extended their biggest lead to 32-21 with 17 minutes left in the game. Then the Broncos shut off their water as the Lobos went almost seven minutes without a made field goal in the second half, leading to a 62-53 Boise State win.
The trademark of San Diego State is its defense. After years of begging for a catchphrase from college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein, he finally delivered for Aztec fans.
“San Diego State: Ruthless Aggression”
This season, it may be Boise State who owns that distinction.
According to the KenPom website, the Broncos have the 20th-best defense in college basketball, while the Aztecs rank 40th. The Broncos’ length on the perimeter is a problem for teams, as they aggressively guard without switching ball screens that cause mismatches in size or “ducking under” screens that allow uncontested three-point shots. Literally, the Broncos are in your face during your half-court offense all game.
They are exceptional at not allowing teams to grab offensive rebounds against them (second nationally). They force teams into contested shots and give no second chances. Good shot selection by the Aztecs will be imperative, as similar to the Arizona game, second-chance points may be hard to come by.
Important to note, also, in Boise State’s four losses, their defense gave up the highest effective field goal percentage of the season. Hunting good, uncontested shots and knocking them down needs to be a focus for the Aztecs in their half-court offense.
Foul Prone
Boise State is vulnerable to fouling due to being overaggressive in the half court and when their defense is not set in transition. The CBB Analytics website tracks a team’s personal foul efficiency. Many times, teams will foul in the act of going for a block or a steal. The ratio of whether they get a block or steal compared to committing a foul is a team’s personal foul efficiency.
The Aztecs foul a lot (19 times per game), but they have a high personal foul efficiency due to almost eight steals and five blocks a game. By contrast, Boise State just fouls a lot without blocks and steals, thus a low personal foul efficiency.
Nevada defeated Boise State 81-66 in Reno on December 20. The Wolf Pack shot 34 free throws and scored 17 fast-break points. By getting out in transition, Boise State defenders were not positioned to set their defense, leading to easy buckets and fouls drawn for the Wolf Pack.
Nevada also drove hard in the paint, drawing contact from Boise State and getting to the free-throw line, where they made 27 free throws. Speedy Nevada point guard Tayshawn Comer was 13-of-14 from the line.
Being aggressive on offense, pushing the pace in transition with the ball in the hands of the best playmaking guard in BJ Davis, who is also a great free-throw shooter, could bode well for the Aztecs in this game.
This is going to be a dogfight, not a pillow fight like it was against a finesse team in San Jose State. It will be a physical game, pitting the team who has been the baddest on the block historically with the team who is playing like it now. The dog with more “ruthless aggression” is likely to come out on top.
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