BOISE, Idaho — The Wednesday Weekly: February 23, 2022.
It was almost death by a thousand paper cuts in the form of San Diego State three-pointers Tuesday night in ExtraMile Arena. The Aztecs drained six in seven tries in the second half. And some missed Boise State free throws felt like paper cuts, too. But the script flipped at the end. SDSU star Matt Bradley missed two freebies with seven seconds left, and the Broncos’ Abu Kigab calmly drilled two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining to give Boise State a dramatic 58-57 victory. Kigab led the Broncos with 21 points. And we shall not forget the final two. How about Boise State winning a game on a pair of pressure-packed free throws? Sure BSU was 17-of-26 from the stripe for a lukewarm 65 percent. But the Broncos, once second-to-last in the nation, have hit 75 percent of their attempts over the last ten games.
THAT ‘LATE SEASON’ THING
In its game preview Tuesday morning, the San Diego Union-Tribune made a big deal of the last four weeks of the season — for both San Diego State and Boise State. They were quick to point out the Aztecs’ strong finishes: 33-6 against Mountain West competition from February 11 on over the past five years. Also duly noted was the Broncos’ record over the same period: 16-18. It ain’t over yet, but the narrative sure has changed to this point. Would Boise State have won a game like that a year ago? Maybe not. But here the Broncos are 22-6 overall and 13-2 in the Mountain West, and winners of 19 of their last 21 games. Those waiting for a late-season fade? Well, they’re still waiting amidst one of the best seasons of Mountain West hoops ever. This team has a bit of the “it” factor.
NAJE’S PIVOTAL NIGHT
Sometimes the sparks come from unlikely sources for Boise State. Naje Smith barely played last Saturday against Utah State — two minutes, zero points. But man was Smith ready to fire versus San Diego State. He put up 13 points, blocked two shots and grabbed four steals. Smith made both of his three-point attempts, and one of them was about the strangest you’ll ever see. Late in the first half, he had a three-pointer rejected by the Aztecs’ 6-10 Nathan Mensah. Smith got the ball back, and with the shot clock about to expire, launched a line-drive prayer that went in. Mensah fouled him on the play, and Smith converted the Broncos’ first four-point play of the season.
HANDSHAKE LINES HERE AND THERE
The ugly Juwan Howard incident Sunday was ironic, coming a day after a dust-up between Utah State’s Ryan Odom and Boise State’s Leon Rice. That one pales in comparison to the Michigan coach. Near the end of the Broncos win, Odom tried to use the time allotted to sub in for a fouled-out player as a free time-out. Max Rice saw through that and stood near the USU huddle. That incensed Odom, who exchanged words with Max—then his dad. They had a little discussion in the handshake line.
“I’m not mad at Leon,” Odom said. “We were in a huddle and I don’t want one of his players in my huddle. It just so happens it was his son. I didn’t appreciate that, and that’s it.” Max was within his rights, though.
FIRST IN-DEPTH DIVE ON MW FOOTBALL
Bill Connelly of ESPN.com has done some serious homework on the Mountain West’s Mountain Division, and that is the subject of his latest college football preview. Here’s the lead-in: “Utah State looked so good late in the season that it's fair to wonder if the division's balance of power has at least temporarily shifted in the Aggies' favor. We'll see. They have a lot of stars to replace, and on paper, Boise State's general recruiting advantages (and the upside they showed in last season's big wins) puts them back atop the preseason pile.” The Broncos, who Connelly calls “maddeningly inconsistent” last year, were on the wrong end of big plays. “They lost the big-play battle, ranking 118th in ‘marginal explosiveness’ on offense and 88th on defense,” writes Connelly. “Opponents averaged 13.3 yards per pass completion.”
Connelly drills down into Boise State’s personnel with this: “Quarterback Hank Bachmeier, running back George Holani, high-efficiency receiver Stefan Cobbs and three potential all-conference linemen return on offense, and the defense is absolutely loaded with experience and upside, from dynamic tackles Scott Matlock and Jackson Cravens up front to disruptive safeties Tyreque Jones and JL Skinner at the back. But Khalil Shakir is gone, and BSU heads into 2022 without a known, scary big-play weapon. Big plays create easy points, and we don't know if the Broncos will create any more than they did last year.” Well, that’s up to an improved Bachmeier and (dare I say) Cobbs, who certainly has that kind of big-play potential.
DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED VANDAL PERSONALITIES
Staff meetings in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., will be nothing if not interesting moving forward. As you’ve heard, Idaho’s past two head coaches will be paired up as coordinators for coach Jim McElwain at Central Michigan — Paul Petrino on offense and Robb Akey on defense. Petrino, of course, replaced Akey in 2012 after the latter was fired late in the 2011 season. Petrino and the Vandals parted ways at the end of last season. Petrino was always buttoned-up as the head man in Moscow. Akey was not. Remember the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl when Akey blurted into Heather Cox’s ESPN microphone, “Watch the second half — you’re gonna love it.” The low-key Petrino didn’t make the same type of declaration during the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Vandals fans did, however, love that one, too.
WILL DUES-PAYING PAY OFF FOR DEAYON?
Little-known fact about former Boise State star Donte Deayon: despite going undrafted six years ago and spending more time on practice squads than active rosters, he is on the market and may have some value. The L.A. Rams cornerback tweeted this on Tuesday: “First Time Being On The Unrestricted Free Agency Market! Opportunity To Prove Myself Again Is All I Ask For!” Deayon came off the practice squad and played the second half of the season for the Rams. He was suited up for the Super Bowl but didn’t play. His ring will be just as big as everybody else’s, though. Deayon has played in only 21 NFL games over five years, but 10 of them came this past season with L.A. He has 48 career tackles.
A CROSS-COUNTRY STEELIES SERIES
The Idaho Steelheads and Worcester Railers play for the first time ever tonight in Idaho Central Arena. The team from Massachusetts will be in Boise Friday and Saturday, too. The Railers, who began play in 2017-18, will be the “furthest east” team the Steelheads have ever played. The Steelies lost two of their three games over the past week and are coming off a forgettable President’s Day, as they fell 5-1 on the road to the Kansas City Mavericks. The highlight: goals by forward Zach Walker in all three of the contests. Idaho remains four points behind Utah in the ECHL Mountain Division.
YOTES ON TO THE POSTSEASON
College of Idaho, already assured of a spot in the NAIA National Tournament as the Cascade Conference regular-season champion, opens the league tournament tonight in Caldwell against Multnomah. The Yotes are riding an eight-game winning streak and have won 19 of their last 20 contests. C of I will also take a 14-game home win streak into this quarterfinal matchup. Northwest Nazarene is ending its regular season this week with a three-game homestand, beginning with Tuesday night’s 85-64 rout of Simon Fraser. The Nighthawks host Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…February 23, 1989:
Boise State makes its first national TV appearance in the Pavilion, hosting Idaho live on ESPN. Senior Chris Childs led the Broncos to an intense 63-61 victory before a sellout crowd of 12,422 — still the second-largest in school history. Boise State was defending Big Sky champion and would win the conference regular season title, but the Vandals would topple the Broncos in the championship game of the Big Sky Tournament in the Pavilion to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament the following week to play UNLV…in the Pavilion.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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