BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State men's basketball team closes out the 2022-2023 regular season Saturday night against Utah State in Logan. The Aggies (23-7, 12-5 MW) are riding a four-game winning streak and sit just one game back of the Broncos (23-7, 13-4 MW) in the Mountain West Standings.
In the latest NET Rankings, Utah State sits at No. 21, trailing only San Diego State (No. 18) in terms of Mountain West teams. Boise State enters Saturday's regular-season finale at No. 27 in the NET Rankings.
With a weekend matchup between well-matched regional foes and the conference tournament in the horizon, the environment in Logan will likely be rowdy. According to Boise State junior guard Chibuzo Agbo, the Broncos are ready to face the Aggie faithful.
"As a visitor, you kind of don't want to buy into the crowd at all. You don't want to do anything that's gonna get 'em riled up, versus at home, you want all the energy you can get," Agbo said. "Going to a hostile environment, like I said, you know they're going to get after you a little bit … At the same time, I love it, I think we love it as a team. So, it's gonna be fun."
Utah State is a vastly-improved team in comparison to when they visited ExtraMile Arena back in January. The Aggies are 10-4 since losing to Boise State 82-59.
In his latest 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracketology report, ESPN's Joe Lunardi listed both Boise State and Utah State as teams "on the bubble." Lunardi has the Broncos in the dance as a No. 10 seed, while the Aggies are on the outside looking in as a "first four out" squad.
Earlier this week, Boise State head coach Leon Rice praised the Aggies and the difficulty of playing in Logan. Rice also said Utah State is no doubt a NCAA Tournament team.
"They're so fast at home and they play so good there, historically, and then this team certainly does too," Rice said. "They've had some tremendous moments there and we're gonna have to take our best. Not good – good will probably get you blown out. They're playing great and we're all playing for something, and it just makes for these fantastic games."
As fans and journalists weave through ESPN Bracketology, NET Rankings, KenPom and more to predict a team's odds to make March Madness, Boise State's experienced leader is prioritizing day-by-day success.
With the Mountain West Conference Tournament set to tip off on Wednesday, March 8, it is easy to look ahead. However, Rice is ensuring the Broncos keep their blinders on.
"Who knows, until you see your name on that board and until the dust settles, who knows," Rice said. "You know, I've been through this a lot over the years and you just control what you can control. Figure all that stuff out later. We got a big task at hand – a big, big task at hand."
Saturday's contest between Boise State and Utah State will air on the Mountain West Network at 7 p.m. MT.
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