BOISE, Idaho — There's no rest in the Mountain West. Following back-to-back Quad 1 wins, the conference gauntlet continues for Boise State as it hosts UNLV at ExtraMile Arena on Tuesday at 8 p.m. MT.
The Broncos (12-4, 3-0) are riding four-straight wins and received 22 votes in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, leaving them seven spots outside of the rankings. Boise State knocked Colorado State of the poll with a 65-58 win on Jan. 9, before it beat Nevada 64-56 on Friday for just its second win in Reno since the 2016-2017 season.
The Rebels (8-7, 1-2) are much better than their record shows, as noted by Boise State head coach Leon Rice this week. Although UNLV is a Quad 3 opponent for Rice's group, the Rebels have three losses decided by three or less points – including a 87-86 loss to No. 16 Utah State on Saturday.
"Out guys aren't dumb. They know, and these guys have players and they're well coached," Rice said. "Just been a little bit of bad luck, especially with like injuries and getting guys eligible, all that stuff, and so many factors to it. But when the dust settles and you watch them play basketball, you're like, 'oh, those guys are good.' We know that they're really, really good and they're gonna be a big, big challenge. We're gonna have to play a great game and we're gonna have to have a great crowd."
Tuesday's contest, which airs on CBS Sports Network, would give Boise State more momentum entering Saturday's nationally-televised matchup with Quad 1 opponent San Diego State in the City of Trees. The Aztecs received 153 votes in the AP poll, the second most outside of the top 25 behind Colorado State (169 votes).
Six Mountain West teams are currently receiving top 25 consideration, with another wild week on tap. The good news for Boise State is it has been extremely impressive in January as of late, even through the difficulty of its conference schedule each year.
Boise State leads the NCAA with a .947 win percentage in January since 2022. Its 10 road wins in the first month of the year in that span also lead the country.
"I think it takes time to get guys good at our system, but we do play an aggressive schedule every year, and I think that helps you," Rice said. "I got guys that are trying to get better all the time and coaches that are committed to making them better. A ton of credit goes to my staff, they do an amazing job with these guys and with long-term growth in mind. We don't just short-term to win one game, we've always got the long-term growth. Maybe you don't come out perfect, but you get better as the season goes on, and that's credit to that staff – credit to our guys too."
The Broncos have won eight-straight games against UNLV, its longest active win streak against a Mountain West opponent.
Tyson Degenhart is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 49.7% from the floor to pace the Broncos. Chibuzo Agbo enters Tuesday at 14.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while O'Mar Stanley is averaging 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing.
UNLV's Luis Rodriguez scored 23 points in the one-point loss to the Aggies, and is averaging 13.9 points per game over the last 10 outings for the Rebels. Kalib Boone is averaging 13.7 points per game, while Dedan Thomas Jr. sits at 12.3 points per contest.
The Broncos currently owns the nation's longest active home winning streak, having won 22-straight games at ExtraMile Arena. The number could reach 24 if Boise State is able to knock off the Rebels and Aztecs this week.
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