Boise St. (8-3 straight up, 3-5 against the spread) has played seven of its 11 games against opponents in the Top 95 of KenPom’s rankings. The Broncos have collected home wins over #72 San Francisco (63-58) and #94 North Texas (69-64), in addition to neutral-floor victories vs. #53 Saints Mary’s (63-60) and #90 VCU (65-61).
Leon Rice’s team has taken its losses at #25 Clemson and in neutral-court games played in Florida against #61 Butler and #56 Va. Tech. Boise St. has bounced back from the loss vs. Butler to rip off five consecutive wins, including spread covers in back-to-back home games vs. Northwestern St. (95-54) and Cal St. Fullerton (88-65).
Most important for BSU, senior guard Max Rice has snapped out of his shooting slump in the past three games. Rice, who averaged 14.4 points per game and hit 42.0 percent of his 3-pointers last year, was limited to seven points or fewer in six of the Broncos’ first eight contests.
But Rice has produced 28, 12 and 24 points in BSU’s last three outings. The head coach’s son has drained 7-of-13 attempts from 3-point range two different times and buried 4-of-9 hoists from downtown in the win over Northwestern St. That’s 18-of-35 from distance in a three-game stretch (51.4%).
Washington St. (8-2 SU, 4-6 ATS) has faced just three foes who are inside of KenPom’s Top 150. The Cougars lost a 76-64 decision vs. #31 Mississippi St. in a neutral-floor showdown in Uncasville, CT., and they lost 69-61 to #128 Santa Clara in Phoenix this past Saturday.
The best win for Kyle Smith’s squad this year came at home over #150 Portland St. (71-61).
As of early this morning, most books had Washington St. installed as a two-point favorite with a total of 138.
These regional rivals have met in each of the last two seasons, with BSU winning 71-61 last year as a two-point home underdog. Two years ago, the Broncos won a 58-52 decision over Washington St. as 4.5-point underdogs in Spokane.
Rice had 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals in last year’s win, while Tyson Degenhart finished with 14 points and seven boards. Degenhart is averaging 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 SPG this season.
PREDICTION: Boise St. +2 vs. Washington St.