Boise State Broncos vs. New Mexico Lobos: TV, Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More
Boise State and New Mexico square off in a rescheduled match in Boise, ID
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Broncos host Lobos in first conference series for both teams
WHO: Boise State Broncos (4-1) vs. New Mexico Lobos (3-0)
WHEN: Wednesday, December 23 — 8:00 PM MT / 10:00 PM ET
WHERE: ExtraMile Arena – Boise, ID (12,644)
TV: CBS Sports Network
STREAM: FuboTV – get a seven-day free trial
RADIO: Boise State | New Mexico
SERIES RECORD: New Mexico leads, 12-7
ODDS via BetMGM: Boise State -10.5
Originally scheduled for December 3 and 5 (which would have been the earliest of the Mountain West games this year), the series between the Boise State Broncos and the New Mexico Lobos is set to get underway Monday. Both teams have fared well so far, each coming out with a net positive in the win column through the short-lived non-conference season.
Boise State, though, has had the tougher of the two schedules with their lone loss coming from the formidable #6 Houston Cougars. Most notably, perhaps is the Broncos’ four point win overtime win over BYU, a team that recently defeated San Diego State at Viejas Arena and is currently receiving votes in both the Coaches poll and AP poll.
For the Broncos, senior Derrick Alston Jr. (15.2 points per game, 40.0 three-point field goal percentage) has been the primary catalyst, but RayJ Dennis (14.0 points, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals per game) and Oregon transfer Abu Kigab (13.4 points per game, 40.0 three-point field goal percentage) have also shown themselves to be key contributors for the Broncos.
Just take a look at the sophomore’s efficiency.
𝙐𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 @rayjdennis10#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/iL4FrsXMpZ
— Boise State MBB (@BroncoSportsMBB) December 18, 2020
As a team, the Broncos haven’t particularly excelled at anything statistically, save for maybe grabbing more than the average steals in a given game (the Broncos are 76th among Division I teams with 8.2 steals per game) and they are among the top third of Division I teams at 38.8 rebounds per game, which is just outside of the top 100 rebounding teams.
New Mexico, meanwhile, understandably struggled to secure non-conference games after a late start on account of the state of New Mexico’s COVID-19 related regulations, preventing the team from playing in their home state. What they did manage to grab were a couple of tune-up style games against non-Division I teams and a singular game against a Rice Owls team that isn’t as good as their 5-2 record might suggest.
Still, New Mexico has managed to compile an impressive team stat-line in just about every aspect that isn’t three-point shooting or free throw percentage. So far, they are scoring at a clip of 88.7 points per game (18th) on a 49.5 field goal percentage (T-39th), assisting 16.3 times per game (T-60th), and are averaging 5.33 blocks per game (T-28th). By far, the most impressive stat is their 1st place position with a massive 58.7 rebounds per game, nearly 9 rebounds better than second place and breaking a single-game record along the way.
Lobos crashing boards & setting records! #WeAreNM pic.twitter.com/cPXHhWzOYm
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 19, 2020
In fact, six Lobos in all are averaging at least 5 rebounds per game, led by 6-5 G/F Makuach Maluach (18.3 points, 10.0 rebounds per game, 62.5% field goal percentage, 80.0 three point field goal percentage) who just surpassed the 1,000 point career mark.
Senior Makuach Maluach on entering into the New Mexico 1,000-Point Club. Congratulations! 👀👏👏#GoLobos #1000PointClub pic.twitter.com/e8ekVEb9zf
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB) December 18, 2020
Even though Maluach, Wichita State transfer Rod Brown (13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds per game, 77.3 field goal percentage) and Bayron Matos (10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks per game) have rebounded and scored well so far, it’s hard to imagine New Mexico approaching their average rebounds against one of the tallest teams in the country.
So far against the available competition, New Mexico has cruised to their 3-0 start, but Boise State should provide the first real competition to challenge New Mexico’s efficacious efforts inside the paint thus far. Boise State is pretty significantly favored in this one, but the Broncos will likely have to shoot better than their typical 31.5% three-point field goal percentage in the series to seal the deal with New Mexico’s inside presence.
