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Today's game, beginning at 3 pm MST on ESPN3, promises to be a good one. Boise State currently sits in second place in the MWC standings, one-half game ahead of New Mexico. Both teams showcase top-three offenses in the conference. Moreover, the last three games between these two teams were decided by a total of 17 points.
Last season's match up featured James Webb III scorching the nets at the Pit as he scored 23 points on 8/9 shooting, including 7/7 from deep in a Broncos victory. Webb III has since gone on to be a regular winner of the MWC player of the week and is easily a candidate for player of the year. The 6'9'' forward who is averaging 16 ppg and 9 rpg will look to lead Boise State to a bounce-back win after losing to UNLV on Wednesday.
The Lobos are coming off of two blowout victories against San Jose State and Air Force. They have a new-found depth to their bench that offers a well-rounded attack behind guys like Xavier Adams and Anthony Mathis. Importantly, Elijah Brown (who is shining as the sixth man) and Tim Williams are elevating their games to another level by doing it consistently.
In fact, the match up to watch today will likely be a cross-match up between Webb and Williams. They both average 16 ppg and they're both top five rebounders in the conference. Furthermore, Williams is leading the conference in field goal percentage and Webb is third. Despite their similarities, I don't expect these two to guard each other much (hence why I said cross-match up). Look for Williams to be assigned to the Aussie Nick Duncan (who is having a solid season in his own right), while Lobos' defensive stalwart Sam Logwood will be tasked with Webb.
For Lobos fans, keep your eyes on turnovers. The Lobos coughed the ball up twenty times against Air Force, but managed to win by nearly thirty points. Something tells me that they can't make so many mistakes and still expect to win in Boise.
With the Lobos playing so well in the last two games, and with conference match ups against UNLV and San Diego State on the horizon, I expect them to go into Boise fired up and steal this game. Time will soon tell.