The Boise State Broncos and the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels meet Saturday in college basketball action from Thomas & Mack Center. Boise State sits at 22-6 overall this year. The Broncos beat San Diego State in their last game. As for UNLV, they’re 17-11 and coming off a win over Nevada. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Boise State hit a sketchy 3-4 start to the year, but they haven’t lost consecutive games since then. Following a loss to Colorado State, the Broncos managed wins over Air Force, Utah State and San Diego State in their last three.
On Tuesday versus San Diego State, the Broncos hit a 30-20 pace in the first half. Boise State was outscored 28-37 from there but hung on for the 58-57 win. Abu Kigab was the leading team scorer with his 21 points and three rebounds.
Over on the UNLV side, they began the year at 4-5 but they’ve been able to stay above the .500 mark since then. The Rebels’ last loss was to Boise State; since then they’ve beaten Fresno State, Colorado State and Nevada in succession.
Matched up against Nevada on Tuesday, the Rebels were down by three points at the break. UNLV hit a 39-28 run in the second half for a 62-54 comeback win. Bryce Hamilton led the way on his 27 points and eight boards.
The Rebels are 5-0 ATS in their last five overall and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Saturday games. The under is 4-1 in UNLV’s last five overall.
Meanwhile, the Broncos are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven overall. The over is 6-2 in Boise State’s last eight overall.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Boise State. The Broncos have posted some pretty good points totals lately, with 68 or more in five of their last six outings. As for UNLV, they’ve been at 63 or below in three of their last four (but are still 3-1 in that time).
The last time these teams met up, Boise State secured a 69-63 win at home. I don’t quite trust UNLV to put up enough points to post the cover here, so the Broncos seem a better option. Probably not going to touch this one, but it’ll be a great game to watch otherwise.