What Happened?
Broncos win vs. San Diego State 62-52 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament. Alvaro led the Broncos in scoring with 16 (Our pass-first guard can score too!). Nick Boyd led all scorers with 20 points while shooting 50% from the field. The usual subjects for the Broncos were in double figures: Tyson with 14, Andrew with 12, and Peanut with 10. In typical RJ fashion, he finished with 2 points and 9 huge rebounds.
The Broncos dominated the boards, finishing with a +12 differential. In an even more dominant fashion, the Broncos had 13 offensive rebounds compared to SDSU’s 4, which led to 18 second-chance points for the Broncos. Tonight’s win can be credited to those rebounds and second chance points.
3-Ball, Love It Or Hate It
Some people (mostly over the age of 40) hate how many teams just let the 3 ball fly. Those people would not like how the first half went. Tonight, the Broncos tied the school record for 3 pointers attempted with a staggering 40 attempts. It was evident that was the game plan for SDSU.
In the first half, the Broncos only shot 6 shots from inside the arc and shot 23 from behind the arc. Things looked bleak as the Broncos were down 11. In the waning minutes of the first half, triples from both Tyson and Alvaro cut the deficit to 5. That helped the Broncos build some momentum going into the half down single digits.
Defense Wins Games
The Broncos quietly dominated the second half. They worked hard on the glass and on the defensive end of the floor. The Broncos held SDSU scoreless from the field in the final nine minutes of the game. Nick Boyd scored 20, but no other scorer had more than 7 points. Leon and company made some critical halftime adjustments, which led to that stat.
In a season where I have been vocal about the lack of adjustments, I need to give the coaching staff credit where it’s due. A mixture of teamwork and individual effort led this team to victory. This loss is the first loss in the QF for SDSU since 2007. Brian Dutcher (head coach for SDSU) hasn’t missed the tournament final in his previous 7 years at SDSU.
What’s Next?
Tomorrow night is a date with top seed New Mexico at 7:30 pm. This season, the home team has won both matchups. The Broncos were blown out at the Pit, and New Mexico was blown out at the X. New Mexico is looking to make it back-to-back tournament final appearances. The Broncos haven’t been to the finals since we won it back in 2022.
The Broncos are still hovering on the bubble to make it to the NCAA tournament, and a win against New Mexico should cement an at-large birth. After a win like this, it is hard not to think that the Broncos have a great shot tomorrow night.
Broncos History
Tyson is currently 18 points away from breaking the school record for points in a career. Here’s to hoping Tyson can lead the team to a win and break a record in the process.
Go Broncos. The team and coaches did some good work today. I think they do need to get to the final to make it to the dance. Hope TD breaks the record, Peanut scores big again, and Buchanan gets his scoring mojo going.
Saw the last 5 minutes of the game. It was impressive seeing SDSU not score in that stretch, including no free throws made.