BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…February 16, 2020:
The second-highest ranked team ever to face Boise State in ExtraMile Arena, No. 4 San Diego State, bounces the Broncos 72-55 before a sellout crowd. Boise State senior Justinian Jessup was hot, scoring 22 points with five three-pointers, but the rest of the Broncos were not in the face of the Aztecs’ suffocating defense. SDSU star Malachi Flynn also put up 22 points while draining a couple of 30-foot three-pointers. That was one of San Diego State’s best teams — at that point the Aztecs were 26-0.
It was a great atmosphere in ExtraMile Arena on a Sunday afternoon. The game sold out, although there were more than 1,500 no-shows (who must have had some pretty cool President’s Day weekend plans). That resulted in an official attendance of 10,651, as that was back when it was based on turnstile count. I wrote at the time that “the noise on some defensive possessions pushed the decibel count to levels like those of 30 years ago. The current sound system in the arena didn’t handle it so well.”
The Mountain West’s hope at that point was that San Diego State could make at least a Final Four run in the NCAA Tournament and validate its special season. We figured that the Aztecs would get a lot of “I told you so” potshots if they didn’t. Well, SDSU lost its next time out, 66-63 at home to UNLV. The Aztecs’ only other defeat of the season came in the Mountain West championship game to Utah State. And you know what? We never found out about the NCAA Tournament. The Big Dance in 2020 was canceled a few days into the COVID crisis.
The highest-ranked team ever to take on Boise State on its home floor was No. 3 Cincinnati in December of 1999. The Bearcats won that game 78-46. San Diego State was No. 5 in the AP Poll when it visited in 2014. The Broncos led most of the way until the Aztecs rallied for a 67-65 victory. Wyoming was also No. 5 in the classic matchup in Boise in front of 12,265 fans three days before Christmas in 1987, a 59-55 Cowboys win. UCLA had the highest ranking of any Boise State opponent anywhere in November, 1978. The Bruins were No. 2 when they downed the Broncos 79-59 in Pauley Pavilion.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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