Boise State point guard looks to continue scoring trend with San Diego State in town

Boise State point guard Roddie Anderson III has been dealing with growing pains this season.

He led all Big West freshmen with 15.8 points a game in conference play last season at UC San Diego. Since transferring to Boise State, he’s been asked to act more as a facilitator than a scorer.

Anderson struggled to make the transition early on, but he eventually wrapped his mind around his new role. He posted two assists or less in six of the Broncos’ first eight games but racked up a season-high eight in the Broncos’ upset of then-No. 17 Colorado State on Jan. 9.

Anderson also had to overcome a scoring drought. He was held without a point in the Broncos’ wins over Utah Valley, San Jose State and Colorado State, but he tied his season-high with 12 against Nevada and added seven in Boise State’s loss to UNLV on Tuesday.

He hopes to keep putting points on the board Saturday when Boise State hosts Mountain West foe San Diego State (11 a.m., CBS). It’s the first time the Broncos have played on network television since the 2022 Mountain West Tournament championship game, which was also on CBS.

“Anytime you get a top team in the country to come into your home and you’re able to protect that, it means a lot,” Anderson told reporters on Friday. “It shows that no one’s going to be able to come in here and do whatever they want.”

Anderson admitted that he lost sleep over his three-game scoreless streak. The knowledge that he was a potent scorer at UC San Diego made it that much worse.

“It’s been a real 180, trying to change my game completely around,” he said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win, but I know I can score. My time is going to come.”

Boise State basketball coach Leon Rice said no player is immune to the doubt that creeps into their minds after too many missed shots.

“The best shooters in the world have droughts and it gets to them,” Rice said. “(Anderson) is developing the toughness and the consistency and all those things that it takes to be a great player.”

Anderson said the key to overcoming the drought was attacking the rim. Six of his seven points against UNLV were scored in the paint. He is averaging 4.5 points a game this season. Tyson Degenhart leads the Broncos with 16 points a night, followed by Chibuzo Agbo (14.9) and O’Mar Stanley (12.5).

“I know coach Rice trusts me now to make plays, and he’s letting me play through my mistakes,” Anderson said. “That has been a huge confidence booster.”

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Rice reiterated that the Broncos (12-5, 3-1 Mountain West) aren’t relying on Anderson to score. He also said a few more points can’t hurt with one of the top teams in a stacked Mountain West coming to ExtraMile Arena on Saturday.

The Mountain West is one of five conferences in the country with six teams in the Top 55 of the NET rankings. San Diego State (15-3, 4-1 MW) is one of five teams in the league that have received votes in the AP Top 25 this season, joining Utah State (16-2, 4-1), Colorado State (14-3, 2-2), New Mexico (15-3, 3-2), Nevada (15-3, 2-2) and Boise State. The Aggies are No. 16 in the latest AP Poll, which was released on Monday.

“In this league, there’s no days off,” Anderson said. “Anybody can beat anybody, so if you go into any game thinking it’s going to be easy and the other team is just going to roll over, it’s not and you’re going to get punched in the face real quick.”

The Broncos and Aztecs know each other well. They’ve played 29 times since 1976, and San Diego State owns an 18-11 advantage in the series. Boise State has won four of the last five games in the series, including a late rally last season at ExtraMile Arena.

The Broncos went on a 14-0 run to erase an eight-point lead in the finale 4:42 of regulation to knock off the then-No. 18 Aztecs, 66-60. Max Rice scored 12 points during the decisive stretch and finished with 26. The game is still a regular topic of discussion in the locker room, Anderson said.

“I heard this is one of the craziest games, and a lot of people are going to be there,” Anderson said. “I’m looking forward to the X being packed because it means a lot.”

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This season, San Diego State has won eight of its past nine games, including victories over Nevada, San Jose State and UNLV. The Aztecs’ lone loss in that stretch was an 88-70 setback at New Mexico.

San Diego State senior Jaedon LeDee leads the conference with 21.6 points a night. The 6-foot-9 native of Houston, Texas, is also averaging 8.8 rebounds a game.

“His shooting numbers, his physicality, his consistency on the glass and his ability to get to the free-throw line have all been really, really good,” Rice said. “This year, he’s just taken it to another level.”

Reese Waters is averaging 12.1 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Aztecs, while Micah Parrish is putting up 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.

As a team, the Aztecs are averaging 38.3 rebounds a game, and they rank No. 2 in the Mountain West with 690 offensive rebounds (11.4 a game). The Broncos are going to have to hit the glass a lot harder than they did in their loss to UNLV. The Rebels pulled down 13 offensive rebounds on the way to snapping Boise State’s 22-game home winning streak.

“We’ve got a long, long history of playing San Diego State, and that’s one of the consistent things they’ve done year in and year out, being a great rebounding team,” Rice said. “They’re physical, they’ve got a lot of bodies, a lot of athletes, and they go get the ball.”