How to watch Boise State at Colorado State with preview, breakdown, TV channel

Two of the hottest men’s basketball teams in the Mountain West will face off on Saturday to close the regular season.

Boise State (19-11, 11-8) will put its four-game winning streak on the line against red-hot Colorado State (20-10, 11-8), which has ripped off eight straight victories. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Mountain time at Moby Arena.

Sitting at 3-8 in MWC play following a late-January loss at Wyoming (17-13, 8-11), the Rams have caught fire down the stretch for the second straight year. Colorado State took down San Diego State (19-10, 13-6) at home on Feb. 21 and upset New Mexico (22-8, 13-6) at The Pit on Wednesday, 82-74.

“They’ve done a great job with that team,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said of first-year Rams coach Ali Farokhmanesh and staff. Farokhmanesh was a lead assistant for previous head coach Niko Medved, who guided Colorado State to three NCAA Tournament appearances in his final four seasons before leaving for Minnesota.

“They really look good watching them on tape.”

The Rams closed conference play with seven straight wins last season and went 3-0 at the MWC Tournament to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Colorado State upset Memphis in the first round before losing to Maryland on a Derik Queen buzzer-beater.

A rash of injuries contributed to the Rams’ sluggish start to MWC play this winter, but the team is once again peaking in March. Colorado State’s eight-game MWC winning streak is the longest in program history during the regular season.

Boise State dropped five of its first six MWC games and snapped the skid with a 79-73 home victory over Colorado State on Jan 16. The Broncos are coming off an 86-77 win over San Diego State.

“We’re buying in on everything,” Rice said of the four-game winning streak. “We’re buying in on our rebounding … our defense is getting better. We played some pretty darn good D to start that game (against San Diego State), and that got us the lead.”

Colorado State can secure the No. 4 seed at next week’s MWC Tournament with a victory and some help. The Broncos are locked out of the top four.

Both teams will likely need to win the MWC Tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament bid.

HOW TO WATCH BOISE STATE VS. COLORADO STATE

Who: Boise State wraps up the MWC regular season with a road game against Colorado State

Records: Boise State 19-11, 11-8; Colorado State 20-10, 11-8

When: 2 p.m. Mountain time | Saturday, March 8

Where: Moby Arena | Fort Collins, Colorado

TV channel: Mountain West Network