How to watch, stream Boise State men’s basketball vs. San Diego State: TV channel, game time

Coming off an extended break over Christmas, the Boise State men’s basketball team played a strong defensive game on Tuesday en route to a 62-53 home Mountain West victory over New Mexico.

The Broncos (9-4, 1-1) will be back at it on Saturday against another challenging opponent: San Diego State (8-4, 2-0).

Tipoff between the two MWC contenders is scheduled for 8 p.m. Mountain time on Saturday at Viejas Arena.

Boise State head coach Leon Rice felt his team improved at both ends of the floor during the lengthy layoff.

“I think we made some progress during this break,” Rice said. “We just have to keep getting better. … We’re going to be in a battle on Saturday. We know that.”

The Aztecs have won five of their last six games with the lone loss coming against No. 1 Arizona. San Diego State trailed the Wildcats by one point at halftime before Arizona pulled away in the second half.

Guards BJ Davis (12.3 points, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals) and Reese Dixon-Waters (10.5 points, three rebounds, 1.8 assists) are the Aztecs’ leading scorers. Center Magoon Gwath (9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks) is one of the nation’s top rim protectors while guard Miles Byrd (9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals) is among the MWC’s top two-way players.

Boise State is also a balanced team with five players averaging nine or more points per game, led by center Drew Fielder’s 13.5 points.

The Broncos have been uneven on offense this season while leaning on quality defense.

Boise State finished with exactly 62 points for the third time this season against New Mexico. The Broncos are 3-0 in those games.

“That’s huge because that’s what you have to be able to do,” Rice said. “If you’re not a good enough defensive team to do that, you have no chance to be in the upper part of the league, win the league, those kind of things. You’ve got to be able to win games like that.

“Now … I feel good about the way we shoot the ball, so those will go. We’ll have nights where we do shoot it better.”

HOW TO WATCH BOISE STATE VS. SAN DIEGO STATE

Who: Boise State continues Mountain West play with a road game against San Diego State

Records: Boise State 9-4, 1-1; San Diego State 8-4, 2-0

When: 8 p.m. Mountain time | Saturday, Jan. 3

Where: Viejas Arena | San Diego, California

TV channel: CBS Sports Network