Boise State’s biggest question mark heading into Wyoming game remains at point guard

Leon Rice knows Marcus Shaver Jr. is a better basketball player when he can practice. But practice also makes Rice worry.

Shaver missed Boise State’s loss at San Diego State with an ankle injury, and the Broncos had a bye all this week, which gave him more time to recover.

Rice said he was “hopeful” Shaver would be out of a boot and available for Boise State’s Mountain West matchup against Wyoming at 6 p.m. Saturday at ExtraMile Arena.

“His best games are when he’s been able to practice,” Rice said. “There’s a value to the timing and the rhythm that you get into. ... But I’m always a little paranoid at practice when he’s out there. You’re naturally that way, because you want to get these guys better, but one wrong turn of an ankle or somebody lands on their head.

“Basketball’s physical. And the way Marcus throws his body around, you’re just like: ‘OK, just chill a little bit.’ His best ability is his availability. We’re a different team without him, 100 percent.”

The Broncos (18-6, 8-3 MW) can’t afford to be without their fifth-year starting point guard as they head toward the home stretch of the regular season. Boise State, the defending regular season and Mountain West Tournament champion, sits third in the conference standings with seven games remaining.

While true freshman Jace Whiting has done a good job filling in when Shaver has missed games this season, Whiting’s inexperience has made him vulnerable at times, particularly against a full-court press.

“(Shaver) does everything. He makes everybody around him better,” Rice said. “Our team has confidence. It’s like that quarterback who walks in the huddle and they’re like: ‘Oh, OK. I’ll do my job because this guy can get it done.’ He just gives everybody a lift and confidence because you’ve got a veteran QB.

“It’s not a knock on Jace, he just hasn’t had the experience that Marcus has had. So there’s a big difference.”

Shaver ranks third on the team in points per game (13.2) and is among the top 10 in the Mountain West in assists per game (4.2, fifth), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8, seventh), steals per game (1.7, fourth) and rebounds per game (6.3, seventh).

MW commissioner pushes for NCAA Tournament bids

Most major bracketologists agree that San Diego State, New Mexico, Boise State and Nevada are in decent shape to make this year’s NCAA Tournament field, depending on the next couple of weeks.

New Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, who was in Boise on Friday, believes that number should be five, as she would add Utah State to the mix.

“We have five teams in the top 40 in the NET ranking. We’re the No. 1 league in the West. We have the fifth-ranked team average NET ranking in the country. But more importantly, and I don’t know that folks have honed in on this, we have a 72 percent winning percentage in nonconference.

“What does that mean? That means if you stub your toe in league play and lose a game that maybe you weren’t supposed to, you’re not going to fall down the NET ranking. That nonconference work is a result of tremendous scheduling — and winning — by our coaches relative to where they are in rebuilding or vying for seeding in their season, and that’s really gonna carry us through to the end.”

The Mountain West got four NCAA bids last season. Boise State, San Diego State, Wyoming and Colorado State all lost their first game.

WYOMING AT BOISE STATE

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

Where: ExtraMile Arena, Boise

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: KBOI 670 AM or 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)

Records: Boise State 18-6, 8-3 MW; Wyoming 7-16, 2-9

Series: Boise State leads the all-time series 22-14

KenPom rating: Boise State 28, Wyoming 170

KenPom & ESPN predictions

Ken Pomeroy, who created the popular college basketball statistical website KenPom.com, ranks every Division I team using an adjusted efficiency margin, which Pomeroy defines as the difference between a team’s offensive and defensive efficiency.

According to Pomeroy’s detailed statistical analysis, Boise State has a 91% chance of beating Wyoming. His score prediction is a 75-60 BSU victory.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index: Boise State has a 96.1% chance of winning with a predicted point differential of 19.7.