Boise St.-San Diego St. Preview

San Diego State will have had three days to think about the ugly loss that ended its 11-game winning streak. Boise State could bear the brunt of the Aztecs' frustration Wednesday night. The No. 17 Aztecs look to get back on track at home, where they've won eight in a row and will be facing a struggling Broncos team that's winless on the road. San Diego State (18-3, 4-1 Mountain West Conference) shot a season-low 31.3 percent as its run was snapped in a 77-60 loss at Colorado State on Saturday. The Aztecs went 3 of 21 from 3-point range - also a season worst - and were outrebounded 40-30. Mountain West leading scorer Chase Tapley went 3 of 17 from the field and scored 10 points - 6.1 below his average. "We were beaten today. We played hard. We had a difficult time making shots," said coach Steve Fisher, whose team got 24 points and 10 rebounds from Jamaal Franklin. "Part of that goes to Colorado State and how they guarded. We had a hard time making shots and they made shots. They were 23 of 23 from the free-throw line. Today they were without question the better team." That's only been the case once for San Diego State this season in 14 games at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs have outscored opponents by nearly 16 points per game at home and have given up an average of 55.5 during their eight straight wins there. San Diego State has won 32 of its last 33 at home against non-conference opponents, and should also be well-rested after a week of arduous travel brought on by bad weather. "I'm not going to place the blame (for the loss) on us traveling. We understand how our conference is and the climates," forward Tim Shelton said. "That's not the reason at all." The Aztecs have gone 76 games without suffering consecutive defeats, and Boise State would have to score a major upset to prevent that streak from continuing. The Broncos (10-10, 0-5) have struggled in their first season in the MWC, losing six in a row with the last five coming in league play. The most recent defeat came by a score of 75-64 to Wyoming at home Saturday. Boise State allowed the Cowboys to shoot 65.8 percent, though the Broncos did outscore Wyoming 44-42 in the second half. "It's really tough," coach Leon Rice said. "There comes a time where you just want them to get rewarded for some hard work. You look around, and there's just nowhere to come up for air in this league." Joe Hanstad scored 13 points, Ryan Watkins added 12 and Tre' Nichols had 11 for the Broncos, who are 0-7 on the road. San Diego State has gone 38 consecutive games without allowing a team to shoot 50 percent from the field. The Aztecs have held conference opponents to 37.7 percent. The only meeting between San Diego State and Boise State came Dec. 16, 1976, a 78-68 Aztecs home win.