Rebels can’t expect easy win on road at Boise State

Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks have formed a dynamic backcourt at Boise State for four years and are the two leading active scorers in Mountain West basketball.

The duo never could get the Broncos to the level of success the school’s football team has enjoyed, but they have kept the basketball team relevant in the league ever since arriving on campus.

Marks is learning quickly that life without his running mate isn’t so easy, though.

Drmic went down with an ankle injury in December and is out for the rest of the season. Boise State has struggled in his absence. The Broncos have lost four straight and are 0-3 in Mountain West games.

That doesn’t mean UNLV can expect an easy win when it travels to Boise on Tuesday night.

The Broncos are struggling, but have only lost once at home this season in six tries. Also, Marks is still a very dangerous scorer and this is a series that seems to always go down to the wire regardless of the circumstances.

The last time the teams met at Taco Bell Arena, Boise State survived with a 91-90 overtime win when Deville Smith’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was waved off by video review. The last four meetings between the teams have been decided by a total of 14 points and the home team has won all four.

Marks, who scored all 13 of the Broncos’ points during the overtime session in the last meeting, has posted three games of more than 30 points this season as he tries to make up for Drmic’s absence. He has also been efficient, making 52 percent of his shots overall and 54 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Marks is scoring 17.1 points per game this season. Drmic was averaging 15 points per game at the time of his injury.

No other player on the roster is in double-figures. Las Vegan Mikey Thompson, a Canyon Springs graduate, is next at 9.4 points per game. He has really struggled from beyond the arc this season, though, hitting just 7 of 24 attempts.

A similar problem has afflicted sophomore Nick Duncan. The forward from Australia has attempted a team-high 84 shots from beyond the arc and made just 25.

All that adds up to a 10-6 record. The current skid actually began in Las Vegas. Boise State was 10-2 and appeared primed to make it 11-2 with a game against Loyola-Chicago on tap at Orleans Arena.

The Broncos dropped that game 48-45, however, and soon after got word that Drmic’s injury was worse than feared. They have started conference play with road losses at Colorado State and Wyoming and lost a home game to Utah State in between at the buzzer.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj