Boise State coach Leon Rice has faced Air Force once, and is a believer in the Falcons.

Air Force beat Boise State by 15 points on Saturday, in the first meeting of the teams since the Broncos joined the Mountain West. Rice was a longtime assistant with Gonzaga, and after the Bulldogs held off Air Force in late December, Rice called Gonzaga coach Mark Few for a scouting report.

“They had Gonzaga on the ropes,” Rice said. “When I talked to Mark about it he said, ‘I’ve got bad news for you, they’re really good.’ And the thing I think about them, I think they’re going to get better and better.”

Rice was most impressed with how Air Force capitalized on every mistake his team made. He pointed out a sequence late in the first half, after the Broncos had cut Air Force’s lead to one point. Boise State’s defender sagged off of guard Todd Fletcher to hedge against a backdoor cut, and Fletcher hit an open 3-pointer. The same thing happened on the next possession, and Fletcher’s two 3-pointers turned the momentum of the game.

“That changes the game, then they kind of got you a little bit,” Rice said. “And the crazy thing about playing them, a 7-point lead sometimes feels like you’re down 20, because they make you work so hard to get anything.

“What I think they do such a great job of, if you make one mistake, they make you pay, and they make you pay again until you fix it.”

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