Five-day journey: Behind the scenes with Boise State basketball on the road

It was the type of adventure that not even a seasoned veteran like senior Nick Duncan had endured.

[RELATED: Remaining road games will test the mettle of the Boise State men’s basketball team]

When the Boise State men’s basketball team played at Wyoming on Jan. 28 and at Colorado State on Jan. 31, the Broncos opted to stay on the road rather than travel back to Boise in between games. It was the first time the program had opted to not go home between back-to-back conference road games since joining the Mountain West in 2011.

The Broncos flew into Denver on Jan. 27, drove two hours to Laramie, Wyo., and circled back to Fort Collins, Colo., a few days later before flying back from Denver first thing in the morning on Feb. 1.

“Leave Friday, come back Wednesday. It’s the first I’ve really been on, at least,” Duncan said. “It’s been a challenge and it’s kind of new, but I think it was the right choice.”

Instead of heading back to the comforts of Boise, Duncan and his teammates were forced into unfamiliar hotels. Rather than driving their own cars to and from campus, the Broncos depended on airplanes and buses. The friendly confines of their own facilities and training rooms were substituted with hotel conference rooms to watch film in and banquet rooms to get taped up in before games.

And don’t even mention packing for a five-day trip.

“I was joking around with some of the guys. We lose track of what day it is,” junior Chandler Hutchison said the night before the Colorado State game. “I forgot today was Monday, or whatever it is.”

The Idaho Statesman tagged along for the entirety of Boise State’s trip, from their departure from the Boise Airport, to their return home, and everything in between. From meals to downtime in players’ rooms to pregame warmups, the Statesman caught it all.

The Broncos went 2-0 on the trip and are 5-1 in conference road games this season. After spending nearly a week with them in hotels and on flights, it’s easy to see why Boise State thrives on the road: albeit difficult, the Broncos love everything that comes with playing on the road, from the mental challenges of playing in hostile arenas to the fluffy comforts of hotel beds.

They get to do it again this week, albiet a single-game road trip - the Broncos (16-7, 9-3, first place Mountain West) play at New Mexico (15-10, 8-5) on Tuesday (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Five-day journey: Behind the scenes with Boise State basketball on the road."