Boise State men’s basketball team earns No. 2 seed in NIT, will face team from AAC
The Boise State men’s basketball team has accepted a spot in the 2021 National Invitation Tournament.
The Broncos earned a No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 SMU (11-5) of the American Athletic Conference in the first round at 7 p.m. MDT on Thursday at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The game will be televised on ESPN.
This year’s tournament will feature 16 teams, and all games will be played at the Comerica Center or the University of North Texas Coliseum in Denton, Texas. All games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
Boise State (18-8) was eliminated from the Mountain West Tournament after an 89-82 loss to Nevada in the quarterfinals, effectively ending its NCAA Tournament hopes.
“We’re not gonna sit around and pout because we didn’t go (to the NCAA Tournament) and it didn’t go perfect,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said in a Zoom interview Sunday night. “That’s the life lessons that we have to teach and that we have to deal with. I have to deal with it, and the players have to deal with it. It was hard on all of us, no doubt. We wanted to be in the big dance.
“But this is an NCAA event. It’s a great tournament, and historically speaking, teams that have gone to the NIT and gained some more experience ... if we can go play some good basketball, it helps you going forward.”
This will be the Broncos’ third NIT appearance under Rice and their seventh in program history. BSU last appeared in the NIT during the 2017-18 season, losing in the first round to Washington, 77-74.
The Broncos will play without forward Abu Kigab and guard Max Rice, who are scheduled to have season-ending surgeries. Kigab injured his right shoulder in the Broncos’ regular-season finale against Fresno State, and Rice has a broken foot and a hip injury, Leon Rice said.
“We lose two big pieces to the puzzle,” Leon Rice said. “Now, that opens up opportunity for some other guys, and I saw some things at practice where some other guys stepped up today, and I’m excited to give them the opportunity.”
SMU, which is located about 30 minutes from the Comerica Center, did not play its final eight games of the regular season because of COVID-19 and winter weather.
This will be the 12th meeting between SMU and Boise State. The Mustangs lead the all-time series 6-5 and won the most recent meeting, 86-63, on Dec. 18, 2017, at Moody Coliseum.
The winner of Boise State and SMU will take on the winner of top-seeded Memphis (16-7) and No. 4 Dayton (14-9). All four second-round games will take place Thursday, March 25.
Boise State will be staying about 30 minutes outside of Vegas until the Broncos head to Dallas on Tuesday. In addition to practices at UNLV over the next few days, the Broncos have also gotten out for a team hike, a cornhole tournament and ping pong.
“We’re trying to do some bonding stuff ... because through this year, that’s something that’s been missing on teams and that’s something that we usually do a lot of,” Leon Rice said. “... That’s the price that this generation and this group of high school athletes, college athletes, they missed out on that. And that’s important. That’s a big part of why you play athletics. It’s a big part of growing as a team.”
The Mountain West will send two teams to the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State, the conference’s automatic qualifier, earned a No. 6 seed, while Utah State received an at-large bid and a No. 11 seed. The Aztecs (23-4) face No. 11 Syracuse (16-9) on Friday, and the Aggies (20-8) draw No. 6 Texas Tech (17-10), also on Friday.
Colorado State (18-6) is the No. 2 replacement for the NCAA Tournament and would enter the field if a team from a multiple-bid league tests out. The Rams earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT and will play Buffalo (16-8).
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 6:50 PM.
