NCAA Tournament primer: A bandwagon fan’s guide to Boise State men’s basketball
For whatever reason, you haven’t been paying attention to Boise State’s magical men’s basketball season.
Never mind the excuses, you’re here now, so let’s get you up to speed as the Broncos prepare for their NCAA Tournament opener.
Here’s what every bandwagon fan needs to know before they sit down to watch the eighth-seeded Broncos take on No. 9 Memphis at 11:45 a.m. Mountain time Thursday — long lunch break, perhaps? — at the Moda Center in Portland.
(For starters, the game will be televised on TNT, which is DirecTV channel 245, DISH Network channel 138 and Sparklight channel 185.)
How did they get here?
Boise State (27-7) set program records for total wins (27), conference wins (15) and consecutive wins (14) this season on its way to winning the outright Mountain West regular-season title and capturing the Mountain West Tournament crown, both of which were firsts for the program.
With their conference tournament victory, the Broncos earned the Mountain West’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Even if they hadn’t won the tournament, bracketologists predicted the Broncos had a good enough resume to receive an at-large bid.
Who leads the Broncos?
Fifth-year senior Abu Kigab is not only the Broncos’ leading scorer at 14.7 points per game, he’s also their best defender and the vocal leader on and off the court. Kigab is joined in the starting lineup by redshirt seniors Marcus Shaver Jr., Emmanuel Akot and Mladen Armus, plus true freshman Tyson Degenhart.
- Second-best scorer: Shaver, 13.6 ppg
- Rebound leader: Armus, 7.9 rpg
- Assist leader: Akot, 2.9 apg
- Steals leader: Kigab, 1.3 spg
- Blocks leader: Armus, 0.9 bpg
Boost off the bench
Coach Leon Rice’s son, Max Rice, has played in all 34 of the Broncos’ games, including seven starts. He’s been the first player off the bench 19 times. The other players most likely to get on the court are forward Naje Smith, center Lukas Milner and guard Pavle Kuzmanovic.
What the Broncos do well
Boise State is among the top defensive teams in the country, checking in at No. 13 for scoring defense, at 60.8 points per game.
Boise State enters the tournament with the nation’s 17th-ranked defense, according to KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric. During the 28 years of rankings available at KenPom, Boise State had never previously finished a season better than 42nd in adjusted defensive efficiency.
The Broncos have held 28 opponents to fewer than 70 points, 16 under 60 and three under 50.
Part of a successful defense means dominating the boards, and that’s another area the Broncos excel. Boise State ranks 38th in the country with a rebounding margin of plus-5.
Where the Broncos struggle
Even if you’ve been living under a rock the last four months, you’ve probably heard about the Broncos’ struggles at the free-throw line. Boise State ranks near the bottom of all Division I teams with a free-throw percentage of 65%.
They have, however, improved as the season’s gone on. Over their last 16 games, the Broncos have gone 205-for-283 at the line (72.4%).
Who’s Mr. Clutch?
When the Broncos need a game-winning shot, they turn to Shaver.
He’s made a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds of four games that either tied the score or gave Boise State the lead.
The clutch run started when he hit his first game-winner against Utah State (Jan. 20) with 1.4 seconds left. A few days later, Shaver sank the go-ahead shot at San Diego State (Jan. 22). He has since forced overtime at Fresno State (Jan. 28) and at home against Colorado State (Feb. 13).
What is the Broncos’ NCAA history?
Boise State will try to add another historic moment to this season on Thursday. The Broncos are 0-7 in NCAA Tournament action, most recently losing to Dayton in 2015 (on Dayton’s home court, no less).
But the Broncos also arguably have never had a better chance to get a win. As the No. 8 seed, the selection committee expects them to play in the second round. And they’ll play the first round in Portland, much closer to home — and to their fans — than No. 9 Memphis.
A win likely would set up a Fiesta Bowl-like moment: Boise State vs. Gonzaga, the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, in the second round.
Coach’s talking points
Here are some of the things coach Leon Rice says stand out about his Broncos:
- “First of all, we’re gritty. We’re gritty and tough. They’re great competitors, and they show up every night and play as hard as they possibly can. They might not make every shot, and they don’t win every game but they sure compete every single night. That’s something to be proud of as a coach.”
- “We’ve been a really, really good defensive team consistently throughout the year. We’ve been a great rebounding team and our offense has really, I thought, taken off. Our numbers have been great for the last eight to 10 games.”
- “I think we’re an unselfish team that’s fun to watch. You certainly get your money’s worth watching us, that’s for sure.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
