The Mountain West preseason men’s basketball poll is out. Where did Boise State land?
The Boise State men’s basketball team was picked to finish third in a preseason poll of Mountain West media members who cover the league.
The defending regular-season and tournament champions return two starters and 10 players in all from last year’s team, which went 15-3 in conference play in the regular season and finished 27-8 overall after losing to Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Broncos have made a habit of outperforming their preseason prediction, landing fourth last season before sweeping the league titles. It was their first regular season title since the 2014-15 season and their first conference tournament title in coach Leon Rice’s tenure.
They hope to outperform expectations again in 2022-23.
“If you look at the history of where we’ve been picked and where we’ve finished, I think probably 80 to 90 percent of the time we’ve finished higher than what we’ve been picked,” Rice said Wednesday during Mountain West Media Days. “It certainly is a goal for this year. I don’t put too much stock in the preseason stuff — rankings and numbers — it has to be proven.”
San Diego State was voted the preseason favorite, garnering 16 first-place votes and 216 points. Wyoming received four first-place votes and 204 points to finish second. The Broncos received 166 points, and Colorado State was fourth with 156.
No Broncos were selected for the preseason all-conference team, which was headlined by preseason Player of the Year Graham Ike of Wyoming.
The Broncos return two starters — Marcus Shaver Jr. and Tyson Degenhart — and add scholarship players Chibuzo Agbo (6-7, jr., guard), Sadraque NgaNga (6-10, fr., guard), Mohamed Sylla (6-11, sr., center) and Jace Whiting (6-2, fr., guard), and walk-ons Kade Rice (6-4, fr., guard) and Vince Barringer (6-6, fr., guard/forward).
Agbo, a Texas Tech transfer; Sylla, who transferred from Detroit Mercy; and NgaNga are the most likely to garner playing time.
“The thing that jumps out to me as we’re practicing on our new, beautiful court is the way the ball moves to the right spots at the right time and without an agenda,” Leon Rice said. “I think we’re clicking a little more offensively, which is great. I think we score a little easier. I do know the fact that we won the league last year because we were one of the best defensive teams in the league.
“So hopefully our offense can be better and we keep our defense at the level it was or even better than last year.”
The Broncos, who scrimmage Oregon on Saturday, will play an exhibition contest against Carroll College at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at ExtraMile Arena. Their season opener is against South Dakota State on Nov. 9.
Broncos unveil new court
Boise State will be playing on a new basketball court this winter.
The school unveiled on social media Tuesday an updated paint scheme, cleaner look and brighter colors.
“When you see it live, it is beautiful. It really is,” Rice said. “It brightens the building up and it’s going to show really well on TV. My feeling on the court was, simpler was better.”
The cost of the new court was $162,700, according to a Boise State spokesperson, and replaces the 16-year-old court the Broncos had used.
The new court is just one tone across the board and is a lighter shade. The last court had a separate shade in the arc compared to the rest of the court, and the restricted area within the key was blue on both ends. The Mountain West logo and sponsor logo — which shifted to Mountain America Credit Union — have moved inside the arc instead of being closer to midcourt.
2022-23 MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON POLL
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. San Diego State (16), 216
2. Wyoming (4), 204
3. Boise State, 166
4. Colorado State, 156
5. New Mexico, 136
6. UNLV, 110
7. Fresno State, 101
8. Utah State, 96
9. Nevada, 73
10. San Jose State, 35
11. Air Force, 27
2022-23 PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
G Isaiah Stevens, Sr. ., Colorado State
G Jamal Mashburn Jr., Jr., New Mexico
G Matt Bradley, Sr., San Diego State
F Graham Ike, Jr., Wyoming
G Hunter Maldonado, Sr., Wyoming
Preseason Player of the Year
Graham Ike, Jr., F, Wyoming
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Darrion Trammell, Sr., G, San Diego State
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Joseph Hunter, G, Fresno State
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
