Big wins, crushing loss, struggling MW rivals — how each affects Boise State’s NCAA fate
Boise State basketball could have punched itself an automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening with a win in the Mountain West Tournament championship game.
Instead, the Broncos lost 69-56 to Colorado State, meaning the Rams are going dancing while Boise State must wait until Sunday afternoon to learn its postseason fate. The selection show revealing the 68-team field will air on CBS at 4 p.m. Sunday.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, whose bracket predictions are widely trusted, moved Boise State from a “Last Four In” team to among the “First Four Out” following the loss.
Although the Broncos (24-10) hold an unwanted 0-10 record in the NCAA Tournament, they’re seeking a fourth straight invite to the Big Dance, and head coach Leon Rice thinks his team deserves to be there.
“We’ve got a great body of work, playing great ball now,” Rice said. “We’ve got some quality wins, played an aggressive schedule, won games away from our home arena. And the top of this league is as good as it has been.”
Rice pointed toward the Broncos’ non-conference wins over Clemson and Saint Mary’s earlier in the season as indicators of Boise State’s tournament eligibility. The two teams are ranked No. 10 and No. 19, respectively, in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings.
But in the same breath, he also pointed out that Boise State’s loss to Boston College in November’s Caymen Islands Classic championship game shouldn’t be heavily weighted. The Broncos lost 63-61 after Boston College hit a 3-pointer to take the lead with 2 seconds remaining.
“Because on the third day of a tournament, Boston College hits a step-back three to beat us, does that mean we’re not tournament-worthy in November?” Rice said.
Rice also commented on the state of the Mountain West as a whole and why the conference, including Boise State, may not get as many teams as coaches think it deserves in the tournament. Lunardi projects four Mountain West teams will make the field of 68, with San Diego State among the Last Four In and Boise State as the first team out.
“The top of this league is as good as it has been,” Rice said. “It’s just all our numbers are down because the bottom of the league, their numbers are way down.”
According to the NET rankings, the NCAA’s tool for evaluating a team’s quality and resume, seven of the Mountain West’s 11 teams rank among the top 100 of the 364 teams ranked. Boise State ranks third in the conference at 43rd.
However, the conference’s bottom four teams are San Jose State (175th), Wyoming (198th), Fresno State (278th), and Air Force (323rd).
“If the bottom of our league was way better and we beat them, like we did, does that mean we get four or five teams in?” Rice said. “It’s complicated, and there are so many moving parts to this thing, but I know how good we’re playing. I know what a good team we are.”
While Rice remains on the front foot about his team’s March Madness chances, senior guard Tyson Degenhart was less brazen. Degenhart was the only Bronco in double-digit scoring, with 22 points, against Colorado State on Saturday.
“Now it’s we kind of just hope and pray. I feel like we are a tournament team,” Degenhart said. “If the committee says, like what they did last year about out-of-conference wins, we have two of the best ones out there. So I hope that takes us in, and we’ll have to wait and see tomorrow.”
