Season over? Think again. Boise State hoops is back in March Madness discussions

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The reports of Boise State basketball’s death are greatly exaggerated.

It was just a little over a month ago that Boise State opened its season with a humiliating 79-78 home loss to Hawaii Pacific, a Division II school that plays its games in an old strip mall in Honolulu.

After one game of Boise State’s 31-game regular season, judging by reactions around the college basketball world, the Broncos’ chances of earning an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament were already dead. Yet, as is the world of college basketball, things move quickly. That’s certainly the case for the Broncos, who, since that loss, have played eight games, competed in the Maui Invitational for the first time in program history, and then headed eastward to play in Butler’s iconic Hinkle Fieldhouse.

It hasn’t gone perfectly for Boise State. The Broncos only won one of their three games in Maui, losing a pair of potential resume boosters against USC and NC State.

But there have been positives, too, including a home 62-59 win over Wichita State in mid-November and a season-defining 77-68 win over Butler this past weekend.

About the Broncos’ season already being dead in November? Not quite.

ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi released his latest NCAA Tournament projections on Tuesday morning, and Boise State finds itself among Lunardi’s “Last Four Out.”

The Broncos missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years last season after floating around the bubble for much of the year. The Broncos’ fate ultimately came down to needing to win the Mountain West Tournament to earn an automatic bid, but they fell just short, losing 69-56 to Colorado State in the championship game.

While it may seem ridiculous to be talking about March Madness before Mountain West conference play has even begun, it does show one thing: The Broncos’ early-season woes won’t hold them back if they keep winning.

“That’s why you schedule hard,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said on Tuesday. “Because you get more opportunities.”

Rice has had several conversations with Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson in recent weeks about battling adversity. The Broncos’ football team lost two games in a row in November, sat at 6-4, and it looked like the season was quickly unraveling. They rebounded by winning their final two regular-season games, hosted the Mountain West Championship game, and ultimately won it for the third straight year.

So it’s unsurprising that Rice’s message to his team somewhat echoes what Danielson has told his team in recent months.

“Everything you really want is on the other side of hard, and on the other side of hard work, and on the other side of a little bit of suffering sometimes,” Rice said. “And that’s what a season brings you.”

The Broncos hope they’re past the worst of the suffering already, especially given that their next opponent shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Boise State (6-3) will host the Duquesne Dukes (6-3) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena.

While the two teams boast the same record, the Broncos rank much higher in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which help determine a team’s strength and efficiency; the Broncos rank 49th out of 365 teams, compared to Duquesne’s 182nd.

However, the Dukes’ scoring offense ranks 47th in the nation (86.8 points per game), while their assists per game rank 55th (17.2).

“These guys can score, and they can really get it going offensively, and they have a great pace to them. They’re hard to guard,” Rice said. “And we’re going to have to have another great defensive game to slow them down.”