What was expected to be a celebration on Sunday evening turned into a puzzled, frustrating, stunned moment that none saw coming.
No, the Boise State men’s basketball team didn’t get left out of the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos are back in the Big Dance for the third straight season for the first time in program history. That’s the good news.
The unexpected part? The Broncos were one of the last four teams in the tournament and will head to Dayton to play Colorado in the First Four on Wednesday.
“A little surprised to be honest,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “I don’t think anyone had us projected there. I thought we’d be a higher seed because two things that were emphasized were the schedule you put together and then winning games on the road and we did both of those.
“But hey, we’re grateful. We’re in the greatest sporting event there is.”
Boise State was projected by most to be anywhere from a No. 7 to No. 9 seed in the tournament after going 22-10 in the regular season and finishing with six Quad 1 wins and a 9-9 record in the first two quadrants. The Broncos also went 7-2 on the road in the Mountain West including wins at San Diego State, New Mexico and Nevada
The Broncos were also No. 26 in the final NET rankings on Sunday, which would be equivalent to a No. 7 seed.
Instead the Broncos will travel Monday to play Colorado on Wednesday night in the First Four at 7:10 p.m. MT on TruTV.
“That’s a head scratcher a little bit,” Rice said. “I’d love to know what goes on in that room. … It makes you wonder about scheduling and if that really is important or is it more important to win by 30 or 40? Who knows. We had a great NET and we did our work. But we’re in the tournament and there’s a lot of teams right now who would trade places with us.
“Our guys are excited. Dayton is a great place. They come out and support and your the first teams playing so it’s exciting.”
Even Gonzaga coach Mark Few, a close friend of Rice’s, couldn’t believe Boise State’s draw.
“That’s one of the worst screw jobs I’ve seen man,” Few told reporters in Spokane. “They had a heck a year and swept some of the teams who are four or five seeds ahead of them. That one was shocking.”
Boise State last played in the First Four in Dayton in 2015 when they had to play basically a true road game against Dayton. The NCAA has since changed the rule to not allow Dayton to play in Dayton due to the advantage they had over the Broncos.
Should the Broncos win they’d advance to face No. 7 Florida on Friday at 2:30 p.m. MT in Indianapolis.
Boise State, who at 0-9 have the most NCAA Tournament appearances in history without a win, has played in the First Four twice previously (2013, 2015).
The Broncos will face a familiar foe in Colorado. Not only did the Broncos beat Colorado last season in the fifth-place game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational, but Rice and Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle are close friends. Rice said Sunday he’s watched almost every Colorado game this season, which gives them a leg up with the short turnaround.
Rice, who likely held back stronger feelings on the draw, said the Broncos would be a motivated group when they leave Monday for Dayton. The Broncos are looking to make history with the program’s first NCAA Tournament win – and they hope to prove the committee wrong in the process.
The chip on the Broncos’ shoulders will be as big as ever.
“I think that’s kind of what we’ve had all year long. It feels like the disrespect has been consistent,” Rice said. “We got second in a league that’s a six-bid league. You get that good of a league and you get second and that low of a seed? It’s a head scratcher but it’s nothing new for us. We just have to put that on our backs and put that on the road with us.
“They’ll be focused and excited to go. There’s pros and cons to everything but the biggest thing is we’re in the tournament. There’s always going to be surprises on this day and there’s some teams who thought they were getting in and they are in tears now and their season is basically over. Ours isn’t. We had a great practice today and we’re ready to go.”
