LAS VEGAS – Welp.
The Boise State men’s basketball team will be left to sweat it out on Selection Sunday after suffering a 69-56 loss to Colorado State in the championship game of the Mountain West Tournament on Saturday.
The Broncos could have earned an automatic bid to the Big Dance with a win over the Rams but instead will wait to find out whether the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee thinks they are worthy of one of the 68 slots. Most bracket projections literally have the Broncos as the last team in the field or the first team out.
“You kind of just hope and pray,” Boise State senior Tyson Degenhart said. “I feel like we are a tournament team. If the committee says like what they did last year about out-of-conference wins, we have two of the best ones out there. Hope that takes us in. We’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow.”
Boise State has impressive non-conference wins over Clemson and Saint Mary’s, but also has a pair of bad losses to Boston College and Washington State.
Saturday was a chance to take it out of the committees hands and earn the auto bid themselves. Colorado State had other ideas.
The Rams were 12 of 24 from 3-point range and led by as many as 25 points to continue a late season surge that has landed them an improbable ticket to The Big Dance.
Boise State trailed 32-27 early in the second half before an 11-0 run from Colorado State opened the game up. Boise State never got it back to single digits again, leaving fans to cheer ceremoniously as seniors Degenhart and Alvaro Cardenas were removed from the game in the final seconds.
“Hats off to Colorado State,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “They are playing great basketball. They were 12 of 24 from 3 and that’s tough to do on the third day, making shots like they did. … Credit to them. They responded and hit big shots.”
Degenhart had 22 points but was the only Bronco in double figures. Julian Bowie had eight points off the bench, while RJ Keene had six points.
Boise State (24-10) could play in the new Crown Tournament in Las Vegas or the NIT should they not earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 68-team field will be announced on CBS at 4 p.m. MT.
Rice said the Broncos were “no doubt” an NCAA Tournament team. We’ll find out on Sunday if the 12-person committee agrees.
“We check all the boxes,” Rice said. “We have neutral site wins. Two great ones here (vs. San Diego State and New Mexico in Las Vegas). All the boxes are checked with what they say they want us to do. … We’ve got a great body of work and we’re playing great right now.”
Seniors Tyson Degenhart and Alvaro Cardenas are removed from the game and embrace their coaches and teammates. pic.twitter.com/5cwFzgY5s9
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) March 16, 2025
nbsp;
Check Bronco Nation News on Sunday for updates on Boise State’s postseason destination.
