LAS VEGAS – One thing we learned about Boise State basketball Thursday night.
The Broncos are better with a chip on their shoulder.
Chips are important in Vegas – poker chips, casino chips … shoulder chips when playing against motivated opponents in the Mountain West Tournament.
Boise State has played with attitude, swagger and a dare-to-beat us attitude for most of this season. Mental toughness serves this group of coaches and players well – this time, New Mexico turned its own tough approach into a 76-66 quarterfinal victory at Thomas & Mack Center.
Mike Prater
Boise State didn’t really need this game. It showed. And, in hindsight, it stings to be one-and-done (again) after another postseason trip to Vegas.
The NCAA Tournament resume is mostly set. The seed line won’t move much. There’s an advantage to a couple of free days of rest.
That was the Boise State narrative coming into this game.
New Mexico, two-time losers to the Broncos this season and playing for its own NCAA hopes, turned that narrative upside down with early-game intensity and by dominating the paint.
“Tonight we were physically tough. … We played a smart, smart tough game,’’ New Mexico coach Richard Pitino said.
Said Boise State coach Leon Rice: They “really got after us. … They set a tone and we were slower to respond.
“They know what’s at stake, they needed this tonight.’’
Boise State played better, harder in the second half. There were short spurts of offensive success, but overall too many missed layups, too many turnovers, not enough defensive stops, and the Lobos never lost control of this game.
The Lobos played up, as Rice said.
The Broncos played down, as we all witnessed.
The timing is unfortunate, and so are the trending numbers …
Boise State has lost its opening game of the Mountain West Tournament 7-of-13 times under Rice. And the Broncos, as we all know, are 0-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with another critical opportunity looming.
“We get a chance to respond next week,’’ Rice said.
That doesn’t leave a lot of time to find what was lost Thursday night: A powerful chip-on-the-shoulder that this team desperately needs.
Mike Prater is the Bronco Nation News columnist who co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk (KTIK 95.3 FM on Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m.) and the Boise State football postgame show (KBOI 670 AM). He is on Twitter @MikeFPrater and can be reached at mikefprater@gmail.com
