The selection was indeed made but it was the corresponding slot as a no. 10 seed to head to Dayton, Ohio for a First Four game that was the shocker.
Perhaps this was due to overconfidence in a high NET ranking and strength of schedule leading into the Selection Sunday. Or maybe it was many bracketologists and prognosticators who had the Broncos slotted as a seven or eight seed. No matter the disappointment, the Broncos are headed back to the NCAA tournament, with a chance to finally pick up their first tourney victory in 10 tries.
Boise State (22-10) will be appearing in the First Four for the third time. In 2013, the Broncos lost to the LaSalle Explorers, 80-71. This was a LaSalle team who went on to the Sweet 16, losing to Wichita State.
Then, two years later, Boise State had the misfortune of playing Dayton in Dayton. The Broncos lost a close one to the Flyers, falling 56-55. Dayton ended up losing in the round of 32 to Oklahoma.
The last two seasons Boise State bowed in the round of 64, losing as a no. 8 seed to Memphis and as the tenth seed last season to Northwestern.
Boise State will finally look to get off the schneid in 2024, where they take the court against a Colorado Buffaloes team riding a hot hand entering tournament play.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State enters this meeting having won six of their last eight games, falling to eventual champion New Mexico in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament. It was a forgettable game, with the Broncos having one of their worst efforts on offense in recent weeks.
The Broncos average 75.8 points per game, allowing 67.5. Boise State shoots 45.2 percent from the field (34.5 percent from deep) and holds opponents to 43.8 and 31.1, respectively.
Turnovers are pretty even between the Broncos and their opponents (11.2 to 11.4), while Boise State pulls down 37.2 rebounds per game.
Four of Boise State's five starters average double figures in the scoring column. Topping that list is first-team all-conference forward Tyson Degenhart. Degenhart tops the team in scoring (17 ppg), is second in rebounding (6.2), and shoots 50.9 percent from the field. The junior scored 20+ points in 8 of the team's last 11 games, averaging 20.7 in this span. He is coming off three straight double-doubles, where he averaged 11.7 rebounds.
Chibuzo Agbo is second on the team, scoring 13.6 points. Agbo shoots 41.7 from three-point range but in his last four games is only 8-25. He also pulls down 5.1 rebounds per game.
O'Mar Stanley and Max Rice round out the top scorers. Stanley averages 13 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. There has been some struggle with Stanley as of late, with teams pulling more focus towards him. Still, he had 12 rebounds in the quarterfinal loss and only a few games earlier against New Mexico scored 24 points and snagged 13 rebounds.
Rice averages 12.5 points and shoots 35.7 percent from deep. Rice had a nice stretch of shooting during the middle of conference play but his only 9-30 in his last four games. However, his scoring has bumped up in this stretch at 13.5
The bench for Boise State, and how well they perform and given minutes, will ultimately be the deciding factor for this team. Anywhere from three to five players see action. This combination, plus starting point guard Roddie Anderson III, needs to be at their (very capable) best.
Anderson leads the team in assists with 78, while big man Cam Martin is second with 77.
Boist State and Colorado share some common opponents. The Broncos went 1-1 against the Colorado State Rams this season, while the Buffs lost by five. Colorado, however, took two of three from Washington State while Boise State lost to the Cougars.
Colorado Buffaloes
The Colorado Buffaloes (24-10) were in dire straits weeks ago, having lost four of five. However, the Buffs rattled off eight straight wins before falling 65-58 to the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 title game.
Colorado averages 79.3 points and allows 71.2. They are a good shooting squad, hitting 49.3 percent from the field and 39.4 on three-point attempts. Rebounding is solid, too, at 37.6 per game. Though they commit 12.7 turnovers, the Buffaloes share the wealth, averaging nearly 16 assists per contest.
Five players average in double figures for Colorado, with their top seven scorers averaging 6.5 or more. Topping the list is guard KJ Simpson, who fills up the box score. Simpson averages 19.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He is efficient, shooting 45.3 percent from long range, and has nine straight games of scoring 10+.
Simpsons had a four-game stretch at the start of the winning streak where he averaged 26.8 points per game, also dishing out 23 assists.
Tristan da Silva (15.8 points/5.2 rebounds) and Cody Williams are up next. Freshman Williams is especially one to keep an eye on. He's been in and out of the lineup, playing in only 21 games. Williams is a potential lottery pick who started off the season in style and averages 12.6 points per game, though in his last four games has scored only23 points.
J'Vonne Hadley averages 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. Hadley is another marksman, shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 42.9 on three-point attempts.
Eddie Lampkin Jr. hangs out on the post, scoring 10.2 points and pulling down 7.1 boards.
Colorado will be making their 16th tournament appearance and first since 2021, where they defeated Georgetown and lost to Florida State. This will be the first time appearing in a First Four game.
Boise State and Colorado have met only once in their history, just last season. In November of 2022, the Broncos defeated the Buffaloes 68-55 at the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Of the players returning, Degenhart had 14 points and seven rebounds in that victory. Agbo and Rice combined for 12, shooting 5-18 from the field.
Simpson had 14 for Colorado and da Silva scored nine. In that game, Boise State had one more rebound and three less turnovers than the Buffs. The Broncos also held Colorado to 4-20 from three-point range.
This First Four meeting between Boise State and Colorado takes places on March 20 at 9:10 p.m. (ET) on TruTv. The winner advances in the South Region to face the Florida Gators on March 22 at 4:30 p.m. (ET).
photo credit: Jason Haskins
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