Four wins. Four days. (Four)ty minutes of hard-fought basketball ineach game if the Broncos are to succeed and reach the NCAA Tournament.
A season that began with high expectations flickered off and on like candles in a breeze. An inexplicable loss to open the season. Flames re-lit with quality wins against Saint Mary's and Wichita State later extinguished with a 1-5 start to conference play. Followed by an 11-3 finish the regular season, including a five-game winning streak. Among the great wins in conference? Once over San Diego State and sweeping the season series over the New Mexico Lobos.
All told, another 20-win season is in the books for the Broncos and head coach Leon Rice. In seasons past, such a number might hold hope for an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Not this season. However, as the sixth seed, Boise State is playing some of their best basketball of the season, with a deep rotation ready to lead the Broncos dancing.
Regular season leaders for Boise State Broncos
The five-game winning streak saw Boise State win four of those games by double digits, with the closest of the five a nine-point victory over the Aztecs. Individual performances improved, leading to better effort overall.
Drew Fiedler is at the top of the list.
Fiedler, the transfer from Georgetown, locked down a second team all-conference selection on Tuesday. This season, he averaged 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, shooting 55% from the field and a solid 41.1% from three-point range.
Discounting a stinker of a game on 2/28 against Fresno State (0 points in 25 minutes), Fiedler has been a force. In seven of the last eight games, Fiedler reached double figures in scoring. He shot above 60% in four of the last five and is coming off a final week where he scored 56 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Against San Diego State alone, Fiedler went off for 33 and nine.
More games like that might be needed as will the steady play of point guard Dylan Andrews. Brought in from UCLA, Andrews finished the regular season averaging 12.6 points and 3.3 assists. In 10 of the last 11 games, Andrews scored in double figures and averaged 15 points over his last five. During the last three games, Andrews struggled from deep (3 of 14) but was 9 of 14 on other field goal attempts.
Andrews and Javan Buchanan both earned honorable mention all-conference honors. Buchanan scored 12.1 points and pulled down 4.7 rebounds per game. Though he only scored four points in the regular season finale against Colorado State, Buchanan scored 71 points in the previous four, shooting 27 off 44 from the field. The highlight was against Fresno State, where Buchanan scored 26 points, notched six rebounds, and dished out three assists.
Andrew Meadow had his ups and downs this season but still scores at a clip of 11.9 points per game. Meadow finished strong, scoring in double figures in each of the last five games (after failed to reach the 10-point mark in the previous six of seven). Meadow shoots 38.5% on three-point attempts and pulls down 3.5 rebounds.
R.J. Keene II is the all-around glue guy, doing what is asked of him on both sides of the court. The points are low (2.7) but rebounds (4.6) and assists (2) are nice. Pearson Carmichael (8 ppg), Spencer Ahrens, Aginaldo Neto, and Dominic Parolin all play plenty of minutes off the bench. Any one of these four can get hot and putting up 10+ points in a contest.
Bhan Buom has also contributed nicely this season, even if it is for only four or five minutes in the first half of games.
Boise State averages 78.3 points per game and shoots 45.5% on field goal attempts. During the win streak, only one opponent (San Diego State) cracked the 70-point mark.
Mountain West Conference tournament preview
Boise State (20-11) opens against the no. 11 seed San State Spartans (8-23, 3-17), a team the Broncos defeated twice this season. The Broncos won by 31 in San Jose, then started the recent win streak with a 15-point win over the Spartans in Boise at ExtraMile Arena.
The Broncos are the hottest team entering the teams, while the top three teams are on a bit of a cooler at the moment.
The Utah State Aggies (25-6, 15-5) won the conference and are the conference's best bet at an at-large bid should they not win the tournament. But the Aggies enter play having lost three of five. Utah State lost to Nevada, San Diego State, and UNLV, a team they were swept by this season.
San Diego State (20-10, 14-6) is possibly struggling more than the Aggies, losing four of six, while the New Mexico Lobos (22-9, 13-7) lost three of four to close the regular season.
The Nevada Wolf Pack (20-11, 12-8) lost two of three but Grand Canyon (20-11, 13-7) won three of four, with the loss a five-point affair to Utah State. Colorado State (20-11, 11-9) had an eight-game winning streak snapped when they lost 78-69 to Boise State. And UNLV (16-15, 11-9) is a threat behind Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.
Gibbs-Lawhorn averaged 21 points per game on 50.9% shooting. He had five 30-point games this season, including a high of 42 against Nevada. Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 20+ points in 14 conference games this season.
Each of these eight teams has a legitimate shot at winning the conference tournament. Does Boise State have enough to power their way through four days? Yes. It won't be easy but with the right mix of leadership, high-level play, and a couple lucky bounces, they could see that title come Saturday.
The Broncos start play on Wednesday night (3/11) in Las Vegas, with tip-off scheduled at 9:30 p.m. (MT)
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