Here’s a look at Boise State’s nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament
The Boise State men’s basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season, but the Broncos are still looking for their first win in the Big Dance.
Boise State is 0-9 all-time, including a 75-67 loss to Northwestern in the first round last season.
The Broncos (22-10, 13-5 Mountain West) will face Colorado (24-10) in a First Four game Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. The winner earns a No. 10 seed and gets No. 7 Florida in the first round Friday in Indianapolis.
Here’s a look at the Broncos’ previous nine appearances in the tournament.
Boise State is NCAA Tournament bound for third year in a row. Who will they face?
1975-76
Record: 18-11, 11-5. Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament champion
Head coach Bus Connor led a team with just one senior to a Big Sky Conference title and earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth with a 77-70 double-overtime victory over Weber State in the conference tournament championship game. The Broncos drew UNLV in the opening round and lost, 103-78. Pat Hoke led the team with 17 points a game. Point guard Steve Connor added 16.9.
1987-88
Record: 24-6, 13-3. Big Sky regular-season and tournament champion
Led by coach Bobby Dye, the Broncos won a then-program record 24 games and cruised to the regular-season and tournament titles in the Big Sky Conference. Powered by the Big Sky Player of the Year, forward Arnell Jones, and guard Chris Childs, the Broncos drew Michigan in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. They rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to tie the game in the closing seconds, but the Wolverines held on for a 63-58 win.
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1992-93
Record: 21-8, 10-4. Big Sky Tournament champion
The Broncos earned their third NCAA Tournament berth with an 80-68 win over in-state rival Idaho in the Big Sky championship game. Led by Boise State’s all-time leading scorer, Tanoka Beard, the Broncos drew SEC champion Vanderbilt in the first round and lost 92-72. Beard finished his career with a program-record 1,944 points.
1993-94
Record: 17-13, 7-7. Big Sky Tournament champion
Boise State rebounded from a 10-11 start to the season to clinch its first back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths with an 85-81 win over Idaho State in the Big Sky Tournament championship game. Led by forward Shambrick Williams, a first-team all-conference pick, the Broncos drew national powerhouse Louisville in the first round of the Big Dance and lost 67-58, despite cutting the Cardinals’ lead to four points with 30 seconds to play. Louisville advanced to the Sweet 16.
2007-08
Record: 25-9, 12-4. Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion
The Broncos won a program-record 25 games, including a record 12 on the road. Boise State needed three overtimes to beat New Mexico State in the WAC Tournament championship game. Led by forwards Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson, the Broncos secured their first NCAA Tournament berth in 14 years. They drew Louisville in the first round again and lost 79-61.
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2012-13
Record: 21-11, 9-7 Mountain West
The Broncos earned their first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in coach Leon Rice’s third season at the helm. Led by sophomores Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks, who averaged a combined 34 points a game, the Broncos upset No. 11 Creighton that season and entered the Big Dance as a No. 13 seed. They fell 80-71 in the First Four against La Salle, which made the Sweet 16 that year.
2014-15
Record: 25-9, 14-4. Mountain West regular-season champion
The Broncos were back in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid in 2015 after tying their program record for wins in a season. Marks was named Mountain West Player of the Year after he posted six 30-point games and led the team with 19.4 points a night.
Boise State entered the Big Dance as a No. 11 seed, which was the program’s highest since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Broncos traveled to Dayton for the first NCAA Tournament game played on a participating team’s home floor since 1987. They led by seven points with less than four minutes to play but lost, 56-55, after the Flyers ended the game on a 10-2 run.
2021-22
Record: 27-8, 15-3. Mountain West regular-season and tournament champions
The Broncos set program records for wins in a season (27) and Mountain West wins (15). After beating San Diego State 53-52 in the conference tournament championship game, Boise State entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed — the highest in program history.
The Broncos drew Memphis in the first round and lost 64-53. They trailed by 19 points at halftime but rallied to cut the Tigers’ lead to five with 1:30 to play. Abu Kigab led the Broncos with 14.8 points a game, and Marcus Shaver added 13.3. Tyson Degenhart (9.9 points a game) became the first Boise State player to earn conference freshman of the year honors since Drmic was named the top freshman in the WAC in 2007.
2022-23
Record: 24-10, 13-5 Mountain West
The Broncos beat three Power Five teams in a season for the first time in program history and made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for just the second time. Led by 14.1 points a game from Degenhart, Max Rice’s 14 points a night and Shaver’s 13.4, the Broncos earned an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history.
Boise State was a No. 10 seed and drew No. 7 Northwestern in the first round. The Broncos trailed by six at halftime and cut it to a one-possession game on three occasions in the second half, but the Wildcats held on for a 75-67 win.
