Boise State back on NCAA Tournament bubble entering Mountain West play

With Mountain West play set to begin this week, the Boise State men’s basketball team finds itself in a familiar position in the national NCAA Tournament projections.

The Broncos (8-3), who kick off their MWC slate on Saturday at Nevada (8-3), are among the first four out in the latest NCAA Tournament projection from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Boise State was also in the first four out last year after making three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Utah State is the lone MWC team in Lunardi’s field of 68, earning a No. 8 seed with a first-round matchup against Ohio State. The Aggies (9-1) open MWC play with a home game against Colorado State (9-2), the reigning MWC tournament champion, on Saturday.

The MWC sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament last year: Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah State. First-year MWC member Grand Canyon also made the NCAA Tournament last season as the champion of the WAC.

A record six MWC teams received NCAA Tournament bids during the 2023-24 season: Boise State, Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State and Utah State.

In his latest projection, Lunardi has N.C. State, UCF, Baylor and Arizona State as the last four teams in the field. N.C. State defeated Boise State at the Maui Invitational.

Villanova, Oklahoma, Boise State and Virginia Tech are Lunardi’s first four out with Colorado, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Wake Forest as the next four out.

The Broncos have an unusual resume with a pair of NCAA NET Rankings Quad 1 victories over No. 23 Saint Mary’s and No. 43 Butler and a loss to Division II Hawaii Pacific.

The MWC has just two teams inside the top 50 of the NET Rankings: No. 29 Utah State and No. 39 Boise State.

The Broncos have won four straight games entering MWC play, including Sunday’s 68-67 victory over Saint Mary’s. Boise State nearly squandered a 14-point lead in the final four-plus minutes but made just enough plays down the stretch to survive.

“They did about everything perfect in the last four minutes, and we did about everything imperfect,” Broncos head coach Leon Rice said. “They are good at managing end of games. Because they play at such a slow pace throughout the game, then they can switch pace and go faster, and we took the bait and kept fouling them.

“We live and we learn, that’s the greatest thing about this team. Because that game and that experience is going to help us, and it helps a lot more when we win it.”