Boise State remains on NCAA Tournament bubble following Nevada loss

The Boise State men’s basketball team missed a chance to secure a resume-boosting road victory during Saturday’s Mountain West opener at Nevada.

Coming off four straight strong defensive performances that all led to wins, the Broncos (8-4, 0-1) didn’t play with their usual level of aggressiveness during an 81-66 loss to Nevada (9-3, 0-1).

“You’ve got to credit Nevada,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said after the game. “They took the fight to us, they were the aggressor. They were just the tougher team, period.

“(Nevada head coach Steve) Alford knows us and he knows that we’re a physical team. He got his team ready to go as far as the physicality of the game. They were really physical, and they were the aggressor. Their technique was a little better.”

The loss wasn’t too detrimental for the Broncos, who were among the first four out in the latest NCAA Tournament projection from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Boise State was also in Lunardi’s first four out last week.

Lunardi listed Baylor, Ohio State, Butler and Oklahoma as his last four teams in the field of 68 with Oklahoma State, Boise State, California and Arizona State as his first four out. Lunardi had New Mexico, Virginia Tech, VCU and Wisconsin as the next four out.

Boise State defeated Butler on the road at the beginning of December, 77-68.

New Mexico (10-2, 1-0) plays at Boise State on Dec. 30. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Mountain time at ExtraMile Arena.

Utah State (10-1, 1-0) was the lone Mountain West team in Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament field of 68. Lunardi gave the Aggies a No. 7 seed with a first-round matchup against Miami.

The Aggies have a soft upcoming schedule before a road trip to Boise State on Jan. 10.

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.

The Broncos have an unusual resume with a pair of NCAA NET Rankings Quad 1 victories over No. 27 Saint Mary’s and No. 42 Butler and a loss to Division II Hawaii Pacific.

The MWC has just one team inside the top 45 of the NET Rankings: No. 18 Utah State.