Boise State Broncos men's basketball

{{Short description|Men's college basketball team}}

{{Infobox college basketball team

| current = 2024–25 Boise State Broncos men's basketball team

| name = Boise State Broncos men's basketball

| logo = Boise State Broncos wordmark.svg

| logo_size = 250

| university = Boise State University

| conference = Mountain West
(Pac-12 in 2026–27)

| location = Boise, Idaho

| coach = Leon Rice

| tenure = 15th

| arena = ExtraMile Arena

| capacity = 15,148

| nickname = Broncos

| studentsection = The Corral

| h_pattern_b = _sides_on_white

| h_body = 0033A0

| h_shorts = 0033A0

| h_pattern_s = _blanksides2

| a_pattern_b = _orangesides

| a_body = 0033A0

| a_shorts = 0033A0

| a_pattern_s = _orangesides

| 3_pattern_b =

| 3_body = FA4616

| 3_shorts = FA4616

| 3_pattern_s = _bluebottom

| 4_pattern_b= _sidesonblack

| 4_body = 0033A0

| 4_shorts = 0033A0

| 4_pattern_s = _blanksides_on_black

| NCAAchampion =

| NCAAfinalfour =

| NCAAsweetsixteen =

| NCAAroundof32 = 1970*, 1976

| NCAAtourneys = 1970*, 1976, 1988, 1993, 1994, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2022, 2023, 2024
*at Division II level

| conference_tournament = Mountain West - 2022'''

----WAC - 2008

----'''Big Sky - 1976, 1988, 1993, 1994

| conference_season = Mountain West - 2015, 2022'''

----WAC - 2008

----'''Big Sky - 1976, 1988, 1989

|division_season = Big West East Division - 1999

}}

The Boise State Broncos men's basketball team represents Boise State University in the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos are led by head coach Leon Rice, hired in March 2010, and play their home games on campus at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho. BSU's most recent appearance in the NCAA tournament was in 2024.

History

{{See also|List of Boise State Broncos men's basketball seasons}}

=Greg Graham era=

Athletic director Gene Bleymaier hired Greg Graham to be head coach in 2002.{{cite web|title=Boise State Names Greg Graham Men's Basketball Coach |url=http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45988&SPID=4126&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=572535|publisher=Western Athletic Conference|access-date=May 14, 2015|date=March 27, 2002}} In eight seasons, Graham had a 142–112 record at Boise State and led Boise State to a berth in the 2004 NIT, 2008 NCAA tournament and 2009 CBI.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/greg-graham-2.html |title=Greg Graham Coaching Record | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com |access-date=2015-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906030822/http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/greg-graham-2.html |archive-date=2015-09-06 }} For leading Boise State to the NCAA tournament, the Western Athletic Conference named Graham "Coach of the Year" in 2008.{{cite web|title=Greg Graham|url=http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30400&ATCLID=209474517|publisher=Washington State Cougars|access-date=May 13, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318114720/http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30400&ATCLID=209474517|archive-date=March 18, 2015}}

In 2010, after a 15–17 season, Bleymaier fired Graham and stated: "We appreciate everything that Coach Graham and his staff have contributed to Boise State the past eight years. We felt that in the best interest of the program we needed to make a change."{{cite web|title=Greg Graham Relieved of his Duties as Head Basketball Coach|url=http://broncosports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031210aaa.html|publisher=Boise State Broncos|access-date=May 14, 2015 |date=March 12, 2010}}

=Leon Rice era=

Leon Rice replaced Graham as head coach of the Broncos on March 26, 2010.{{cite web| url = https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=5031502| title = Boise State hires Gonzaga assistant Leon Rice as new head coach| date = 26 March 2010}} In his first season as head coach, he led Boise State to the finals of the 2011 WAC men's basketball tournament and to the semifinals of the 2011 College Basketball Invitational. He is the first Boise State head coach to win 20 games in two of his first three seasons and has 20 or more wins in eight of his ten seasons. In 2013, he guided the Broncos to their first ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. In 2015, he led the Broncos to their first ever Mountain West regular season championship, and first conference title for Boise State since 2008, and was named the Mountain West coach of the year. On February 13, 2021, Rice won his 214th game to become the winningest head coach in Boise State history. In 2022, Leon Rice led Boise to arguably their best season in school history. The Broncos won a program high 27 games, 15 conference games, the Mountain West conference regular season championship, Mountain West conference tournament, an 8-seed in the NCAA tournament and the highest AP ranking in program history at 23. The following season, Leon Rice helped lead the team to 24 wins and consecutive tournament bids for the second time in school history. In 2024, Leon Rice became the first coach in program history to lead the Broncos to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

In-season tournament championships

Regular season conference titles

Conference tournament championships

Conference Player of the Year awards

  • Big Sky (2): Arnell Jones (1988), Chris Childs (1989)
  • Big West (1): Roberto Bergersen (1999)
  • Mountain West (1): Derrick Marks (2015){{cite web|url=http://www.themwc.com/video/54ff13aee4b0194df52430d1|title=MW Men's Basketball Players & Coach of the Year 2015 – MW Videos|author=Mountain West Conference|work=Mountain West Conference – Official Athletics Site|access-date=2015-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144814/http://www.themwc.com/video/54ff13aee4b0194df52430d1|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}}

Postseason results

=NCAA Division I Tournament results=

The Broncos have appeared in ten NCAA Division I Tournaments, with a combined record of 0–10. They have the most NCAA tournament games played without a win (Iona had a win in the NCAA Tournament in 1980 before the NCAA stripped it away due to a violation, which means they are "0-15"). Their first five bids came via conference tournament championships, the first four in the Big Sky. The bid to the First Four in 2013 was the first at-large bid in program history, and they received a second in 2015. BSU made their eighth appearance in 2022 and returned the following year. Boise State set a new program record with three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances in 2024.

class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Boise State Broncos|Year|Seed|Round|Opponent|Result|Head coach}}

1976style="background:#E6E8FA;"|Round of 32#4 UNLVL 78–103Bus Connor
198814 WRound of 64(3) #10 MichiganL 58–63rowspan=3|Bobby Dye
199314 WRound of 64(3) #8 VanderbiltL 72–92
199414 WRound of 64(3) #10 LouisvilleL 58–67
200814 ERound of 64(3) #13 LouisvilleL 61–79Greg Graham
201313 WFirst Four(13) La SalleL 71–80rowspan=5|Leon Rice
align="center"

| 2015

11 EFirst Four(11) DaytonL 55–56
align="center"

| 2022

8 WRound of 64(9) MemphisL 53–64
align="center"

| 2023

10 WRound of 64(7) NorthwesternL 67–75
align="center"

| 2024

10 SFirst Four(10) ColoradoL 53–60

=NCAA Division II Tournament results=

The Broncos appeared in one NCAA Division II tournament (referred to at the time as the College Division), with a 1–1 record.

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{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Boise State Broncos|Year|Round|Opponent|Result|Head coach}}

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| 1970

Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd Place
UC Riverside
Sacramento State
L 81–83
W 63–61
Murray Satterfield

=NIT results=

The Broncos have appeared in seven National Invitational Tournaments (NIT), with a combined record of 5–7.

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Boise State Broncos|Year|Round|Opponent|Result|Head coach}}

align="center"

| 1987

First round
Second Round
Utah
Washington
W 62–61
L 68–73
rowspan=3|Bobby Dye
align="center"

| 1989

First roundOklahoma StateL 55–69
align="center"

| 1991

First roundSouthern IllinoisL 74–75
align="center"

| 2004

Opening Round
First round
Second Round
UNLV
Milwaukee
Marquette
W 84–69
W 73–70
L 53–56
Greg Graham
align="center"

| 2017

First round
Second Round
Utah
Illinois
W 73–68
L 56–71
rowspan=3|Leon Rice
align="center"

| 2018

First roundWashingtonL 74–77
align="center"

| 2021

First round
Quarterfinals
SMU
Memphis
W 85–84
L 56–59

=CBI results=

The Broncos have appeared in two College Basketball Invitationals (CBI), with a combined record of 2–2.

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{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Boise State Broncos|Year|Round|Opponent|Result|Head coach}}

align="center"

| 2009

First roundStanfordL 76–96Greg Graham
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| 2011

First round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Austin Peay
Evansville
Oregon
W 83–80
W 75–69
L 71–79
Leon Rice

=CBC results=

The Broncos have appeared in the College Basketball Crown (CBC) once. Their record is 2–1.

class="wikitable"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Boise State Broncos|Year|Round|Opponent|Result}}

align="center"

| 2025

First round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
George Washington
Butler
Nebraska
W 89–59
W 100–93
L 69–79

Notable alumni

References

{{Reflist}}