Despite Success, Boise State Basketball Projected To Place Third

Boise State basketball is getting ready to fire up another season and the pre-season critics and "experts" are out to break it all down. You may recall that after one of the worst starts in program history last year, Leon Rice & company turned things around and suddenly became one of the best teams in the west--outshining the football program's success for the first time in well over a decade.

These "experts" however, seem to think Boise State is going to have to prove themselves all over again.

Let's take a look at their leader, one of the most under-appreciated "stars" at Boise State:

Boise State's Most Underappreciated Star

Boise State seems to mean "football" for most, right? On a national stage, after all, it's the blue turf and the success that the Broncos have had on it that made the university a household name. What happens on the hardwood, however, is far from appreciated at the level that it should be. Leon Rice came to Boise State as a blessing from one of the most powerful basketball programs in the nation: Gonzaga University. Now, the winningest basketball coach in the history of the school seems to take immediate heat if the Broncos aren't in the Final Four. Spoiled by wins on the football field, fans seem to expect the same of the basketball program but when the investment in basketball is so much less than football--can you really have these types of expectations!?

You could say after last season, Leon is appreciated much more than he was at this time last year--but fans still need to understand that they have one of the best coaches in the country at Boise State.

In a recent interview with local media, Leon Rice was breaking down the outlook on this season.

First, questions arose on expectations--here's what is expected of the Mountain West Conference:

For Boise State fans, seeing the Broncos not really given a chance in these rankings is a little disheartening--especially after the Broncos won both regular season and conference championship titles last year--can't the defending champions get a little love?

Leon Rice explained to the media--he doesn't have the time to worry about pre-season talk and social media commentary. What's most important to Rice, he remarked, is the POST-SEASON results--and shared "I was happy with how that turned out last year"--we love it!

Boise State's basketball team is slated to take on the University of Oregon in a scrimmage this pre-season and has some tough non-conference games as well, including a game in downtown Boise against Washington State University.

Shoutout to B.J. Rains of Bronco Nation News for always capturing the insights--you can see his footage of Rice's entire presser, below:

Security Slams Boise State Students to Ground After Win

History was made at ExtraMile Arena on the night of Tuesday, March 1st. When you think of the arena--you may think of your favorite concerts or acts. No, a sell out crowd didn't set a record. The Boise State men's basketball team did. One might think that a major celebration was in order. Clearly, some security folks had a different idea.

Boise Bars to Watch Boise State Football Play

5 Things Boise State Basketball Needs Now

The Boise State men's basketball team under the leadership of Leon Rice has been on fire. You really can't complain about 14 wins in-a-row, even if some of them were a little scrappy. So out of all of the energy and momentum being built behind this basketball team--which one could argue, is greater than anything that the football team earned this year--what can be improved?

The Broncos have the wins...here's what they need at home.

Categories: Local News