Are we talking football or basketball?
We already know Boise is America’s favorite football cinderella.
And it’s definitely March so we must be talking Boise State basketball. Let’s take a look at five facts that may get the Broncos on the basketball radar.
1. Boise State plays in the Mountain West Conference who has provided its fair share of tournament upsets in the past. The inclusion of Boise marks the fifth team from the MWC to make the NCAA tournament, not too bad for a conference full of mid-majors. The Broncos’s resume will show impressive wins over then No. 11 Creighton, UNLV and San Diego State.
2. Almost as good as a win on a tournament resume is a good loss, and the Broncos have several of them including a narrow 74-70 loss against Michigan State, a 68-64 loss against UNLV, a 79-74 OT loss against New Mexico and a 63-62 loss against San Diego State. The Broncos have proven they can play with tournament teams, and shouldn’t have any trouble staying close with La Salle in the first round.
3. What makes Boise State go? Offense. The Broncos are ranked 30th in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom.com and come it at No. 49 overall. Not bad for a basketball program you’ve never considered.
4. Who makes that offense go? That would be Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks. Drmic leads the team with 17.3 points per game and Marks at 16.3. Both shoot over 46 percent from the field. To stop the Broncos you have to stop their two sophomore guards.
5. Another key to the Boise’s success is offensive rebounding. According to KenPom the Broncos are the 3rd best team in the country in offensive rebounding percentage at 24.6.
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