Boise State is using borrowed time right now. After jumping to the Mountain West Conference a season ago from the WAC. With everything currently in flux with schools looking for the next great conference, the Broncos are leaving the Mountain West after this season with their football team heading to the Big East, but the rest of their sports, including basketball, moving over to the Big West conference–or maybe not.
However, we are looking at today, and the Bluejays can’t get too comfortable after the quick 6-0 start as they take on Boise State in the final season of the Missouri Valley Conference/Mountain West Conference. Despite being picked eighth out of the nine team conference to start the season, the Broncos are looking tough, taking Michigan State to the wire in their only loss so far this season.
To help us get the real story about the Broncos, we checked in with Idaho Statesman columnist Brian Murphy. He gives some great insight on what to expect on Wednesday night.
White & Blue Review: Boise State has started pretty strong this year with the only loss a close one with Michigan State. What are the expectations for the Broncos this season?
Brian Murphy: Expectations weren’t all that high at the beginning of the season. Boise State is a young team (just one senior) and is playing in the very difficult Mountain West, where the Broncos went 3-11 last season. The expectation was for improvement with so many key players now sophomores instead of freshmen. The game at Michigan State was a bit of an eye opener for many fans as to how good the Broncos might be.
WBR: The Broncos are always big in the football world, but what kind of fan base is there for the hoops side of things?
BM: The fan base for basketball is very small. The Broncos have drawn 3,300 or less for each home game this season. That number will increase when the Broncos get into conference play as 5,000 to 7,000 will turn out for big league games with San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico. The town will get behind the team if it keeps winning, but it’s definitely been frustrating for coaches (past and present) that the football fans haven’t been converted into basketball fans.
WBR: Can you give us an idea on who Creighton fans will need to watch from Boise State on Wednesday night?
BM: The Broncos’ best player is probably point guard Derrick Marks. He’s leading the team ins coring at 16.4 points per game and assists 4.0 per game. He is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. He’s a strong point guard, capable of breaking people down off the dribble and getting to the rim and also capable of posting up smaller defenders. The Broncos have used him in the post more often in the early season. Marks scored a career-high 24 against Michigan State.
The Broncos are really balanced. Seven players average 7.2 points or more per game. Seven players average 19.0 minutes or more.
Guard/forward Anthony Drmic is another player to keep an eye on. Drmic is averaging 13.8 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.
WBR: What is Boise State’s style of play on offense and defense? Do they play fast? Is it high pressure defense?
BM: Boise State will play with four guards for most of the game while rotating Ryan Watkins and Kenny Buckner at center. So they want to run when possible. Against Michigan State, they tried to spread the Spartans out and take them off the dribble — creating room for Marks and Mikey Thompson. Defensively, the Broncos can switch a lot of screens and will try to pressure Creighton on the perimeter.
WBR: What type of scheme will the Broncos employ to try and stop Doug McDermott? What are your impressions of McDermott from what you have seen?
BM: Sadly, I haven’t gotten to see a ton of McDermott, but I know he has the Broncos’ full attention. Boise State doesn’t have a guy that’s an obvious defender for McDermott, so I think the Broncos will try several different players on him. I’d think Drmic will get the first chance.
Against Michigan State, the Broncos played a lot of zone and tried to force the Spartans to take shots from spots they weren’t comfortable with. I think Boise State will do the same thing here, try to take away what Creighton is most comfortable doing and force the Blue Jays to beat them in other ways. The Broncos’ assistants have a reputation for doing really good scouting and prep work.
WBR: Conference realignment is the talk of the town these days. With Boise State jumping around to these different conferences, what kind of toll has it taken on the basketball program?
BM: It’s hard to tell. The Broncos are certainly moving from a potentially great basketball league (the Mountain West) to one that is not as highly regarded (the Big West). But coach Leon Rice was an assistant at Gonzaga when the Bulldogs built their program in the West Coast Conference and he sees some similarities between that and the Broncos’ current situation.
WBR:What do you think of things like the MVC/MWC Challenge series? Does it help Boise St. in scheduling and should there be more of these types of matchups?
BM: It’s a great game for Boise State. And, of course, I’d love to see more good, competitive games on home courts. College basketball is moving so many of its prime games to neutral sites where the atmosphere is very stale. I love seeing games in home gyms with students and fans creating a great atmosphere.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will Boise State need to do to score the upset at the CenturyLink Center?
BM: As with the Michigan State game, I think the Broncos will be very competitive. They will play hard, tough and smart. That’s about as far as I can go with a prediction. The Broncos will need to shoot the ball well and rebound. Boise State is a very small team, so it is imperative that they get rebounding from everyone on their roster.
