2008 Woodie Awards
BSU men's preview
TATE CASTLETON
Sports Writer
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: Sports
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A No. 3 seed in the Western Athletic Conference tournament this week and a shot at the NCAA tournament later this month laid within grasp of the Broncos.
All they had to do was win the final two games of the regular season on the road against conference opponents they beat at home in late December. Simple enough, right?
Not quite. The opportunity slipped away when Boise State did what it has done a lot this season on the road: lose. Boise State fell Thursday night to Fresno State, 78-77, after holding a seven-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, and then 92-75, Saturday night to Hawaii.
As a result, the Broncos must settle for the No. 6 seed and a first round match-up with Fresno State who beat Utah State Saturday to clinch the No. 3 tournament seed. Boise State now needs to win the WAC championship out-right for a berth in the big dance.
As much as Bronco head coach Greg Graham would have loved to head into the tournament with a higher seed in hand, he’s quick to point out that at the end of the day, what seed you get when you finish in the middle of the pack really makes no difference. “From a playing standpoint I’m not sure that there is any advantage to which seed you get because three through six play each there anyway,” Graham said. “We’re all jammed in there. It’s just going to be jumbled up.”
Confidence has been hard to come by for the Broncos (16-13 overall, 8-8 WAC) when they travel. Eight of Boise State’s 13 losses this season have been by four points or less.
On three occasions on the road the Broncos have squandered leads of seven or more points in the fourth quarter. Boise State has struggled from the free throw line all season long, a fault which has doomed the Broncos on more than one occasion.
“We’ve been so close so many times on the road,” junior forward Matt Nelson said. “We just have to get over the hump and win one of the close ones and we’ll be right on track.”
Nelson has certainly done his part this season, posting 10 double-doubles and leading the team in rebounds.
Although the Broncos head into the WAC tournament without the seed they set out to get, they have reason to be optimistic.
Boise State has beaten every team in the tournament field except for Nevada and New Mexico State, the top two seeds.
“We know we can play with and beat any team in this conference,” Anthony Thomas said. “We’ve played well against everyone at one point or another. Now it’s just a matter of putting it all together when it counts the most.”
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