Boise State will try to win an NCAA Tournament game for the first time ever

BOISE, Idaho — Boise State has never won a game in the NCAA Tournament, but this year's team hopes the experience of being there before will help them reach this milestone.

The Broncos lost in the first round a year ago to Memphis 64-53. This year the Broncos got a number ten seed and will play Northwestern on Thursday in the West Regional in Sacramento at 5:35 p.m.

"It’s just nice to know exactly what you are getting into this year, to use our experience to help our younger guys who haven’t been there before," said Tyson Degenhart.

This year all five starters for Boise State have experience playing in a tournament game. The Broncos are one of ten teams in the nation who can make that claim.

"It’s an amazing opportunity," said Max Rice. "It is pretty surreal to be living this and having a chance to go to the NCAA tournament being in a good 7-10 game that you have a chance of winning."

But it won't be easy. Northwestern finished second in the Big 10 regular season. The Wildcats are making their first appearance in the tournament since 2017.

“They are a good team. The Big 10 is a very good league," said Degenhart. "They played a lot of good teams this year so it should be a good challenge for us. I heard they are very well coached and they are very good defensively. I heard they are 13th in Ken Pom, so they are very good defensively and it should be a good test for us."

The Broncos rank 14th in defensive efficiency in Ken Pom, as both teams play a similar style of basketball. It's a good draw for Boise State, who had a difficult time last year with the athleticism, size and length of Memphis.

"There were definitely some teams where I was like, they would be super tough, and I think Northwestern is one of those," said Rice. "They are a really good team, they play hard on defense and they've got a great offense too, so it should be a great matchup."

Boise State received an at-large bid for the third time in school history. And now these players have a chance to do something that no other Boise State team has ever done - in a tournament the players grew up dreaming about playing in.

"I’m just excited to go make some history with my team," said Degenhart.

The Broncos tip-off against Northwestern at 5:35 pm on Thursday. The game can be watched on Tru TV and Idaho News 6 reporter Brendyn Jones will be in Sacramento providing more coverage.