BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State Broncos have made it to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. On Sunday the team and fans gathered to find out who, where and when the Broncos would play.
Boise State will play Northwestern in the West Regional in Sacramento on Thursday at 5:35 p.m. Here's the reaction from Extra Mile Arena when the Broncos learned they got a ten seed on Selection Sunday to do dancing. pic.twitter.com/MkkjbIjiVt
— Steve Dent (@idahodent) March 13, 2023
Boise State got a 10 seed and will take on Northwestern from the Big-10 in the West Regional in Sacramento on Thursday at 5:35 p.m.
"You just never know what is going to pop up for you so your heart gets pounding," said coach Leon Rice. "It is a great feeling and there is nothing like the NCAA tournament."
Last year Boise State missed their own celebration because their plane got delayed. This time around the fans were able to celebrate with the team on this special day, and the fans think it is a pretty good draw.
"So we are 10, Northwestern is 7, I think it is a great matchup and I’m excited to see it," said Tanner Johnston. "It's just excitement, just pure energy and I'm ready to go."
The Broncos received their third at-large bid in the school's history, marking the second time they have made it to the tournament in back-to-back years since 1993-1994.
Coach Rice thanked the fans and pointed to BSU's incredible win over San Diego State in their final home game as the moment that sealed the deal for Boise State.
“If we don't beat San Diego State and we don't have that huge crowd, who knows," said Rice. "You can’t build a program if you don’t have a home-court advantage. You can’t. And that’s what we have built here."
The Broncos didn't lose a game at home this season, including Mountain West play, which seems even more impressive as four teams from the Mountain West got into the tournament.
San Diego State earned a five seed, Utah State got a ten seed and Nevada was one of the last teams in getting a play-in game for an 11 seed.
Fans got a pretty good draw too. Sacramento is the closest regional in terms of distance, so hopefully Boise State will have a good crowd as they try to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time in school history.
