The Boise State basketball team has somewhat stumbled its way through the opening weeks of the new season and still found ways to win.
That was after the 2025-26 campaign got off to the worst imaginable start in early November, when the Broncos lost 79-78 at home to Hawaii Pacific, a Division II school whose basketball facility is housed in an old strip mall.
That was followed by more comfortable, yet expected, wins against Utah Valley (101-77) and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (85-65). Then last weekend, the Broncos practiced a great escape, putting together a 7-0 run across the final two minutes to avoid an upset and beat Big Sky team Montana State 62-58 at ExtraMile Arena.
“We’re learning,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said on Monday. “ … We’re getting better, we’re taking what we’re watching in film, we’re taking what we’re doing out on the practice floor, and applying it and getting better at it. And that’s a promising sign for any team.”
That improvement will have to continue over the next few weeks, because the Broncos — who went 22-11 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament after making three straight — are entering a monthlong stretch of games against teams that have made names for themselves in March Madness, both recently and in the past decade.
That starts Tuesday night when Wichita State visits ExtraMile Arena.
The Shockers, who made eight of 10 NCAA tourneys from 2012 to ‘21, have started the season 3-0, averaging 91.7 points per game, which ranks among the top 50 teams in the nation. They are No. 98 in the KenPom rankings, over a dozen spots higher than the Broncos’ best win so far (Utah Valley, 123rd).
Boise State is 54th in the KenPom rankings.
“They’ve got a lot of versatility, and the range that those guys have is amazing, and that can spread your defense out, because you’ve got to guard them out there,” Rice said, referencing Wichita State’s shooters. “And when I say out there, the logos, they were making them from there.”
The Shockers are shooting 42.3% on 3-pointers and are led by senior guard Kenyon Giles, who’s gone 14-for-23 (63.6%) from beyond the arc and averages a team-high 19.7 points per game.
Junior forward Drew Fielder said one of the keys will be limiting the Shockers on the glass. The Broncos rank just 185th in the nation for defensive rebounds, averaging 25 per game, while the Shockers are averaging 16.3 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks 24th nationally.
“We have really good schemes, and we have guys who want to play on that end. So it’s just about buckling down and rebounding,” said Fielder, a transfer from Georgetown who is from Boise. “They’ve been doing a really good job on the offensive rebound, so we’ve got to buckle down on that and limit them to one shot.”
After Wichita State leaves town, the Broncos have a couple of days off before leaving for Hawaii to play in the Maui Invitational for the first time. They will face USC (No. 19 in KenPom) in the first round. That game is followed by either N.C. State (20th) or Seton Hall (90th), with potential matchups against Texas (40th) or Arizona State (82nd), depending on how the bracket shakes out.
The Broncos then return to the mainland for nonconference games against Butler, Duquesne and perennial NCAA Tournament team Saint Mary’s before Mountain West play begins against Nevada on Dec. 20.
“I like playing good competition, this is what you play basketball for,” Fielder said. “So I’m excited to keep taking the test and preparing as much as possible, and see how we pan out.
“It’s fun to be on a team like this that works so hard, so you feel prepared and you feel connected.”
Related Stories from Idaho Statesman
Shaun Goodwin
Idaho Statesman
Shaun Goodwin is the Boise State Athletics reporter for the Idaho Statesman, covering Broncos football, basketball and more. If you like stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a digital subscription.
Support my work with a digital subscription
