The Mountain West regular season finally, mercifully comes to a close this week, and I'm sure the Boise State men's basketball team couldn't be happier. One can only take so many learning experiences before needing a summer vacation. Speaking of which, here are two more:
- Tonight vs. No. 23 San Diego State at 8:00 p.m. MT (TV coverage on The Mtn.)
- Saturday @ New Mexico at 2:00 p.m. MT (TV coverage on NBC Sports Network)
How nice it would be for Boise State to win one or both of these games and take some much-deserved momentum and good vibes into the offseason. Here are five other things to know about this week in Bronco basketball.
1. Tonight is Senior Night for Tre Nichols and Westly Perryman and ... no one else. It's a far cry from last year's star-studded Senior Night and a good sign for the future of the team that so many quality players return for next year.
2. The Broncos are currently tied for last place in the Mountain West Conference with Air Force. The Falcons close with New Mexico and Colorado State. Cellar drama!
3. Last time the Broncos and Aztecs played, BSU took SDSU down to the wire in a 58-56 loss in San Diego that was one of those games where the winning team feels strangely worse than the losing team. Think Boise State football vs. UC Davis a couple years back. The Bronco loss also gave us the opportunity to feast our peepers on a rollicking, Vandal-bashing blog bet. Those are the best kind.
4. Happy Leap Day, everyone! The last time the Broncos played on Leap Day was 20 years ago when they beat Montana State at home. Anthony Drmic wasn't even alive yet!
5. The Mountain West Conference tournament begins on Thursday, March 8, in Las Vegas. Boise State will enter as the seven or eight seed and will play either San Diego State, New Mexico, or UNLV in the first round. But seeing as how there are eight teams in the conference, the first round is the quarterfinals. Huzzah! Boise State has made it to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament!
Your turn
What do you think of this year's Boise State basketball team? Has the season gone as expected? What are you hoping will happen in the conference tournament? Share your thoughts in the comments.