PREVIEW | *NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND* #10 Boise State (24-9, 13-5) at #7 Northwestern University (21-11,12-8)
#10 Boise State University at #7 Northwestern University
Date: Thursday March 16, 2023
Time:5:35 pm MT
Venue: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento CA (17,608)
TV: trueTV
Commentators: Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson
Radio: KBOI 670 AM
Commentators: Bob Behler and Abe Jackson
Know Thy Enemy
Buster has his dancing shoes on and now knows his partner and its Willie the Wildcat! Boise State heads West to Sacramento as the #10 seed in the West region to face the #7 seeded Wildcats of Northwestern. Northwestern is in the NCAA tournament for just the second time in school history, while Boise State is reaching the ‘Bid Dance’ for the 9th time. Unlike the Wildcats who won their first round game when they went dancing back in 2017, the Broncos are still looking for their first ever NCAA tournament victory. Both teams have their eyes set on getting out of the first round after both teams had shortened stints in their conference tournaments. Northwestern was on the wrong side of an upset as they fell to the 10-seeded Penn State in the quarterfinals as the #2 seed. Despite an early exit in the conference tournament, Northwestern had a banner year, finishing the season 21-11, 12-8 which was the second most wins in a season and most conference wins in program history.
The Wildcats are a very veteran-laiden team. All five starters are upperclassmen, three of which are seniors. NU will play 7 or 8, but starters play a lot. Their backcourt of Boo Bouie and Chase Audige both play over 34 minutes a game. These two are also the stars of this team, and the only two that averaged double figures this season. Along with Bouie and Augie, Ty Berry and Robbie Beran all started every game this season and their seven foot big man Matthew Nicholson has played in all 32 and has started 23. As mentioned before they have a pretty shallow bench, similar to the Broncos with just two or three getting minutes off the bench. Their biggest contributor off the bench is sophomore guard Brooks Barnhizer who is playing just under 24 minutes a game and scoring just about 8 points per game.
Looking at the numbers, the Wildcats sat third to last in the Big 10 in scoring offense, averaging about 67 points per game, but were the number two scoring defense in the conference allowing only 62 points per game. They only allowed 70 or more five times all season. Northwestern is definitely a defense-first type of team and their defense is really good. They ranked 2nd in steals, 3rd in opponent field goal percentage, and 4th in blocked shots in the conference.
The Wildcats are coached by Chris Collins. Coach Collins is in his 10th season with Northwestern and has a record of 152-160. Collins has taken his team to the NCAA tournament two times and has a tournament record of 1-1. Prior to being the head coach of the Wildcats, Collins was a long-time assistant at Duke where he also spent his playing career.
Thursday will be the first time these two teams have met in school history.
What Happened Last Time
The Broncos and the Wildcat have no prior history and have never met on the hardwood. As far as I can tell the only areas where Boise State and Northwestern have ever competed against each other are in Men’s tennis, volleyball, and softball. Northwestern is 5-3 against the Boise State men's tennis team, 1-1 against the volleyball team, and 1-2 against the softball team.
Player to Watch
NORTHWESTERN
SR., “BOO” BOUIE, G#0
Daniel Richard “Boo” Bouie will do his best to strike fear in Bronco Nation on Thursday night in Sacramento. Bouie is a pure scorer type of point guard who is having a career year. He’s averaging a career-best 17.4 points per game and is shooting a career high 40% from the field. He’s scored more than 17 points 16 times this season and scored a career-high 35 points this year against Illinois. Not only can he score, he also gets his teammates involved averaging a team-best 4.5 assists per game. On-ball defense will be paramount against #0 will be paramount if Boise State is going to have a chance.
BOISE STATE
Rs.SR., MAX RICE, G #12
Out of anyone who needs to have a big impact on this game it’s Max Rice. With Rice’s shooting ability and his creativity in the lane, he has the capability to take over a game. But, he also can be ice cold at times and never seems to get into any rhythm. Case in point, against San Diego State he went on a solo 12-0 run and scored 26 points while shooting 5-of-8 from deep. Then compare that to the Mountain West Semifinals where he was 0-of-6 from the field and only managed to score a single point in the entire 36 minutes he played. His teammates have to get Rice into the flow of the game early and he has to have at least 10 shots on the night if the Broncos have a chance.
PROBABLE STARTERS
BOISE STATE
NORTHWESTERN
Rev's Route to a Bronco Win
Shootout
Degenhart said it best when talking to the media after the team was selected for the tournament. He said, “You can’t start out slow.” That’s exactly right Tyson, the Broncos have to come out swinging if they want a shot at this one. Northwestern wants this game to be a low-scoring slugfest that ends in the low 60’s. Boise State will have a tough time scoring inside against the Wildcats interior defense so getting into a rhythm from beyond the arc will be necessary. Obviously the Broncos have shown that they can get hot from deep and they will need another one of those stellar performances if they want to come out on top.
Agent Zero
When it comes to stopping the Wildcats it all begins with #0. Boo Bouie is a dynamic player who will have his hands on the ball every time down the floor. He initiates the offense hand has the ability to take over a game like he did when scored 26 in the upset against #1 Purdue. The Broncos will have to have excellent on-ball defense and limit his ability to drive to the basket. Northwestern will also use off-ball screens to get Bouie open looks so fighting through screens and not allowing #0 to get good looks will be key in this one.
Editor Note:
Monkey’s, Hotseats, and a Prayer
Boise State embarks on their 9th trip to the NCAA tournament with a not so stellar record of 0-8. This is also just the second time in school history that the Broncos have been to the Big Dance in back-to-back seasons. The first time was back in 1993 and 1994 when Bobby Dye was the head coach. There is definitely the sense that the Broncos have the proverbial “monkey” on their back when it comes to the NCAA tournament. Many thought that the 2015 team would be the team to break the winless streak, but a three-point attempt by Derrick Marks fell short at buzzer and the Broncos fell to Dayton, in Dayton 56-55.
Some in Broncos nation seem to think that Coach Leon Rice has taken this team as far as he can, that getting to the tournament is as good as he can be and that maybe the athletic department should think about moving on from Rice to try and get over the “hump” to try and find a coach who can help this team make some noise in the tournament. I would say, I would be careful what you wish for. It seems like coach Rice is finally able to build something that seems sustainable and that with who is coming back and who is coming in, Boise State is on the cusp of being one of those teams that you’re surprised when they don’t make the field of 68. I know winning is everything and close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but I would hate to end up taking a step backwards just for a “maybe.”
Even as a 10-seed the Broncos have a chance against the 7-seed Northwestern. 7 vs 10 matchup, the lower seed is 57-87 all-time. In 2019 three of the four 10-seeds advanced to the second round. Out of all the 7-seeds this is, at least on paper, the best chance the Broncos have. So as Lloyd Christmas said, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”
I think Boise State has a chance, but they have to be “on” from the jump and stay on all night. They can’t have an off night and expect to win. Northwestern is good and the Big 10 is a good league, they didn’t get 8 teams in the field by luck. I don’t think these Broncos will have as much “sticker shock” this time around.
Broncos 68, Wildcats 63
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