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From Boise to Birmingham:
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Story
The Boise State men’s basketball team and Bronco Nation is in Alabama with hopes of moving past the first round of the tournament and upsetting a legendary program on a national stage.
The task is big, but it is the shared dream of many underdog teams in the tournament.
BSU is in Birmingham, Ala. for the school’s fifth NCAA basketball tournament appearance.
History to date has not been in the Broncos’ favor. They are 0-4 in the first round of the tournament. This is the first time since 1994 that the Broncos have reached the big dance. In their last visit to the show they played a strong Louisville team.
As fate would have it, tomorrow will be an electric rematch against the Cardinals.
The atmosphere that surrounds the Broncos is unlike any other that they have experienced before.
This Friday, BSU will play, perhaps, its biggest game in school history.
The magnitude surrounding this game is indescribable, and Coach Graham and his players are well aware of it.
“It’s a great thing for this school and this program, but we have to make sure we stick to business.” Graham said Tuesday.
The No. 14 seed Broncos will go up agains a Louisville squad that is coached by legendary Rick Pitino.
In Coach Pitino’s interview on Wednesday he was not one to take the Broncos lightly.
“They are a terrific offensive basketball team,” Pitino said. “They are an outstanding 3-point shooting team, have a great low post game and are very deep and very talented.”
Some consider it to be a strategic move by Coach Pitino to make sure his guys are not taking BSU lightly. Coach Graham, for one, isn’t completely sold on it.
“There’s a lot of chess moves going on at this point,” Graham said.
There have been a few comparisons made to other teams for both squads.
There have been comparisons made that New Mexico State’s style is similar to Louisville. The Aggies’ Head Coach, Marvin Menzies, was actually an assistant coach under Rick Pitino at Lousiville.
“They do a lot of similar things,” Graham said. “[Louisville just has] a few bigger bodies.”
In Coach Pitino’s interview he compared Boise State to BYU. He seemed to stress the fact that his team lost to BYU when the Broncos actually beat the Cougars back in December.
“This team is a carbon copy of BYU, as a matter of fact, they beat BYU,” Pitino said.
One thing that has also made BSU hard to overlook is the lingering spotlight on the university following the Fiesta Bowl.
Coach Graham said he tried to take advantage of BSU Football Head Coach Chris Petersen’s experience from the Broncos’ bowl win.
“We talked for a little bit,” Coach Graham said. “We talked about the Fiesta Bowl and how he approached the game and what they went through. He was helpful.”
The Broncos’ first round game will tip-off Friday evening at 7:40 p.m. on CBS.
Players’ thoughts
The feeling has been electric around BSU ever since the Broncos 3-OT thriller against New Mexico State late Saturday night.
Anthony Thomas, a sophomore guard for BSU, had nothing but smiles when asked this week about Saturday night’s WAC championship.
“We needed to get it done,” Thomas said. “I was so tired, it was the third overtime and we came so far, so we just needed to finish.”
Thomas gave the Broncos a huge boost with an acrobatic lay-up which put him to the line in the final overtime.
“It was crazy,” Thomas said. “I wanted to make up for that dumb foul in the second overtime.”
“It is going to be a dog fight, they’re a good team,” Thomas said of playing Louisville. “But we got some weapons … It’s the biggest game of my life. It’s the NCAA tournament, it don’t get any bigger than that.”
Another young gun for BSU is freshmen forward, Paul Noonan. He made his major appearance in the WAC championship game after Matt Nelson fouled out.
Noonan hit some important free throws down the stretch that played a key role in BSU’s nail-biting win.
“[That was] intense,” Noonan said. “It was one of the more up-and-down games that I’ve played in. It was a lot of fun.”
It can be a little more difficult for a freshman to go into such a big stage. This is a big game for everyone on the court, and with little experience, it might be a little overwhelming for the freshman.
Noonan handled himself well in the WAC championship, though, and spoke about his upcoming trip to Alabama with confidence.
“Louisville is a good team with a great coach,” Noonan said. “They’re deep, athletic and big, but we’re going to come out and play; we’ve got nothing to lose. This game means a lot, there’s going to be a lot of great memories and it’s going to be a good experience. Hopefully we can play tough and pull one out."
BRAD WEIGLE
Sports Writer
