On March 20, 2024, the Boise State University Broncos Basketball team took on the University of Colorado Buffaloes in the “First Four” round of the March Madness Basketball Tournament. Going into the game, the Broncos held an 0-9 all time record in the tournament, which is the second most losses without a win in the country (Iona University, 0-16).
The Broncos and Buffaloes went back and forth all game, but ultimately the Buffaloes came out on top 60-53, bringing the Broncos tournament record to 0-10.
Though Boise State was the No. 10 seed in the tournament and were coming off a strong 22-10 season, the Broncos evidently had holes in their game. The Broncos lacked a playmaker, totalling only 404 assists on the season (Tied 245th in the NCAA), and the Buffaloes exploited this weakness, leading to a lackluster offensive performance for the Broncos. The Broncos only totalled 4 assists in the game.
Because of the Broncos’ lack of playmaking, the offense failed to create momentum all game and shot just 34% from the field (averaged 45% on the season) and 11% from beyond the arc (averaged 34% on the season).
Having little to no playmakers on a basketball team is not a recipe for success, which is one of the reasons that the Broncos failed to win yet another March Madness Tournament game.
Fast forward to the 2024-2025 season and the Broncos are a new team — thanks to the addition of senior point guard Alvaro Cardenas. Cardenas is averaging 5.8 assists per game, which is tied 23rd in the NCAA and the most in Boise State program history.
Cardenas is in his fourth season of Division I basketball and recently transferred to Boise State from San Jose State University. For San Jose State, Cardenas was also the primary ball distributor averaging 5.5 assists per game his junior year. Cardenas recently reached double digit assists for the first time in his collegiate career against the Utah Tech University Trail Blazers.
Though Cardenas is not the only change for the Broncos between this season and the previous seasons, the addition of a playmaker like Cardenas is highly beneficial to a basketball team.
The Broncos are off to a 7-3 start with notable wins against Clemson University on Nov. 17 and Saint Mary’s University on Dec. 14. The Broncos were runners up in the Cayman Islands Classic on Nov. 26 as well, losing in the championship game against Boston College University thanks to a buzzer-beating game winning shot by the Eagles.
With only one match until conference play — against the Texas Southern University Tigers — the Broncos are going into a stacked Mountain Conference season with high hopes, with higher hopes come March time.
