Scott Slant: It was right there – then it wasn’t

BOISE, Idaho — Thursday Special…March 21, 2024.

So Boise State is 0-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament after Wednesday night’s 60-53 loss to Colorado at the First Four. What’s it all mean? This team is not responsible for the previous nine. It was ripped off in the seeding and was sent to Dayton to face a team that had been on a roll. And the Broncos still almost got ‘em. Boise State led by four points with 4½ minutes left before the Buffaloes went on an 11-0 run to get away. 

Defensively, it was a great game. The disappointment is not in the 0-10 record stretching back 48 years, it’s that the Broncos didn’t play to their offensive capabilities. They needed an effort like the ones they produced on the road at New Mexico and San Diego State, and they didn’t get it. Boise State was awesome on the boards, winning that battle 41-31 with 19 offensive boards, and it was dialed in on defense for most of the night. But a bushel of missed shots from point-blank range and futility from three-point land told the tale.

STUCK IN THE GOO OUT OF THE GATE

Anyone you asked on the Broncos squad would say it was important to get off to a fast start, unlike their last two NCAA Tournament appearances. It didn’t happen, and although the Broncos staged that gritty second-half rally, the start made life way too difficult, and the team wore down at the end. Roddie Anderson III started fast, but nobody else did. Anderson scored seven of Boise State’s first nine points, but the Broncos shot just 29 percent in the first half. It was almost as bad as a week ago at the Mountain West Tournament. The Buffs double-teamed Tyson Degenhart from the get-go. They had made up their minds they weren’t going to let Degenhart beat them. The Broncos star was scoreless in the first half and ended with six points. 

LONG JOURNEYS THAT CAME TO AN END

Props to Cam Martin in the final game of his seven-year college career. Martin came off the bench and gave Boise State a spark not once, but multiple times. He scored 10 points (which is saying something when the team scored 53), and he pulled down eight rebounds, three on the offensive end. Speaking of final games, it was a tough way for Max Rice to go out—two points in his career finale. Six years ago he had just finished his senior season at Bishop Kelly, and nobody knew quite what to make of Rice as a college player in the Mountain West. He made his impression on Bronco Nation, and he got under the skin of virtually every other fan base. Rice played more games, 160 of them, than any other player in Mountain West history.

BOISE STATE WOMEN LOSE IN MISSOULA

The Boise State women’s basketball team was one-and-done in the WNIT, losing 92-66 at Montana in the first round Wednesday night. The Lady Griz ended the game on a 20-4 run over the final 9½ minutes. Natalie Pasco scored 21 points for the Broncos and Mya Hansen put up 20, but the Broncos didn’t get much else. They finish the campaign at 21-14—coach Gordy Presnell completes his 19th season at Boise State with a 751-368 overall record.

FAMILIAR NAME IN THE STEELIES FAMILY

There’s nothing quite like having a Mylymok on the ice for longtime Idaho Steelheads fans. Connor Mylymok, son of Steelheads great Jeremy Mylymok, is beginning his pro career in Boise. The younger Mylymok just finished his college career at Niagara University and was signed by the organization on Tuesday. Jeremy Mylymok skated for the Steelies from 2000-06 and is one of only five players to have his jersey retired by the club. In Idaho’s 3-2 overtime win over Tulsa last night, Connor Mylymok had one shot on goal…and a fighting major.

A BOUNCE-BACK WEEK FOR MERRITT?

After making three straight cuts on the PGA Tour, Troy Merritt posted a pair of 73s and missed the weekend last week at The Players Championship. The former Boise State star is back on the course today at the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, FL. Merritt has two top 25 finishes in eight events this season—he was 23rd two weeks back at the Puerto Rico Open.

NATIONAL BUZZ FOR THE BRONCOS’ GROVES

The Boise State softball team was riding a nine-game winning streak until it ran into Utah in Salt Lake City Wednesday. The Utes blanked the Broncos 4-0 on a one-hitter, sending Boise State to 20-11 on the season. The hottest Bronco lately has been first baseman Sydney Groves, who was named D1Softball National Player of the Week on Tuesday. Groves belted five home runs and drove in 14 runs as the Broncos went 4-0 in their City of Trees Classic last weekend. She batted .400 and homered in each of the four Boise State wins. The Broncos open Mountain West play at Utah State on Friday.

THIS DAY IN SPORTS…March 21, 1964, 60 years ago today:

UCLA coach John Wooden wins the first of his 10 national championships with a 98-83 win over Duke in the NCAA title game. The Bruins were led by tournament MVP Walt Hazzard. Wooden and UCLA would take nine more crowns over the next 11 years. Then the Bruins would go 20 years before getting another—that would be in 1995, when Tyus Edney’s famous coast-to-coast drive with four seconds left against Missouri in the BSU Pavilion launched their title run under Jim Harrick.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.) 

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