SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Boise State (24-9, 13-5 MW) earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid, drawing seventh-seeded Northwestern (21-11, 12-8) out of the Big Ten. The two program's meet for the first time ever at 5:35 p.m. MT Thursday on truTV.
This is the ninth time Boise State has been to the NCAA Tournament, including the fourth time under Rice, who took over the program 13 years ago. The Broncos are 0-8 all-time in March Madness, but are making back-to-back appearances for the first time since the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 seasons.
"This team has been special and their accomplishments have been worthy of being remembered for a long, time time," head coach Leon Rice said Wednesday. "Their accomplishments and the way they played together, and the way they had such a steely resolve, they were so tough. They always responded the right way, they just battled every second they were out there."
Boise State has never defeated a Big Ten team. Northwestern finished the regular season tied for second in its conference, marking the Wildcats best Big Ten finish since the 1958-1959 season.
"Coach of the year, defensive player of the year, No. 2 seed in the Big Ten, I mean it's impressive what they've done," Rice said. "So, I think there are a lot of similarities that way, no doubt."
Northwestern head coach Chris Collins took home Big Ten Coach of the Year, and Wildcat standout Chase Audige was tabbed as the conference's best defensive player. Additionally All-Big Ten First Team honoree Boo Buie is averaging a team-best 17.1 points per game.
"He's definitely a great competitor and great player with a strong right hand," Naje Smith said on Buie. "It's definitely gonna be a challenge for us to keep him out of the box and kind of limit the way that he can make plays for other people."
In Las Vegas, the Wildcats are 1.5-point favorites across the board, with the same line from FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and more. The over/under is 128. ESPN's Matchup Predictor gives Boise State a 51.2% chance to win Thursday's contest.
How to watch/listen
Boise State vs. Northwestern will be nationally televised on truTV Thursday, available on the following channels:
- Sparklight: Channel 217 / 1133 HDTV
- DirecTV: Channel 246
- Dish Network: Channel 242
- Cox: Channel 36
truTV is also available on YouTube TV, iOS App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Android TV. Fans can also sign in with a TV provider to watch games through the NCAA, or utilize a three-hour trial to watch the game here.
Fans can listen to the game on the Bronco Radio Network, which can be found online or on the following stations in the Boise area:
- KBOI 670 AM in Boise
- KTIK 93.1 FM in Boise
- KDZY 98.3 FM in McCall
- KSNQ 98.3 FM in Twin Falls
The first-round matchup will also be on Sirius XM 135 or 203.
Stat leaders
Points per game:
- Tyson Degenhart - 14.3 PPG
- Boo Buie - 17.1 PPG
Rebounds per game:
- Marcus Shaver Jr. - 6.1 RPG
- Matthew Nicholson - 5.5 RPG
Assists per game:
- Shaver Jr. - 3.8 APG
- Buie - 4.5 APG
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