Boise State Breaks Records to Secure Victory in College Basketball Crown Opening Round

On Monday, for roughly eight minutes, it appeared as though Boise State basketball might pull off an unexpected upset and get eliminated in the first round of the College Basketball Crown postseason tournament.

The Broncos managed only one field goal and were behind 9-3 against George Washington from the Atlantic 10 Conference at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena.

However, within the following 12 minutes, the Broncos essentially seized control of the game from the Revolutionaries. Boise State notched seven thefts in the first half and compelled George Washington to commit 10 turnovers. Thanks to these turnovers, the Broncos racked up 17 points during this period, which allowed them to head into halftime with a 32-26 advantage.

Boise State extended their lead further in the second half, concluding with an impressive 89-59 win against George Washington. The team from Boise State now faces Butler in the next round on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Mountain Time; Butler secured their spot after defeating Utah with a score of 86-84 on Monday.

We informed them that (George Washington) would attempt to push them towards the basket," said Boise State assistant coach Mike Burns following the game to KBOI. "Give credit to George Washington though; they managed to get a few shots near the rim initially. However, our team remained persistent.

Boise State started the game with a poor performance, hitting only 1 out of their first 11 shots from the field and missing all five attempts from beyond the arc, which allowed the Revolutionaries to take an early lead. Initially, the match showed similar patterns. Boise State’s loss In the Mountain West Tournament championship against Colorado State, a sluggish beginning left the Broncos trailing 25-9.

Luckily for the Broncos, their defense held strong against George Washington, keeping the game tight until they were able to mount an effective counterattack once their offense got going.

"We simply needed to find our rhythm since we hadn’t played for two weeks," senior forward Tyson Degenhart stated on Fox Sports 1’s postgame show.

Degenhart led all scorers with 19 points, putting him only 10 points away from becoming the first Boise State player to reach 2,000 career points.

The defense was significantly bolstered by steals and turnovers, which enabled the Broncos to swiftly regain their footing in the contest. Boise State matched a program record with 16 steals, tying their previous tally set against Utah Valley State in November 2007.

The highest number of steals Boise State had previously achieved this season was 10, which occurred during their games with Corbin and New Mexico.

Our strategy was to dominate in the lanes," said junior forward Javan Buchanan to KBOI. "Similar to how New Mexico plays, with lots of driving and kicking, we focused heavily on preventing them from getting into the paint. Once we did that, it led to many turnovers.

Buchanan recorded one steal and scored 11 points, capped off with a jump shot right before the first-half buzzer, giving the Broncos a six-point lead going into halftime.

On Monday, however, it was freshman forward Pearson Carmichael who spearheaded the defensive push, contributing six steals along with his 15 points. He becomes only the fifth player for the Broncos to achieve such a feat in a single game and marks the first time since Derrick Marks accomplished this against Seattle back in December 2012.

Boise State turned George Washington’s five turnovers into 27 points. They also improved their shooting significantly in the second half, which widened the lead; they ended up with a final score of 26 out of 72 shots overall (50%), including 9 made three-pointers out of 25 attempts (36%).

Burns mentioned, "The team members stayed committed and continued to locate one another." He added, "Everything comes down to the accuracy of the shots; when you manage to create excellent opportunities for both yourself and your fellow players... those statistics will naturally lead to successful outcomes, which we witnessed in the latter part of the game."

Boise State will have one day of rest before taking on Butler at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday. In their previous encounter last year, during the ESPN Events Invitational held in Orlando, Florida, Butler came out victorious with a score of 70-56, closing the game with a decisive 17-4 scoring streak.