What we think should be an easy decision for most college basketball pollsters just isn't coming out that way on the other end these days--it's a Boise State conspiracy!

Last year, Boise State made an insane run on the basketball court. The men's team, which traditionally has either been bad or "just OK", made a run into the March Madness tournament bracket and for the first time in a long time, the city had basketball fever. This program has been on an upward trajectory for some time--led by Leon Rice who came to Boise from powerhouse Gonzaga University, the Broncos had been to the dance before and have made plenty of NIT appearances.

It's tough for any program at Boise State, regardless of their record or total wins, to steal the spotlight from a football team that frankly, isn't what it once was.

Leon Rice and his team are proving once again this season that last year wasn't a "one-off" but a foundation for something better--and now, Boise State is finding itself towards the top of the Mountain West and really, the nation.

Basketball geeks will know that the 'Net Rankings' are--and there, Boise State ranks 22nd in the nation. That's huge.

At the end of the day, however, it's the old-school AP Top 25 that will remain the gold standard, universal language for ranking the best college programs and in that regard, Boise State continues to get snubbed!

The team only has 5 losses on the season and has some impressive wins, too. Is this a symptom of the "experts" thinking Boise State is just a football school or have they not spent enough time watching the Broncos to really know? They're receiving votes--which technically puts them at about #33, ahead of major programs like Duke, Arkansas, and Texas A&M.

A win over ranked San Diego State in the coming days and a pesky New Mexico could be exactly what the Broncos need! We're rooting for a ranked team going into March!

While football gets all of the credit, we're still shouting Leon Rice's name from the mountain top! 

Boise State's Most Underappreciated Star

Boise State seems to mean "football" for most, right? On a national stage, after all, it's the blue turf and the success that the Broncos have had on it that made the university a household name. What happens on the hardwood, however, is far from appreciated at the level that it should be. Leon Rice came to Boise State as a blessing from one of the most powerful basketball programs in the nation: Gonzaga University. Now, the winningest basketball coach in the history of the school seems to take immediate heat if the Broncos aren't in the Final Four. Spoiled by wins on the football field, fans seem to expect the same of the basketball program but when the investment in basketball is so much less than football--can you really have these types of expectations!?

This Huge $4.25 Million Idaho Home Has a Jaw-Dropping Indoor Basketball Court

Located in Eagle, the asking price for the home is $4.25 million!

This Former Nampa Basketball Star is ESPN's Darling

It's not often that you see Sports Center re-run a single play as often as they did last night. The good folks at ESPN could not get enough of the dominating performance by one particular Texas Tech player who left it all on the court. His team defeated Baylor-- the defending National Champion and the only remaining undefeated team in the country this season.
Plot twist, this player has some serious Idaho ties-- with NO offers out of High School, Adonis Arms played in Nampa at Northwest Nazarene University where he gained the skill set and the reputation to make his way up to the big time stage.

5 Things Boise State Basketball Needs Now

The Boise State men's basketball team under the leadership of Leon Rice has been on fire. You really can't complain about 14 wins in-a-row, even if some of them were a little scrappy. So out of all of the energy and momentum being built behind this basketball team--which one could argue, is greater than anything that the football team earned this year--what can be improved?
The Broncos have the wins...here's what they need at home.

 

More From Idaho’s Talk Station