Boise State Basketball: What Is It?

I had heard of the term "Boise State Basketball" exactly once in my four years at BSU, in 2007.  There was this group of 13 students who did not play football and decided to play a sport where with a spherical ball that was allowed to hit the floor multiple times.  The top players on this team were named Reggie, Tyler and Matt.  History tells us that Mark Sanchez was also on this team, but he was not known as "Sanchez the Butt-Fumbler."

I remember going to one of these fascinating games against Idaho (go figure, Idaho was bad at this sport also).  Not only did the Broncos win, they did so with glitzy fashion.  The player named Reggie, did something called a "slam dunk" which electrified the crowd.  This Bronco team made the playoff called the "NCAA Tournament" or "Big Dance," however they lost to Louisville.  This experience made me want to learn the rules of this sport and follow the team.  The teams success was short-lived and my last two years there, were seasons of mediocrity, which led to mine (and others) apathy again.

Only after I left, did the students officially name their section "The Corral."  When I had gone to these basketball games, there were maybe 20 of us in the "student section."  It seems as though The Corral has a lot more students than that.  After I left, Boise State hired a new coach named Leon Rice.  He apparently has led his teams to the proper definition of "Boise State Basketball."  His teams are typically characterized by high-scoring offenses (like the football team!) that play either clinically or scrappily, depending on the day.  As a result, more and more Bronco fans have begun to pay attention: some like myself who live outside of the state have resorted to listening to the games on the radio in order to catch a game.

On Saturday, Boise State Basketball played on ESPN2 for the first time since...I really can't remember.  The team did not show off their offensive abilities until the second half.  In fact, the team in the first half looked vaguely like my "basketball" experiences when I was in undergrad: sloppy play, lucky to be down by single digits against a top team and frustrated looks.  Then, like so many times this season, the Broncos created opportunities that transitioned into quick scores.  Webb had his double-double, Marks had his points and the Broncos stayed true to their Leon Rice-defined "Boise State Basketball."

So back to the original question in the title: What is Boise State Basketball?  It is awesome, fun to watch, and quickly becoming a household name along with football in the house of many Bronco fans.