Boise State mulling postseason options after conference tournament loss

After a blowout loss at the hands of San Diego State in Thursday night’s Mountain West quarterfinals, Boise State’s postseason destiny is up for debate.

The NCAA Tournament is clearly out of the question, but the Broncos have been tied to the potential of appearing in the NIT or CBI tournaments. However, due to the high number of top mid/low-major seeds falling in their respective tournaments and receiving autobids to the NIT, there is a possibility Boise State might not be selected for that bracket, either.

Last season, BSU was invited to be a participant in the inaugural Vegas 16 tournament, but eventually turned down the offer. Despite the original plan of including 16 teams in the event, the committee managed to entice just eight squads to compete. There will not be a Vegas 16 (or Vegas 8) tournament this year.

That leaves the NIT, CBI or CIT for the Broncos. NIT remains the most attractive event, but the CBI tournament (which Mountain West counterpart Nevada won last year and used as a springboard for its 2017 MWC title run this season) would be a quality experience for the young Boise State team.

If last night’s emotional press conference was any indication, seniors Nick Duncan, James Reid and the rest of the tightly-bonded BSU club would appear to want to continue playing this season. As athletic director Curt Apsey explained to Idaho Statesman, there is a hefty financial situation tied to participating in either tournament. Most would believe that head coach Leon Rice would be more than willing to play any additional games this season, however.

As of Friday morning, NYCBuckets has Boise State pegged as a #4 seed in the NIT, along with MWC’s Colorado State (5) and Fresno State (6), assuming Nevada wraps up the conference tournament.

The NCAA Tournament, NIT and CBI brackets will be announced Sunday afternoon and evening.