Boise State Takes on Colorado in Last First Four Game

It will be a matchup between the Boise State Broncos (22-10, 13-5 Mountain West) and the Colorado Buffaloes (24-10, 13-7 Pac-12) for the No. 10 seed in the South Region. The winner of this play-in game will face the No. 7  seed Florida Gators.

ONE. DAY. AWAY.#BleedBlue x #WhatsNext pic.twitter.com/ASQog6YZ0M

— Boise State MBB (@BroncoSportsMBB) March 19, 2024

Conference Tournament

Both teams were the No. 3 seed in their respective conference tournaments, but only the Buffaloes generated positive momentum. The Buffaloes beat No. 6 seed Utah and No. 2 seed Washington State but fell short in the Pac-12 Championship game against the No. 4 seed Oregon Ducks.

As for the Broncos, they didn’t even make it past their first game. Their first matchup was against the No. 6 seed in the Mountain West, the New Mexico Lobos. However, the Lobos would go on to win the Mountain West Championship and earn the No. 11 seed in the West Region.

Final from Vegas.

We will look to Selection Sunday to see where we are headed next week.#BleedBlue x #UnbreakableCulture pic.twitter.com/gS0NZ2PByR

— Boise State MBB (@BroncoSportsMBB) March 15, 2024

Key Wins

Even though they made it to the Pac-12 Championship game, the Buffaloes were only victorious in two ranked games this season. They beat the No. 15 Miami Hurricanes and the No. 22 Washington State Cougars. The Buffaloes also have a 4-5 record against Quad-1 opponents.

The Broncos, on the other hand, have beaten three ranked opponents: the N0. 17 Colorado State Rams, the No. 19 New Mexico Lobos, and the No. 21 San Diego State Aztecs. The Broncos’ Quad-1 record is 6-5.

Team Leaders

Colorado has five players who average double-digit points. KJ Simpson, the Buffaloes’ leading scorer, averages 19.6 points per game, the 44th-most in the country. Simpson tallied 57 points in the three games he played in at the Pac-12 tournament. The Buffaloes are the 56th highest-scoring team in the nation, meanwhile the Broncos are 122nd.

KNOCK IT DOWN @KSimpsonJr 👌

📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/uA7pmvvmHp

— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) March 17, 2024

Boise State only has four players who average double-digit points, and they average almost four fewer points than the Buffaloes. The Broncos’ Tyson Degenhart is the leading scorer, averaging 17 points per game. Degenhart dropped 23 points in the Mountain West quarterfinal loss to New Mexico. The next closest Broncos scorer is Max Rice, with 13.

The matchup between the Broncos and Buffaloes will tip-off tomorrow at 9:10 p.m. at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Per ESPN’s matchup predictor, the Buffaloes have a 53.7% chance of beating the Broncos in the last First Four game.