What Happened?

Jalen Lake made the game-winning 3 with 4.5 seconds left, leaving the Broncos short of the comeback. Tyson led all scorers with 27 points and 5 rebounds. Clifford led CSU with 20 points 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Disaster in the First Half

In a game of inches, it’s easy to blame the game-winning shot for why BSU lost tonight. We aren’t going down that path. The tone was set when Omar gave up the first 6 points with 2 wide-open dunks and an open jumper. In the first half, there was a spark of offense when the Broncos led 17-15 by going on their own 8-0 run. In the final 3 minutes of the first half, the Broncos let a 2-point deficit balloon to a 13-point deficit. They were only down 9 at the half with a chance to improve defensively, but chose to play worse defense so it turned out.

Disaster in the Second Half

Whatever was said in the locker room at halftime didn’t work. The Broncos let the lead balloon to 19 just 6 minutes into the half. It looked identical to the second half against New Mexico. Turnovers led to easy buckets and forced shots on offense.

Just when it looked like it was over, Tyson put on his superhero cape, willed the Broncos back, and gave us a lead with under a minute to go. Of course, just when you think this team learned how to play defense late in the second half, they don’t. Just like against Utah State, we left a shooter wide open to give them a 3-point lead. Leon sits on his hands as Alvaro tries and fails to make a circus shot, and that’s ball game, folks.

This team feels like it is missing something. I can’t put my finger on it. Bronco teams of the past would go through slumps, but not this bad. At the moment, my observation is that we lack that defensive intensity. In years past, the Broncos could flip on another gear and lock teams down defensively. In the 21-22 season, we played at SDSU and won the game 42-37. That team only gave up 14 points total in the second half. Tonight, they gave up 11 made 3’s to a team ranked 223 in 3-point percentage. Admittedly, some of those shots were circus in nature, but those things happen when you let an offense get confident. Most of them were wide open due to missed rotations and assignments. On the road, the finest margins can sink you, and the Broncos learned that lesson firsthand (again).

Sunshine Through the Clouds

I’ll admit I wrote 3 different recaps. One was where we were down 19; one was where we had come back, and now this one. I won’t lie; I didn’t think we would make it interesting in the second half. Credit the team for making stops and converting on the other end. Javon stepped up during that run. He had critical steals and buckets late to take some pressure off Tyson. He finished with 11 points.

In the end, it was too late for this team. It’s hard to look at this team and not say that the sky is falling. I know I have those thoughts as well. This team was picked to win the Mountain West for the first time in program history, and Tyson was picked as the preseason player of the year. Perspective says this team is still really young, with lots of room to grow and develop. The most important thing is to not “throw the baby out with the bath water.” Underclassmen contributed 27 points. There still is hope. Only if we come together as a team.

Epitome of Brutality

When Boise State started out on this road trip, we all knew it wouldn’t be easy. It’s never easy winning on the road in the Mountain West. The issue I take is how we lost these games. Against USU, it was the defense and coaching down the stretch. UNM was a beatdown of biblical proportions. Tonight was about how big of a hole we can dig before we stop digging and play good basketball. Then, lose it at the buzzer. Every game, we had a new starting lineup. Every game had a new combination of players in several different roles. Tonight, down the stretch, Leon opted to play Tyson as the 5. He has zero trust in Omar, Dylan, and Ugbo, and who can blame him?

If you were to look at Leon’s lineups this season (see upcoming article for that breakdown), we play 11 guys. In years past, the deepest Leon has gone is 9. That’s all fine and well in November and December when you are trying to find your best lineup. At the end of January, you should know who your starting lineup and closing lineup should be. Some argue that the players aren’t being consistent; thus, Leon doesn’t know who to trust. Those people have a point. When Chris Locket was inserted into the starting lineup against UNLV, he had just scored 16 vs SDSU the previous game. In the next 5 games, he scored 0, 3, 11, 5, 0. All while averaging 19.4 minutes per game. That’s not going to get it done. The issue is that almost all players have stat lines like that or something similar. Alvaro and Tyson have been the only consistent players this season.

What’s Next?

This bye week couldn’t come at a better time for the Broncos. They have a week until they are back home again against Nevada. Times like this is where tough teams are made from. There are 11 games left in this season before the Mountain West Tournament. If they can take care of our home games, which include games against USU, UNM, and Colorado State, we can give ourselves a fighting chance for a high seed in the conference tournament.

That has to be the outlook going forward. Use the next 11 games to determine how to win 3 tournament games to make it to the big dance. There is something critically wrong with this basketball team, and I hope Leon and company can figure it out. If they can’t, I’m not sure how many fans and boosters will be backing him up as the program still searches for their first NCAA win in program history.

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