The Boise State Broncos men's basketball team represents Boise State University in the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos are led by head coach Leon Rice, hired in March 2010, and play their home games on campus at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho. BSU's most recent appearance in the NCAA tournament was in 2023.
History
Greg Graham era
Athletic director Gene Bleymaier hired Greg Graham to be head coach in 2002. In eight seasons, Graham had a 142–112 record at Boise State and led Boise State to a berth in the 2004 NIT, 2008 NCAA tournament and 2009 CBI. For leading Boise State to the NCAA tournament, the Western Athletic Conference named Graham "Coach of the Year" in 2008.
In 2010, after a 15–17 season, Bleymaier fired Graham and stated: "We appreciate everything that Coach Graham and his staff have contributed to Boise State the past eight years. We felt that in the best interest of the program we needed to make a change."
Leon Rice era
Leon Rice replaced Graham as head coach of the Broncos on March 26, 2010. In his first season as head coach, he led Boise State to the finals of the 2011 WAC men's basketball tournament and to the semifinals of the 2011 College Basketball Invitational. He is the first Boise State head coach to win 20 games in two of his first three seasons and has 20 or more wins in eight of his ten seasons. In 2013, he guided the Broncos to their first ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. In 2015, he led the Broncos to their first ever Mountain West regular season championship, and first conference title for Boise State since 2008, and was named the Mountain West coach of the year. On February 13, 2021, Rice won his 214th game to become the winningest head coach in Boise State history. In 2022, Leon Rice led Boise to arguably their best season in school history. The Broncos won a program high 27 games, 15 conference games, the Mountain West conference regular season championship, Mountain West conference tournament, an 8-seed in the NCAA tournament and the highest AP ranking in program history at 23. The following season, Leon Rice helped lead the team to 24 wins and consecutive tournament bids for the second time in school history.
In-season tournament championships
1984–85 Gem State Classic (wins over Northwest Nazarene, Idaho State) 1986–87 Real Dairy Classic (wins over College of Idaho, Idaho State) 1986–87 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Southwest Texas State, San Diego) 1987–88 Real Dairy Classic (wins over Lewis-Clark State, Idaho State) 1987–88 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Sam Houston State, St. Mary's (CA)) 1988–89 Real Dairy Classic (wins over Northwest Nazarene, Idaho State) 1988–89 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Portland, Wisconsin–Green Bay) 1990–91 Real Dairy Classic (wins over Valparaiso, Idaho State) 1990–91 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Monmouth, Georgia Southern) 1991–92 Real Dairy Classic (wins over Sacramento State, Stephen F. Austin State) 1991–92 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Air Force, Western Michigan) 1992–93 Real Dairy Classic (wins over Elizabeth City State, Georgia State) 1992–93 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over George Mason, Southern Utah) 1993–94 Real Dairy Classic (wins over Siena, Illinois–Chicago) 1994–95 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Bucknell, Davidson) 1996–97 Albertson's Holiday Classic (wins over Campbell, Gonzaga)
Regular season conference titles
Big Sky (3): 1976, 1988, 1989
Big West (1): 1999 (East) Western Athletic (1): 2008 Mountain West (2): 2015, 2022
Conference tournament championships
Big Sky (4): 1976, 1988, 1993, 1994
Western Athletic (1): 2008
Mountain West (1): 2022
Conference Player of the Year awards
Big Sky (2): Arnell Jones (1988), Chris Childs (1989) Big West (1): Roberto Bergersen (1999) Mountain West (1): Derrick Marks (2015)
Postseason results
NCAA Division I Tournament results
The Broncos have appeared in nine NCAA Division I Tournaments, with a combined record of 0–9. They have the most NCAA tournament games played without a win most losses without a victory in the NCAA tournament (Iona had a win in the NCAA Tournament in 1980 before the NCAA stripped it away due to a violation, which means they are "0-15"). Their first five bids came via conference tournament championships, the first four in the Big Sky. The bid to the First Four in 2013 was the first at-large bid in program history, and they received a second in 2015. BSU made their eighth appearance in 2022 and returned the following year.