Boise State Basketball: Best mid-major nobody is talking about in 2022
Clutch Play in Crunch Time
The two most notable wins for the Broncos during the current streak are likely the roads wins at Utah State and San Diego State. The win over the Aztecs was the first road victory since February 2016 while the last Bronco victory in Logan came the following season on December 28th, 2016.
The other commonality between the two wins? Clutch shots by redshirt senior Marcus Shaver Jr. Shaver nailed the game-winner from long range with under two seconds to hush the Aggie faithful and scored the eventual game-winner 30 seconds left against San Diego State two nights later. In a win Tuesday over Wyoming, Shaver turned his ankle in what appeared to be a significant injury.
Marcus Shaver Jr. (@marcus10shaver) Puts matters into his own Hands with THE GAME WINNING CONTESTED 3 with 1.4 Seconds left for Boise State to go up 62-59 to beat Utah State pic.twitter.com/iuVFFYlp30
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) January 21, 2022
Head coach Leon Rice told the media after the game that he did not even think he would have Shaver available in the second half. Instead, the Phoenix native played in the second frame, logging 37 total minutes in the game and helping pace the Broncos to another victory. The veteran leadership shown by Shaver is nothing new for the Broncos with six of the top seven leaders in minutes playing college basketball for at least four years.
The only exception is star freshman Tyson Degenhart who has the clutch gene himself. Degenhart’s 8-8 performance helped seal the deal for the Broncos against SDSU stand out, but his seven points including a big three-pointer against Washington State down the stretch are what is likely going to stick with him. The Spokane native was huge down the stretch in the game played at Spokane Arena helping him earn Mountain West freshman of the week; an award he’s now won four times.