NCAA Basketball: Top 25 early winners from 2023 offseason moves
By Joey Loose
21. Boise State
While San Diego State is undoubtedly the team to fear in the Mountain West, Boise State hasn’t done a bad job establishing itself in recent years either. The Broncos made a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament last season and have won at least 19 games in all but two of Leon Rice’s 13 years leading the program. Their 51-18 these last two seasons certainly stands out, but this program might be in even better shape moving forward.
They’ll lose a couple starters who were seniors, but the Broncos get a major boost with the returns of leading scorers Max Rice and Tyson Degenhart, who were both good for over 14 points a game last season, two absolutely fan favorites in Boise. Rice has gotten to work refilling this roster on the Transfer Portal, adding Cam Martin from Kansas, O’mar Stanley from St. John’s, and talented young scorer Roddie Anderson from UC San Diego.
A third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament is in their grasp, especially with two potential All-League players in Rice and Degenhart leading this squad. The Broncos have already filled a few gaps in their roster in the Transfer Portal and might have one of the best starting lineups in a tough Mountain West. Rice is a former Gonzaga aide who does a fantastic job building competitive teams and might do more than just compete with those stars, including his son, coming back again.