Boise State Broncos 16-7 (7-3 in Mountain West)
The Mountain West has continued its strong season into January and February. There has been talk that the league could end up with five or even six bids, which would be its most ever. One of the teams that has continued to impress is the Boise State Broncos who are 16-7 after losing to the team that got off to the best start this season, Colorado State. The Broncos' 7-3 league record has them in a four-way tie for first place with the Utah State Aggies.
Their December wins over Saint Mary's and North Texas have aged well and even the loss to Washington State looks better and better. In January they really did some work on league play with wins over Colorado State, Nevada, San Diego State, and New Mexico. After their loss to Colorado State, the game on Friday at Utah State could decide their fate in the race for first place.
Resume wise the Broncos are in good shape with a NET ranking of 40. Their record in quad 1 is just 5-5 but the wins are strong with a non-conference win over Saint Mary’s that is aging well and four wins over conference foes. Their strength of schedule is very strong at 21 and a non-conference SOS that is 28th best. Pair that with a solid metrics average of 45.25 and you can see why Boise State has been steadily climbing up the seed list.
After this two-game road trip that ends on Saturday, the Broncos get a bit of a respite, not playing another tournament hopeful until March when they finish the year with New Mexico, Nevada, and San Diego State.