Boise State sets course for summit

A comment from UNLV sophomore Anthony Marshall aptly described the reputation of Boise State's basketball team.

"We can't take them lightly because they're not as hyped as their football team," Marshall said.

The Broncos were invited to join the Mountain West Conference because of their powerful football program. But Leon Rice has a blueprint for two-sport success.

"We want to go that direction in basketball," said Rice, in his first season as Boise State coach after spending 11 years on the staff at Gonzaga.

The Broncos, off to a 6-1 start under Rice, meet the 20th-ranked Rebels (8-0) at 7 p.m. today at the Orleans Arena. UNLV is playing its sixth consecutive game away from home while the National Finals Rodeo occupies the Thomas & Mack Center.

After traveling from Anaheim, Calif., to Normal, Ill., to Reno, the Rebels are in no position to relax or look ahead to Saturday's game at 24th-ranked Louisville.

"It's great to be back home. But there is the potential to think that now we're home, so everything is OK," coach Lon Kruger said. "You don't want to fall into that trap.

"But this group hasn't indicated any likeliness to fall into those types of traps because we've opened every ballgame with great intensity and great focus. I would be surprised if we didn't continue to do that."

Kruger has praised the maturity of his veteran team that is deep in key contributors.

Junior point guard Oscar Bellfield scored a career-high 24 points in UNLV's 82-70 victory over UNR on Saturday. Senior guard Derrick Jasper had 12 points, Tre'Von Willis scored 11 and sophomore Justin Hawkins had 10. Junior forward Chace Stanback, the team's leading scorer, was in foul trouble and held scoreless.

"It seems like we're having four guys score in double figures every game, and oftentimes a different four," Kruger said.

Willis, a senior leader, will not return to the starting lineup today, but Kruger said that will happen at some point.

Rice inherited a veteran team at Boise State. He is playing six seniors, including 6-foot-6-inch forward Robert Arnold (18.1 points per game) and point guard La'Shard Anderson (13.6).

The Broncos have not faced any high-profile opponents, but they beat San Diego, UC Davis and Northern Illinois on the road before losing 69-66 to Long Beach State on Sunday.

"We went on the road and got three Division I wins," Rice said. "There's probably not too many teams with three (true) road wins right now."

Boise State leaves the Western Athletic Conference and begins Mountain West play next year, when Brigham Young departs for the West Coast Conference and Utah moves to the new Pac-12. Texas Christian will exit the MWC for the Big East the following year.

"With the realignment across the country, you don't really know what the league is going to look like in two or three years," Kruger said. "Regardless, it will be competitive and it will be tough."

Rice plans on the Broncos being major players in the new-look Mountain West basketball landscape.

Boise State will look much different next season, too. Rice is redshirting an Oregon transfer and a 7-foot center. He also signed a promising recruiting class that includes a Las Vegas star, Canyon Springs guard Michael Thompson.

"The main thing is I want kids with good character to start this thing. We want hungry kids who are out to prove something," Rice said.

"The kids are really impressed with the Mountain West. It's one of the top conferences. We already felt that impact it had in our fall recruiting."

■ NOTES -- This is the third meeting between UNLV and Boise State. The Rebels posted a 103-78 win in the first round of the 1976 NCAA Tournament. The Broncos won 84-69 at home in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament in 2004. UNLV's victory over Illinois State last week helped the Mountain West to an 8-1 win in its conference challenge against the Missouri Valley.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2907.