Marcus Rios is First Boise State Commit of 2012 Class

Cornerback Marcus Rios of Cosumnes High School has given his verbal commitment to Boise State, according to numerous sources.


Rios (6-0, 170) is the latest in a growing list of recruits from Elk Grove, California.  Bronco great Ryan Dinwiddie played for the Broncos from 2000-2003, cornerback Brandyn Thompson, whose pick six ignited a Boise State win over TCU in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, is another player from Elk Grove.  Robert Ash, who was a big part of the recent recruiting class for Boise State, is good friends with Rios.

Blue Through and Through will have further information on Rios soon.  But for now, welcome aboard Marcus!

Johnson Does Well at NFL Scouting Combine

Boise State senior Jeron Johnson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds yesterday, the best time among safeties at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.   T

Johnson also was near the top at his position in the bench press, lifting 225 pounds 23 times.

Boise State Clinches #2 Seed

With Fresno State's loss to Idaho tonight, Boise State has clinched the #2 seed in the WAC.  You will see below there is no possible scenario in which the Broncos are not #2.  

Here's the rationale.  We know if Boise State is fortunate enough to win Saturday they will be #2.  Now there is no scenario in which the Broncos are not the #2 seed.  Since Idaho won, the only two-way tie possible is between Idaho and Boise State.  If Boise State finishes tied with Idaho, they win the tie-breaker with a sweep of the Vandals.  If it is a three-way tie between Boise State, New Mexico State and Idaho, Boise State and New Mexico State would emerge with 3-1 records against the other two (both swept Idaho).  Boise State gets the higher seed over New Mexico State because of the Fresno State sweep (NM State split with Fresno State.)  Every three or four-way tie now has to involve both Boise State and Idaho.    


If the three-way tie is between Boise State, Idaho and Hawai'i, Boise State wins that by virtue of a 3-1 record over the other two (Idaho would be 2-2 and Hawai'i 1-3.)  If the three-way tie is between Boise State, Idaho and Nevada, same thing.  The only four-way ties possible are between Boise State, Idaho, Hawai'i and Nevada and between Boise State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawai'i.  In the first case, Boise State and Idaho would emerge from the four-way tie with 4-2 records against the other three and Boise State swept the Vandals so would get #2.  In the latter case, Boise State and New Mexico State would emerge and the Broncos would earn the nod because of a sweep over Fresno State.

The conference standings look like this:


1.  Utah State 14-1
2.  Boise State 9-6
3.  Idaho 9-7
4.  New Mexico State 8-7
4.  Hawai'i 8-7
4.  Nevada 8-7
7.  Fresno State 5-10
7.  San Jose State 5-10
9.  Louisiana Tech 2-13


Here is what we already know.  Utah State has won the regular season championship, will be the #1 seed and will receive a first-round bye for the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.  Boise State has clinched the #2 seed and will also receive a first-round bye.  With tonight's action, we also know that Idaho will finish either #3 or #4.  New Mexico State could finish anywhere betwee 3 and 6 while Hawai'i and Nevada will each be either fourth, fifth or sixth.  San Jose State and Fresno State will be either sixth or seventh.  Louisiana Tech at 2-12 will not make the eight-team field.  I


So it's very helpful to know what happens to the teams in different scenarios using the league's tie-breaker procedures.  The first tie-breaker to be applied is head-to-head games if two teams are tied or, in the case of three or more teams (record against the other tied teams).  So let's start there.


Boise State owns a tie-breaker over Idaho with a season sweep over the Vandals.  
New Mexico State owns a tie-breaker over Idaho with a season sweep.
Idaho owns a tie-breaker over Hawai'i with two wins.
Idaho owns the tie-breaker with Nevada with a season sweep over the Wolf Pack.


The next tie-breaker is the comparison of the teams against the rest of the conference, beginning at the top of the standings and continuing down until the tie is decided.  If, after the teams are still tied after going through that comparison, the team's RPI is used to break the tie.


I will mention that Idaho has good tie-breaker possibilities because of sweeps over Fresno State, Nevada and Hawai'i.  The only teams that beat Idaho in head-to-head tiebreakers are Boise State and New Mexico State because both those teams swept the Vandals.


Hawai'i is 7-7 and can finish in that four-way tie for second.  For now, I'll look at the head-to-head possibilities for the Warriors.   


In the balanced WAC this season, that is about all we know concerning head-to-head possibilities.  It is almost certain that there will be at least one tie that involves three or more teams.  In that case, the record against the other tied teams comes into play.  Let's look at that further.


There exists a chance that four teams could tie for second place.  Those would be Boise State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawai'i.  Again the first tiebreaker is record against the other tied teams.  For this scenario to occur, Boise State would have to lose to San Jose State, New Mexico State would have beat Nevada and Hawai'i would have to beat Fresno State.  The first  tiebreaker would be a team's record against the other three teams.  


Boise State split with New Mexico State and Hawai'i and swept Idaho.  The Broncos are 4-2 against the other three teams.  New Mexico State split with Boise State and Hawai'i and swept Idaho.  The Aggies would also be 4-2.  Idaho split with Hawai'i and was swept by the other two teams so would be eliminated.  Hawai'i split with the other three teams and would be 3-3.  The tie between Boise State and New Mexico State cannot be broken head-to-head so we would use the next tiebreaker that starts with #1 Utah State.  I


You can see that it gets quite complicated.  We will know much more after Wednesday night and especially after Thursday night's games.  For now, I'll just present the different scenarios below that will provide easy-to-follow certainties.







1.  Boise State beats San Jose State
     New Mexico State beats Nevada
     Hawai'i beats Fresno State


                Boise State finishes second.  There would be a three-way tie between New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawai'i for third.  New Mexico State and Idaho would have 3-1 records against the other two.  The Aggies would receive the #3 seed with a sweep over Idaho, Idaho would be #4 and Hawai'i the 5-seed.  Nevada would be sixth.  San Jose State would be awarded #7 with a split against Idaho and Fresno State would be #8.


2.  Boise State beats San Jose State

     New Mexico State beats Nevada

     Hawai'i loses to Fresno State  

               Boise State finishes second.  New Mexico State would earn the three seed with a sweep over Idaho and the Vandals would be fourth.  Hawai'i would be awarded the #5 seed with a sweep over Fresno State and Nevada would be sixth.  San Jose State would be seeded #7 and Fresno State #8.  

3.  Boise State beats San Jose State

     New Mexico State loses to Nevada

     Hawai'i beats Fresno State 

              Boise State finishes second.  There would be a three-way tie between Idaho, Hawai'i and Nevada.  Idaho would earn the #3 seed with sweeps over both.  Hawai'i would get the #4 seed with a sweep over Fresno State and Nevada would be fifth.  New Mexico State would be the sixth seed, San Jose State would be #7 because of a split with Idaho and Fresno State would be the eight seed. 

4.  Boise State beats San Jose State

     New Mexico State loses to Nevada

     Hawai'i loses to Fresno State  

              Boise State finishes second and Idaho would tie with Nevada.  Idaho would be seeded third because of a sweep over Nevada and Nevada would be fourth.  New Mexico State would get #5 because of a sweep over Idaho and Hawai'i would be #6, Fresno State #7 and San Jose State #8.  

5.  Boise State loses to San Jose State

     New Mexico State beats Nevada

     Hawai'i loses to Fresno State 

                 Boise State, New Mexico State and Idaho would tie for second.  Boise State and New Mexico State would have 3-1 records against the other two teams while Idaho would be 0-4.  Boise State would win the tiebreaker with a sweep of Fresno State and would be seeded second.  New Mexico State would receive the third seed and the Vandals would be #4.  Nevada would be awarded the fifth seed with a split against Idaho and Hawai'i would be #6.  San Jose State would be the #7 seed because of a split with Idaho and Fresno State would be #8.    

6.  Boise State loses to San Jose State

     New Mexico State loses to Nevada

     Hawai'i beats Fresno State

                   There would be a four-way tie for second place between Boise State, Idaho, Hawai'i and Nevada.  Boise State and Idaho would each have 4-2 records against the other three teams while Hawai'i and Nevada would be 2-4.  Boise State would be awarded second with a sweep over the Vandals and Idaho would be #3.  Hawai'i would earn the #4 seed with a sweep over Fresno State and Nevada would be fifth.  New Mexico State would be the sixth seed, followed by San Jose State and Fresno State.     

7.  Boise State loses to San Jose State

      New Mexico State loses to Nevada

      Hawai'i loses to Fresno State

                 There would be a three-way tie for second between Boise State, Idaho and Nevada.  Boise State would have a 3-1 record against the other two, Idaho would be 2-2 and Nevada 1-3.  Boise State would be the #2 seed.  Idaho would be awarded #3 with a sweep over Nevada and Nevada would be #4.  New Mexico State would be awarded fifth-seed because they split with Idaho and Hawai'i was swept by Idaho.  Hawai'i would be seeded sixth.  The tie between San Jose State and Fresno State would be decided by RPI since the two teams split and they have the exact record against every other WAC team.    

8.  Boise State loses to San Jose State

       New Mexico State beats Nevada
       Hawai'i beats Fresno State

       
                  There would be a four-way tie for second between Boise State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawai'i.  Boise State and New Mexico State would have 4-2 records against the other three teams in the tie.  Idaho would be 2-4 and Hawai'i would be 2-4.  Boise State would be seeded second with a sweep of Fresno State and New Mexico State would be third.  Idaho would be awarded fourth with a sweep over Hawai'i and the Warriors would be fifth.  Nevada would be sixth, San Jose State seventh and Fresno State eighth.

                

Boise State Rolls Past Cal State Bakersfield 95-59

Boise State ran to a 52-25 halftime lead and never looked back in a 95-59 victory tonight over Cal State Bakersfield in Taco Bell Arena.


Cal State Bakersfield started strong out of the gate and led 8-6 until a Paul Noonan three-pointer.  The Roadrunners would enjoy their last lead at 15-14 before another Noonan trey.  With Boise State leading 27-21 with 8:35 remaining in the half, Coach Leon Rice's team went on a 25-4 run to go into intermission.


Boise State came out strong after halftime as well.  Robert Arnold's dunk punctuated another 20-6 run and the Broncos were up 41 at 72-31.  All told, Boise State outscored Bakersfield 45-10 over 17 minutes.  Coach Rice was able to give considerable playing time to his reserves and rest his starters for Saturday's important game against San Jose.


Boise State led in rebounds 40-30, forced 17 turnovers while committing just 11 themselves and had 10 steals.


Noonan led four Broncos in double figures with 20 points on 6-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Arnold had 19 points, including nine in the amazing first-half run, La'Shard Anderson netted 13 and Imadiyi 10.  Thomas Bropleh had eight points and nine rebounds for Boise State.


James Albright led Bakersfield with 14 points while Alex Johnson had 12 and Stephon Carter contributed 11.


Boise State advanced to 18-11 with the win.  The Broncos host San Jose State in the regular season finale for both teams.  Depending on what happens tonight in the Utah State-New Mexico State game, Boise State could be playing for the #2 seed in the upcoming Western Athletic Conference tournament.

Boucher and North Invited to NCAA Swimming Championships

Two Broncos who were instrumental in their team's recent Western Athletic Conference Swimming Championship have been invited to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas.


Amber Boucher was invited to compete in the 100-yard butterfly, the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle.  She is seeded sixth in the butterfly, ninth in the 100-yard freestyle and 19th in the 50-yard free.  Stephanie North was invited in the 100-yard free and will also compete in the 50 and 200-yard free events.  


Boucher and North helped Boise State accumulate 835 team points in winning the WAC title, the ninth-highest point total in WAC championship history.  Boucher was named WAC Swimmer of the Year for the second straight year after breaking three championship records and six pool records.  


Boise State is one of 36 schools to have multiple student-athletes invited to the championships.

Salute to Seven Bronco Seniors

#12—Guard La’Shard Anderson

Anderson came to Boise State from Irvine Valley Community College, where he played one season.  Anderson played all 32  games in his first season with Boise State and averaged 5.6 points per game.   Last year, Anderson was fourth on the team in scoring with 9.9 points per game.  He led the Broncos in steals, accumulating the second-most in single-season history (83).  La’Shard’s 2.59 steals per game paced the Western Athletic Conference.  He was among the top 10 players in the WAC with 3.63 assists per game and dished out 116 on the season. 

Anderson has almost “willed” this Bronco team to victory on several occasions in his senior year.  La’Shard had 31 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a 102-101 overtime win at San Jose State and netted 33 points in last week’s win at Fresno State.  He is averaging 15.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, leads the team with 136 assists and has 70 steals.  La’Shard is 144-334 (43.1%) and 29-89 (32.6%) from three-point land.  His strong moves to the hoop have paid off with a team-leading 143 free throws.  Arnold has made 114 of them for a sizzling 79.7%.

Earlier this season, Anderson became the 49^th player in school history to score 400 points in a season.  He is currently tied with Ron Austin (1969-1970) for 39^th with 431 points and is also 74 points shy of joining teammate Paul Noonan on the career 1,000-points list.  Anderson passed Frank Jackson (1984-1985) for fifth with 136 assists in a season.  La’Shard is just 15 assists shy of Anthony Thomas’s record of 151 in a single season.  Anderson, who is already second all-time with 83 steals last season, is fifth so far with 70 steals this year.  The all-time record is steals king Doug Usitalo (105 in 1986-1987).  Anderson can tie the career record, currently held by Chris Childs (1985-1989) with 26 more steals.  Anderson is also seventh all-time with 316 career assists. 

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2008-09	32	0	696	21.8	59	170	34.7%	15	57	26.3%
2009-10	32	29	1061	33.2	108	291	37.1	30	101	29.7
2010-11	28	28	917	32.8	144	334	43.1	29	89	32.6
Total	92	57	2674	29.1	311	795	39.1%	74	247	30.0%

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
46	64	71.9%	63	2.0	64	6	36	179	5.6
70	96	72.9	80	2.5	116	14	83	316	9.9
114	143	79.7	92	3.3	136	11	70	431	15.4
230	303	75.9%	235	2.6	316	31	189	926	10.1

#1—Forward Robert Arnold

Arnold played at Antelope Valley College prior to joining the Broncos.  He started 28 games in his first season with Boise State and was the Broncos’ second-leading scorer, averaging 11.8 points a game.  Arnold also pulled down 3.4 rebounds per game and was second on the Broncos with 22 blocked shots.  Robert scored in double figures 18 times, including seven straight games that included a career-high of 35 points and 15 rebounds at New Mexico State. 

Arnold is second on the team in scoring this season, hitting 12.6 points per game.  Robert also is second on the Broncos with 4.6 rebounds per game and has 35 steals, a team-leading 21 blocks and 23 assists.  Arnold has hit 113-289 attempts (39.1%) and is second on the team with 46 three-pointers (in 143 attempts).  He is second on the team in trips to the free-throw line and is averaging 68.3% (82-120).  Arnold poured in 26 points against Eastern Washington and had 25 points in the win at San Diego.

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2009-10	31	21	882	28.5	133	297	44.8%	35	115	30.4%
2010-11	28	27	795	28.4	113	289	39.1	46	143	32.2
Total	59	48	1677	28.4	246	586	42.0%	81	258	31.4%

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
64	95	67.4%	134	4.3	69	22	27	365	11.8
82	120	68.3	129	4.6	23	21	35	354	12.6
146	215	67.9%	263	4.5	92	43	62	719	12.2

#20—Forward Sean Imadiyi

Imadiyi is a junior college transfer from Arizona Western College.  Sean appeared in 30 games as a junior and averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.  Imadiyi redshirted last season.  This season, Sean has started seven games and is averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.  He has five assists, six steals and six blocks.  Imadiyi scored a career-high 10 points against Texas-Pan American.

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2008-09	30	0	270	9.0	28	52	53.8%	0	0	0/0%
2010-11	21	7	142	6.8	17	31	54.8	0	0	0.0
Total	51	7	712	14.0	45	83	54.2%	0	0	0.0%

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
8	16	50.0%	46	1.5	3	8	10	64	2.1
3	15	20.0	26	1.2	5	6	6	37	1.8
11	31	35.5%	72	1.4	8	14	16	101	2.0

#2—Forward Daequon Montreal

Montreal is a JC transfer from one of the top junior colleges in the nation—College of Southern Idaho.  Montreal started 14 games down the stretch last season and was named to the Western Athletic Conference All-Newcomer Team.  Daequon was third on the team with 10.8 points per game and also pulled down 5.3 rebounds per game.  Montreal scored in double figures 19 times, with a season-high of 24 against Fresno State. 

This season, Montreal is averaging 10.6 points and leads the Broncos with 5.3 rebounds a contest.  Daequon has 24 assists, 18 steals and 13 blocked shots.  He is 108-232 in field goal tries (46.6%) and is a dependable 78-103 (75.7%) from the free-throw line.  Montreal had 28 points and 8 rebounds in the narrow 86-84 loss at Utah and had 21 points and 12 rebounds in Boise State’s win over New Mexico State. 

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2009-10	32	14	799	25.0	132	270	48.9%	10	32	31.3%
2010-11	28	28	747	26.7	108	232	46.6	3	17	17.6
Total	60	42	1546	25.8	240	502	47.8%	13	49	26.5%

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
70	106	66.0%	170	5.3	37	21	17	344	10.8
78	103	75.7	92	5.3	24	13	18	431	10.6
148	209	70.8%	262	4.4	61	34	35	775	12.9

#32—Center Zack Moritz

Moritz played in three games as a redshirt freshman in 2007-08 but missed most of the season with an injury.  In his sophomore year, Moritz averaged 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.  Moritz played in 30 games last season, averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.  He recorded his first double-double against Houston Baptist when he hit 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. 

This year, Zack is averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.  He has 11 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Moritz has scored in double figures three times this season, including an 18-point effort against Eastern Washington.

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2007-08	3	0	14	4.7	1	1	100%	0	0	0
2008-09	21	0	130	6.2	17	36	47.2	0	0	0
2009-10	30	1	281	9.4	46	91	50.5	0	0	0
2010-11	26	3	286	11.0	35	71	49.3	0	0	0
Total	80	4	711	8.9	99	199	49.7%	0	0	0

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
1	2	50.0%	6	2.0	0	1	0	3	1.0
7	13	53.8	28	1.3	2	4	1	41	2.0
12	26	46.2	73	2.4	7	2	3	104	3.5
22	33	66.7	63	2.4	11	2	6	92	3.5
42	74	56.8%	170	2.1	20	9	10	240	3.0

#25—Forward Paul Noonan

Paul Noonan has become a leader in two areas, as a sharpshooting three-point threat and as a calm free-throw artist.  Noonan has shot plenty of threes, but he won’t have enough free-throw attempts to qualify for the school record.  Although Noonan is “money” at the charity stripe, he averages less than the two attempts per game to qualify for the record.  Noonan appeared in 33 games as a freshman and averaged 4.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.  He immediately led the Broncos in free throw percentage (86.5%), hitting 45-of-52, and was named Academic All-WAC.  Noonan began to make a presence his sophomore year, starting 30 games and averaging 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.  Noonan hit double figures 16 times, including a career-high 25 against Montana State.  Last season, Noonan started seven games last year and averaged 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.  Paul was sixth in the WAC with 2.13 three-pointers per game. 

Noonan is averaging 10.1 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.  He also has 48 assists and 22 steals.  Noonan is 87-202 from the field (43.1%), including 51-131 from beyond the arc (38.9%).  He has canned 57-68 free throws (83.8%).  Noonan hit 23 points in Boise State’s 71-60 win over Louisiana Tech. 

Noonan became the 20^th member of the career 1,000-point club and is now 17^th in career scoring with 1,028.  He will pass Greg Bunn with five more points.  Noonan is also in fourth place for career three-pointers with 196 and will tie Eric Lane for third with three more treys.  Noonan is also fourth with 522 three-point attempts and fifth in career games played with 123.

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2007-08	33	1	360	10.9	44	99	44.4%	27	68	39.7%
2008-09	32	30	789	24.7	103	251	41.0	54	160	33.8
2009-10	30	7	730	24.3	89	207	43.0	64	163	39.3
2010-11	28	11	830	29.6	87	202	43.1	51	131	38.9
Total	123	49	2709	22.0	323	759	42.6%	196	522	37.5%

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
45	52	86.5%	42	1.3	14	5	6	160	4.8
61	72	84.7	114	3.6	61	4	29	321	10.0
23	30	76.7	105	3.5	59	6	21	265	8.8
57	68	83.8	98	3.5	48	8	22	282	10.1
186	222	83.8%	359	2.9	182	23	78	1028	8.4

#4—Guard Justin Salzwedel

Salzwedel is a transfer from Phoenix College.  He played in 17 games last year and averaged 1.8 points and .4 rebounds a game.  Salzwedel scored a career-high 12 points against Cal State Bakersfield with 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.  Justin has played in eight games this season but has not scored.

								3	-	Point
Year	GP	GS	Min	Avg.	FG	FGA	Pct	FG	FGA	Pct.
2009-10	17	0	98	5.8	9	25	36.0%	9	23	39.1%
2010-11	8	0	19	2.4	0	4	0.0	0	3	0.0
Total	25	0	117	4.7	9	29	31.0%	9	26	34.6%

FT	FTA	Pct	Reb	Avg.	Ast	Blk	Stl	Pts	Avg.
4	4	100%	6	0.4	3	0	0	31	1.8
0	0	0.0	1	0.1	0	0	0	0	0.0
4	4	100%	7	.28	3	0	0	31	1.2